Northampton Saints 22 Saracens 20: Tom Vickers' review and player ratings

Season after season, the boys in black, green and gold do drama like few others.

During the past 10 years, the ending has so often been an unhappy one.

Saints had lost four successive Gallagher Premiership play-off semi-finals going into Friday night’s renewal of rivalries with Saracens.

This was the team that started that sorry streak, winning against a table-topping Saints side at the Gardens in a 2015 play-off semi-final as they got revenge for events a year earlier at Twickenham.

Back in May 2014, Saints once again had everyone on the edge of their seats as Alex Waller’s extra-time try secured a first, and so far only, Premiership title at the end of a season when Jim Mallinder’s men also won the Challenge Cup.

Saints had beaten Bath in that European final, overcoming a deficit to eventually get the job done at Cardiff Arms Park.

On the previous weekend, their 14 men had seen off Leicester Tigers in the Premiership play-off semi-final at the Gardens, creating a memory that is as strong now as it was back then.

This is a club that loses big games in dramatic fashion but wins them, too.

They have won a Heineken Cup final by a point and lost one after leading 22-6 at half-time.

Nothing ever comes easy, but that only serves to fuel the emotional fire.

All of the nerve-shredding action just seems to bond the supporters to the players even more tightly.

They are in it together, and they always have been.

But this season, there is a greater connection than for many years. Or perhaps for ever.

The fans love the way this team goes about its work, combining style with substance.

And they love the way they celebrate, with supporters waving their footwear in the air in tribute to the ‘shoe army’ tag that has been adopted by this group of players.

In 2014, the team and the fans connected through Alex Corbisiero’s 'yes' chant, through the off-field courage of Leon Barwell and Luis Ghaut.

They connected through the ‘Why Not Us?’ spirit built by the underdog finalists of 2013.

And that connection took them all the way to Twickenham, where the club celebrated one of its greatest achievements.

Ten years to the day of that final win, Saints summoned up the same spirit to edge out Saracens once more.

Of course they did it all with a huge dose of late drama, refusing to cruise to Twickenham with a nine-point win as Lucio Cinti scored with fewer than two minutes to go, allowing Elliott Daly to cut the gap to just two points with 40 seconds left on the clock.

Saints had to kick off and then find a way to pen Saracens in.

And, with the tension rising, they kept their cool, holding up Theo Dan in a tackle as Temo Mayanavanua and the ever-imperious Courtney Lawes refused to let the opposition forward go to ground.

Of course Lawes was there.

After all, he is the central character in a Saints story full of leading men.

He just oozed calmness on a night when his side desperately need it amid a raucous backdrop.

Saints could have got the jitters when Daly slotted two penalties to put Saracens 6-0 up.

But they stayed composed and battled back to lead by 10 points at the break.

They had chances to put the game to bed after the break, but Saracens - in particular Juan Martin Gonzalez - delivered some stunning scramble defence.

The champions were never going to go quietly, and so it proved as they landed that late Cinti blow.

But this time, it was Northampton who moved on to Twickenham.

This time it was Saints who inflicted semi-final heartache rather than feeling it so acutely.

And now they know they have to finish the job against a hugely talented Bath team.

The best two sides in the league this season have rightly reached Twickenham.

Now it’s a straight shootout.

And who knows what the scriptwriters will come up with this time.

How they rated…

GEORGE FURBANK - full of cut and thrust, the full-back set up Burger Odendaal's try with a superb eye-of-the-needle pass, and he also did some fine work defensively at times... 9

TOMMY FREEMAN - the classy wing didn't hit the attacking headlines this time as Saracens dealt with him well, but he was so good at the basics, taking high balls for fun and defending impressively... 8.5

BURGER ODENDAAL - another performance full of power and capped with a try, reminiscent of his showing against Munster. The centre made such a huge impact again here... 9

FRASER DINGWALL - almost engineered a superb score for Alex Mitchell and did the hard yards defensively again for his team... 8.5

OLLIE SLEIGHTHOLME - such a threat whenever he gets hold of the ball, and he almost conjured up a try out of nothing, but his kick ahead just had a little too much power... 8.5

FIN SMITH - CHRON STAR MAN - on a night when Saints needed their kicker to keep a cool head, Smith delivered. He landed 17 points, which proved decisive, and he defended superbly, too... 9

ALEX MITCHELL - a livewire throughout, the scrum-half really stepped things up after the break and he was so unfortunate to be denied a special try by a stunning tackle... 9

ALEX WALLER - a fantastic final outing at the Gardens for the prop as he helped Saints to dominate at scrum time... 9

CURTIS LANGDON - when Saints play well, it's because this guy has set the tone, and he delivered yet another all-action showing here... 9

TREVOR DAVISON - yet another massive showing from the tighthead prop, whose importance to Saints certainly doesn't go unnoticed... 9

ALEX MOON - looked like he really enjoyed this, standing tall against Saracens as he made key interventions... 8.5

ALEX COLES - showcased his development with another mature showing that saw him excel, particularly in terms of physicality... 8.5

COURTNEY LAWES - another fantastic performance from the club legend on his final outing at the Gardens. His work in catching Saracens kick offs was particularly eye-catching... 9

TOM PEARSON - found himself on the wrong side of the referee on a few occasions but also produced some brilliant moments, including a fantastic clearance kick... 8

JUARNO AUGUSTUS - a picture of power and determination as he flew around the park looking to try to put pressure on Saracens with ball in hand... 8.5

Replacements (who played more than 20 minutes)

LEWIS LUDLAM (for Pearson 53) - added such energy from the bench, making a crucial turnover and looking extremely physical in attack... 8

ELLIOT MILLAR MILLS (for Davison 56) - helped Saints to stay on the front foot at scrum time and also did his work around the field... 7.5

MANNY IYOGUN (for Waller 59) - plenty of power from the young prop as always as he ensured Saints would not allow Saracens to complete the fightback... 7.5