Premiership: Northampton Saints 27-22 Wasps - Saints keep play-off hopes alive

Courtnall Skosan's 10th try of the season ultimately made the difference

Northampton Saints kept their play-off hopes alive and all but ended Wasps' with a 27-22 win at Franklin's Gardens.

Wasps raced into a 10-0 lead through Jacob Umaga's try and Jimmy Gopperth's penalty, but Saints hit back to lead 12-10 at half-time as Alex Mitchell and James Grayson crossed.

Alex Waller powered over to extend the lead, but Paolo Odogwu raced in at the corner to haul Wasps back to 19-15.

Courtnall Skosan's try sealed a bonus-point win despite Will Porter's reply.

Saints and Wasps kicked off separated only by points difference and 13 points adrift of fourth-placed Exeter, knowing defeat would realistically end the play-off hopes of each side.

Having lost their last three matches by five points or less, Saints finally ended a run of four straight league defeats to move within eight points of the top four, having played a game fewer than most of the teams above them.

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However, Wasps' woeful away record - they have won just once on the road since October - cost them again and they sit 12 points off the play-off places with just four games left.

The visitors made an electric start when Tim Cardall easily broke the line to tee up Umaga who dropped the ball before grounding, but the mistake went unnoticed by the officials.

Will Porter's late try earned Wasps a losing bonus point

Saints hit back quickly through Mitchell who pounced on a loose ball after Wasps had ripped back possession on their own try line.

And after the television match official (TMO) chalked off a second Wasps try for a forward pass, Saints led at the break as a quick ball finally gave Grayson a gap to run through after mounting pressure.

Waller broke the Premiership appearances record for a prop and capped his 231st league match by powering over from five metres for his 15th league try.

The TMO denied Mitchell a second try, following a superb Ribbans offload, for an infringement by Waller, and Wasps cut the deficit through Will Porter's electric break and Odogwu's powerful finish.

A Grayson penalty, slotted after the TMO ruled out George Furbank's score for a Sam Matavesi obstruction, stretched the lead to 22-15.

And when Skosan's breakaway try was awarded - following another lengthy TMO inspection - Saints finally seemed to have sealed a bonus-point win.

But their struggle to hold on to winning positions reared its head again when Umaga's break sent Porter away to score and cut the gap to four points with two minutes left.

Grayson missed two late penalties, but the hosts this time held on for only their second home win since October.

Northampton Saints director of rugby Chris Boyd told BBC Radio Northampton:

"I don't think we played any worse or better than the last month, just a different day, a few critical moments and we managed to build ourselves a comfortable lead.

"We tried to give away some opportunities with a couple of little brain explosions, but in the end managed to hold out.

"You challenge yourself around whether you are playing well and losing and playing the right way so that's been a bit of a challenge for us.

"It would have been nice for Jimmy (Grayson) to nail one of those last couple (of penalties) and deny them a bonus point, but I thought he had a much better game today so I'm pleased for him."

Wasps head coach Lee Blackett told BBC CWR:

"I was really happy with the first 20 minutes. I thought we controlled it, we were unlucky to have a disallowed try as well.

"Everything went our way, the intent was there and then we just lost a bit of momentum.

"We scrambled pretty well to just go in 12-10 down. I'd like to think we deserved more out of the first 20 minutes, but we didn't and then the second half was a little bit scrappy.

"There were some good performances out there, but there's guys who just looked like they lacked a little bit of game time as well."

Northampton: Furbank; Skosan, Dingwall (capt), Hutchinson, Collins; Grayson, Mitchell; Waller, Matavesi, Hill, Ribbans, Ratuniyarawa, Coles, Harrison, Augustus.

Replacements: Haywood, Iyogun, Carey, Nansen, Tonks, James, Francis, Sleightholme.

Wasps: Watson; Odogwu, Spink, Gopperth, Bassett; Umaga, Robson; West, Oghre, Alo, Cardall, Stooke, Shields (capt), J Willis, T Willis.

Replacements: Frost, Hislop, Toomaga-Allen, Fifita, Carr, Porter, Atkinson, Le Bourgeois.

Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU).

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