Riding anything other than a high wire seems beyond Northampton. Just when they looked certain to topple yesterday, the draught from Paul Grayson's swinging right boot steered them safely into the Heineken Cup final against Munster at Twickenham on May 27th, leaving a disconsolate Llanelli side sprawled on the turf in their wake.

If it was stretching the bounds of credibility to imagine a Grayson injury-time penalty saving Northampton again just as he did against Wasps in the quarter-final, it was impossible not to marvel at the composure with which the erstwhile England fly-half took his chance in the 85th minute.

Ahead for much of the game, the Welshmen had just drawn level at 28-28 and appeared to be playing for extra-time.

Instead, at a ruck just inside his own half, a prone Ian Boobyer sneaked out an illegal boot to try and prevent the ball emerging on the Northampton side and Grayson was allowed to leave an indelible imprint on the contest.

It also permitted Northampton to book a second Twickenham final this month and defy the doubters, who continue to wonder how they can keep body and soul together over the season's remaining weeks. What no one should doubt, even with some patched-up bodies, is their mental resilience or ability to defend their line at moments of acute stress.

"It's not a fluke," cautioned the captain Pat Lam, whose ability to play through a shoulder injury continues to defy normal medical logic. "This is a reflection of the character within the side." And, he might have added, an indication of just how driven every side in Europe now is to win a tournament which grows in stature by the day.

As Grayson had originally been left out of the starting line-up and had been on the pitch only a few minutes as a replacement, Llanelli will feel hard done by until they sit down and analyse the way in which Northampton forced their way back into a game which, at 19-9 down, was slipping away at half-time.

It was no fault of outhalf Stephen Jones, who kicked immaculately all day to register seven penalties and a conversion of Daffyd James's powerful first-half try, but just when his side had the game by the scruff of the neck it all went wrong. Nick Beal's clever looped ball in midfield, which might have been adjudged forward on another day, allowed Allan Bateman to scoot over and almost immediately a scarlet mist descended on Llanelli's loose-head prop Phil Booth.

Judging by the number of times Booth punched Tim Rodber, something unsavoury may well have occurred out of sight of the official but he could well have earned himself a red card. A mere yellow was shown instead, yet playing for even 10 minutes with 14 men on a hot humid afternoon fatally sapped the Welshmen at the business end of the contest.

In contrast, Dawson, who kicked six penalties before retiring to nurse an injured shoulder, kept his team ticking over nicely and they finally hit the lead inside the final 10 minutes with a close-range try from Ben Cohen, redeeming a personal performance which had previously teetered on the verge of abject.

In the end, it was probably lack of regular exposure to this sort of frenzied finale which lost it for Llanelli, roared on by a set of supporters determined to challenge the notion they were sitting in a neutral stadium. Had they moved the ball wider, rather than relying on endless head-down charges, their prolonged siege at the end of normal time would surely have yielded more than three points.

Instead the Northampton tackle count rose by a dozen a minute, Beal's tackle on Matt Cardey merely the most eye-catching, and Lam had to be waved away from the dead-ball area as he sought to inspire his troops to one last effort despite having been replaced himself. By the time of Grayson's final kick, Dawson was in the dressingroom unable to look while Llanelli's coach Gareth Jenkins admitted he feared the worst the moment Grayson was tossed the ball. Jenkins' side also have a domestic cup final ahead of them but this was the one that truly mattered.

NORTHAMPTON: Beal; Moir, Bateman, Allen, Cohen; Hepher (Grayson, 77min), Dawson (Malone, 73); Pagel, Mendez, Stewart (Scelzo, 62), Newman (Phillips, h-t), Metcalfe, Rodber, Pountney, Lam (capt; Mackinnon, 73). LLANELLI: Cardey; Proctor (capt), James, N Boobyer, Finau; S Jones, Moon; Booth (Madden, 73), McBryde, Davies, Wyatt, Gillies (Cooper, 73), Easterby, I Boobyer, Quinnell.

Referee: A Lewis (Ireland).