Lynagh hit George Chuter with a perfectly executed cut-out pass as the hooker combined with Steve Ravenscroft to give Wallace a dawdle to the corner.Further first-half tries from Francois Pienaar, who enjoyed another absolute stormer, and Marcus Olsen, who replaced Kyran Bracken shortly before the break, put the Londoners in clear blue water and with their front row every bit as dominant as they had been against the same opposition in the Tetley's Bitter Cup semi-final in March, the die was cast unusually early.Their cast-iron 22-3 interval advantage was always likely to be strengthened further and Olsen duly completed a workaday push-over score midway through the third quarter. Any scrum-half will tell you that heaven is a front row with two mean men at prop and with Roberto Grau, the raging bull of the Argentinian pampas, in pugnacious mood alongside the resilient Paul Wallace, Olsen must have considered himself blessed.The last 20 minutes saw the sides go try for try, Nick Beal and Shem Tatupu cancelling out close-range efforts from Ravenscroft and Tony Diprose. And at the death, an outside-half did work his way on to the scoresheet Sadly for the crowd, the scorer was Paul Grayson. Lynagh simply smiled his inscrutable smile.Sarcens: Tries Olsen 2, R Wallace, Pienaar, Ravenscroft, Diprose; Conversions Lynagh 5; Penalty Lynagh. Northampton: Tries Beal, Tatupu, Grayson; Conversion Grayson; Penalty Grayson.Saracens: G Johnson; R Constable, P Sella, S Ravenscroft, R Wallace (M Singer, 68); M Lynagh, K Bracken (M Olsen, 29); R Grau, G Chuter, P Wallace, P Johns, D Grewcock, B Sturnham (A Bennett, 68), A Diprose (capt), F Pienaar.Northampton: N Beal; B Cohen, J Bell (H Thorneycroft, 71), M Allen (A Northey, 45), C Moir; P Grayson (capt), D Malone; M Volland, C Johnson, M Hynes (C Allen, 68), J Phillips, J Chandler, S Foale, S Tatupu, J Cassell (D Merlin, 49).Referee: J Pearson (Durham)..

DENNIS BERGKAMP will wake up in Arsenal's London hotel tomorrow morning, carefully get out of bed and gingerly stretch his limbs. In that moment he will know if he is to play in tomorrow's 117th FA Cup final. The Dutch striker is more optimistic about his fitness than at any time since he damaged his hamstring against Derby 16 days ago. However, his chances of playing against Newcastle United remain in the balance. After joining in a full training session for the first time yesterday he said: "I'm happy that I'm still in with a chance, but I'm still thinking about the injury when I train.

I will push it harder tomorrow and I will know as soon as I stand up on Saturday morning whether I am fit. I want to play but I have to be 100 per cent fit."Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, said: "I am surprised he has recovered this much but a practice match is not a cup final. We can't recreate that intensity 48 hours before the game so, if he plays, it will still be a gamble. Fortunately the injury is superficial not deep."I'm encouraged that he wants to play. He is thinking only of Arsenal and not of the possibility of injuring himself for the World Cup."I will make the decision, but I know he is not the sort of player to cheat and tell me he is fit when he is not. He will have to be comfortable with his body and he will be honest with me. He knows how important this game is for Arsenal."Wenger then underlined the importance of Bergkamp, who made a brief appearance in west London to receive his Football Writers' Player of the Year award last night "He is a leader on the field.

He is easy to find in the game for defenders and midfielders. He gives them an option when they have the ball and that improves the confidence of the team He is creative with his passing and can score goals But he is like everybody. SPENCER OLIVER yesterday admitted he felt fortunate to be alive after suffering life-threatening injuries in a fight 12 days ago. The former European bantamweight champion had emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain following his 10th-round defeat by Ukraine's Sergei Devakov at the Royal Albert Hall on 2 May. At first, it was feared Oliver - who was one of Britain's brightest prospects before the accident - would die, but he has made a remarkable recovery and was able to walk out of hospital on Wednesday.The Londoner, who will never box again, revealed: "I feel a bit lucky at the moment, to tell the truth I feel like I've got a second bite of the cherry I don't remember anything of the night at all. "I expected it to happen whan Dean Bell was coach, but it has happened this season," he said.In retrospect, Bell's influence probably did start to toughen up Leeds' general approach, but the full benefit has not been felt until this season, thanks to the extra organisation that Murray, with his experience at the top level in Australia, has been able to introduce.No one has benefited more from the new regime than Adrian Morley, the Great Britain forward, who Murray, with his sketchy knowledge of club affiliations, was so delighted to discover was a Leeds player when he took the job.However, Morley typifies the fine line that Leeds walk.