Well it’s onwards and upwards this week for the Saints after travelling up to Welford Road to secure a rousing victory over local rivals Leicester for the second season running.
Bruce Reihana sped in with two well taken tries but Nick Beal’s 60 metre drop goal (I’m sure that distance will get bigger as the years go on) was the icing on the Saints cake. Maybe not such an emotionally charged affair as last year when we ended their five year unbeaten home run with our first victory in a decade but a win is a win in the Tigers backyard and hopefully we are now getting into the winning habit after the recent domestic dominance of our dear neighbours
Now of course the victory didn’t go down too well with the Tigers but while the vast majority of their supporters took the defeat sportingly we did get a few jibes and comments on leaving and in the bars afterwards. The opinion was that we only won because Tigers could not choose from a full strength side (conveniently forgetting it was a full strength side we beat last year) and that Leicester were paying the price for England’s RWC campaign in Australia. I was personally asked if I would cheer when “Leicester win the World Cup”.
Now I’m as one eyed as the next man where my team is concerned but I’m not that blind to see that several other teams are in exactly the same position. These others clubs have recruited well to cover holes in their squad and have rode out this disruptive period. Indeed Bath who have lost possibly their three most influential backs in Catt, Tindall and Balshaw sit at the top of the table while three others hit by callups, Gloucester, Saints and Wasps fill the next three slots. Granted Tigers have lost virtually their whole first choice pack but I did not see a whole lot of creativity behind the scrum on Saturday to suggest even the return of Messrs Johnson, Back, Kay etc will turn their season around. Their decline cannot be laid at the feet of Clive Woodward. It could well be the end of an era and as one Tiger supporter suggested that the wheel is starting to gradually turn in the Saints favour. Time will tell but Saturdays victory and Nicks monster drop goal edged it round a touch further.
LOOKING FORWARD
It’s the visit of Gloucester on Saturday Now the boys from Castle Grim (Kingsholm) did the ‘treble’ over us last year with wins both home and away in Zurich Premiership and the Cup Final defeat. To say that we owe them one is somewhat of an understatement but even though Glos are missing the likes of Vickery and Woodman it will still be, as always, a tough and uncompromising battle. No doubt there will be a fair few Shedheads making the journey east to add to the occasion so get there early and shout yourself hoarse.
RENAUD
It was sad to hear that our new signing Renaud Peillard has had to retire from the game after picking up a neck injury so short into to his Saints career. We all wish Renaud and his family well for the future in what must be a devastatingly blow but his plight highlights just what these chaps put on the line for their clubs and countries each week. With this in mind I noticed with some alarm that towards the end of Namibias 142-0 defeat by Australia you could clearly see one of the dog tired Namibian props engaging but not binding at a scrum as he took a breather. Now of course at club and at national level I’m sure the health of the players is paramount, and indeed Renauds injury was just that, an unforeseen accident, but the IRB must seriously look at ending these mismatches at the highest level as it will not only be the scoreboard that is in danger of breaking. Sadly it may take just such an accident before anyone in the ivory towers of the IRB takes notice but the cynic in me says be it Australia v England or Australia v Namibia, they can still sell tickets by the tens of thousand. It makes you wonder if anyone remembers Max Britto?
TOULOUSE LE TREK
While on the subject of players welfare I am sure some of you are aware of the work of the PRA. The Professional Rugby Players Association through its Benevolent Fund helps players who have had to retire from the sport through serious injury and illness. Jarrod Cunningham and our own Andy Blyth have both benefited in recent years. A couple of seasons back a few of us got together and formed The Jimmies End T-Shirt Company (Jetsco) with the aim of supplying small numbers of limited edition shirts with a Saints theme in order to raise money for rugby charities. For the game in Toulouse last season we produced a ‘Toulouse Le Trek’ (geddit?) shirt that you may have seen about. Such was success of the Le Trek shirt with supporters that this week Nick Beal and Jon Phillips will be accepting a cheque from Jetsco for £1000 on the PRA’s behalf. It is intended to run a new design for this years European campaign to raise further funds. I will keep you all posted.
REMEMBER
This Saturday, being the nearest home game to Remembrance Sunday there will be the traditional wreath laying and minutes silence at the Gardens before the reading of those few short lines that say so much ‘When you go home, think of us and say, For your tomorrow, we gave our today.’ Its always a very moving occasion and one of those long held traditions that still makes the Gardens that special. Every year my thoughts go not only to family members lost but to ‘one of our own’, Edgar Mobbs.
Having captained both Saints and England early this century Edgar was denied an officers commission because he was considered too old at 32.
However being a resourceful chap he went away and set up his own battalion, the 7th of the Northamptonshire Regiment more famously known as The Sportsman Battalion as many of its volunteers came from local sporting clubs, including the Saints. Despite being wounded on three separate occasions he always returned to action until the Third Battle of Ypres, known as Passchendaele in 1917. The battle over 400,000 casualties. Colonel Edgar Mobbs was one of them. Attacking a machine gun post that was holding up his infantry he got within thirty yards before he was mown down in a hail of German bullets. Despite his injuries he managed to write down the location of the post before he died, an action that saved many of his men. It was his final act, his body was never found and he still lies where he fell.
So on Saturday when Geoff Allen reads the time honoured tribute just pause and spare a thought for those hundreds of thousands of Edgars from all walks of life that never made it home.
Now of course the victory didn’t go down too well with the Tigers but while the vast majority of their supporters took the defeat sportingly we did get a few jibes and comments on leaving and in the bars afterwards. The opinion was that we only won because Tigers could not choose from a full strength side (conveniently forgetting it was a full strength side we beat last year) and that Leicester were paying the price for England’s RWC campaign in Australia. I was personally asked if I would cheer when “Leicester win the World Cup”.
Now I’m as one eyed as the next man where my team is concerned but I’m not that blind to see that several other teams are in exactly the same position. These others clubs have recruited well to cover holes in their squad and have rode out this disruptive period. Indeed Bath who have lost possibly their three most influential backs in Catt, Tindall and Balshaw sit at the top of the table while three others hit by callups, Gloucester, Saints and Wasps fill the next three slots. Granted Tigers have lost virtually their whole first choice pack but I did not see a whole lot of creativity behind the scrum on Saturday to suggest even the return of Messrs Johnson, Back, Kay etc will turn their season around. Their decline cannot be laid at the feet of Clive Woodward. It could well be the end of an era and as one Tiger supporter suggested that the wheel is starting to gradually turn in the Saints favour. Time will tell but Saturdays victory and Nicks monster drop goal edged it round a touch further.
LOOKING FORWARD
It’s the visit of Gloucester on Saturday Now the boys from Castle Grim (Kingsholm) did the ‘treble’ over us last year with wins both home and away in Zurich Premiership and the Cup Final defeat. To say that we owe them one is somewhat of an understatement but even though Glos are missing the likes of Vickery and Woodman it will still be, as always, a tough and uncompromising battle. No doubt there will be a fair few Shedheads making the journey east to add to the occasion so get there early and shout yourself hoarse.
RENAUD
It was sad to hear that our new signing Renaud Peillard has had to retire from the game after picking up a neck injury so short into to his Saints career. We all wish Renaud and his family well for the future in what must be a devastatingly blow but his plight highlights just what these chaps put on the line for their clubs and countries each week. With this in mind I noticed with some alarm that towards the end of Namibias 142-0 defeat by Australia you could clearly see one of the dog tired Namibian props engaging but not binding at a scrum as he took a breather. Now of course at club and at national level I’m sure the health of the players is paramount, and indeed Renauds injury was just that, an unforeseen accident, but the IRB must seriously look at ending these mismatches at the highest level as it will not only be the scoreboard that is in danger of breaking. Sadly it may take just such an accident before anyone in the ivory towers of the IRB takes notice but the cynic in me says be it Australia v England or Australia v Namibia, they can still sell tickets by the tens of thousand. It makes you wonder if anyone remembers Max Britto?
TOULOUSE LE TREK
While on the subject of players welfare I am sure some of you are aware of the work of the PRA. The Professional Rugby Players Association through its Benevolent Fund helps players who have had to retire from the sport through serious injury and illness. Jarrod Cunningham and our own Andy Blyth have both benefited in recent years. A couple of seasons back a few of us got together and formed The Jimmies End T-Shirt Company (Jetsco) with the aim of supplying small numbers of limited edition shirts with a Saints theme in order to raise money for rugby charities. For the game in Toulouse last season we produced a ‘Toulouse Le Trek’ (geddit?) shirt that you may have seen about. Such was success of the Le Trek shirt with supporters that this week Nick Beal and Jon Phillips will be accepting a cheque from Jetsco for £1000 on the PRA’s behalf. It is intended to run a new design for this years European campaign to raise further funds. I will keep you all posted.
REMEMBER
This Saturday, being the nearest home game to Remembrance Sunday there will be the traditional wreath laying and minutes silence at the Gardens before the reading of those few short lines that say so much ‘When you go home, think of us and say, For your tomorrow, we gave our today.’ Its always a very moving occasion and one of those long held traditions that still makes the Gardens that special. Every year my thoughts go not only to family members lost but to ‘one of our own’, Edgar Mobbs.
Having captained both Saints and England early this century Edgar was denied an officers commission because he was considered too old at 32.
However being a resourceful chap he went away and set up his own battalion, the 7th of the Northamptonshire Regiment more famously known as The Sportsman Battalion as many of its volunteers came from local sporting clubs, including the Saints. Despite being wounded on three separate occasions he always returned to action until the Third Battle of Ypres, known as Passchendaele in 1917. The battle over 400,000 casualties. Colonel Edgar Mobbs was one of them. Attacking a machine gun post that was holding up his infantry he got within thirty yards before he was mown down in a hail of German bullets. Despite his injuries he managed to write down the location of the post before he died, an action that saved many of his men. It was his final act, his body was never found and he still lies where he fell.
So on Saturday when Geoff Allen reads the time honoured tribute just pause and spare a thought for those hundreds of thousands of Edgars from all walks of life that never made it home.
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