Well that was certainly a case of after the Lord Mayors Show on Saturday as the Saints turned up at the Stoop in body but not mind or spirit to be taken apart by a Quins side that played well but were flattered by Saints inability to get out of first gear till the final few minutes of the game.
We conceded a couple of well crafted but soft tries and there did not appear to be much shape to our game from the off. Frustratingly when we did make room to spin the ball wide it would be three forwards waiting in the wings rather than our rapier backs who have run in a hatful already this season. All in all a very disappointing afternoon that left you feeling hollow and somewhat depressed aftfer the high expectations following last weeks performance.
Now all this is hopefully down (fingers crossed) to a hangover of the previous two weeks rousing wins over Tigers and Gloucester. Some people’s minds could have been on disciplinary matters both internally and externally that must have disrupted the squad’s week but on Saturday we simply were not even at the races. The mindset looked all wrong and maybe it was the Gloucester shadow still looming large and the lads just found it hard to raise their game both physically and mentally after last weeks heroics.
However consistency is the key if you are going to win any silverware and I’m sure Wayne Smith and his team will be delving deep this week to look for the answers but it must be of some concern that we can play like world beaters with thirteen men one week then barely get out of the starting blocks with a full battalion seven days later. I hope the comment I heard from a fellow Saint on leaving the Stoop, that “We’re just the same old inconsistent Northampton” is proved wrong by seasons end. Time, as always, will tell but lets not hit any panic button yet.
LOOKING AHEAD
Was it just me or did we supporters give a below par performance on Saturday too? Granted, there was not a lot to cheer on the pitch but I thought our efforts after last week were a bit jaded too. I know it’s a bit different in the enclosed cauldron of the Gardens but even at the windswept open stands at the Stoop (where you can’t even see Concorde coming in to land anymore) we could not raise more than the odd muted Oh Wendy, by half time we had even given up on them. However Saturday gives us a chance to put that all right.
This weekend we visit Bath for the second time this season in the Powergen Cup and it is the clubs intention to get 1,000 of us down there for the game at the ‘Wreck’. Smudger and Allan Robson put their heads together after the Gloucester game and agreed the Gold, Black and Green hordes can travel to the West Country on the clubs chartered train (dubbed Von Robson’s Express) at a reduced price of £10 standard and £20 in the posh seats. So its party time all the way and hopefully a bigger party all the way home. Call 01604 581000 for further details.
For those not wanting to let the train take the strain the Saints Supporters Club are running coaches leaving the Gardens (from the VIP car park) at 9am. Adults: £13, Children/Students/OAPs: £8
call Jean Collingwood on 01604 583283 for details.
As for the game itself it would be good to put one over this years surprise Zurich high flyers after the dismal game down there in September when Saints were caught cold from the off. We will of course travel down as underdogs with their confidence sky high after their recent run. We could however just catch them on the hop.
If it is anything like last years cup game down there we are in for a good day out. So no excuses get yourself down there and make some noise. Might just be the day for a Saints smash and grab raid, or should that be a great train robbery?
BLAIR SWANNELL
Im mentioning Edgar Mobbs in the last couple of weeks I have been reminded of another rather more eccentric Saint and dual international who lost his life in the First World War. Blair Swannell was born in Weston Underwood, near Olney in 1876. In eight years between 1896 and 1904 he played 116 games for the Saints scoring 16 tries. He was an ‘uncompromising forward’ and soon came to the notice of selectors for the Lions, touring Australia and New Zealand in 1899 and 1904. He stayed on Down Under and even played a game for Australia against the famous 1905 All Blacks the following year, the same team that played Northampton at the Gardens later that season.
Now why eccentric I here you ask, well it seems, and I quote from a NZ journal of the day “ (Swannell) being a notoriously dirty player, stood apart from everyone else because his personal hygiene left a lot to be desired. His unsavoury play and unusual hygiene, always turning up to club matches in a filthy, once-white sweater, with badges and dates of all countries he represented on it. His prized possession was an also once-white pair of football breeches, which he refused to wash, and which he wore in every match.”
Now despite all this Blair made the rank of Major in the Australian army and led his own company up the Gallopoli beaches. He died in the assault at Bloody Angle and is buried nearby. It was said of him, shortly before the Battle of Gallipoli began, “he realised he would play this game as he had played Rugby football…with his whole heart”
CONSTABLE SPREADERS & LANDER of HMPS
It seems that Tony Spreadbury is maybe the only Englishman appreciated down under during the World Cup. the ‘Australian’ daily paper saying "Spreadbury possessed that familiar stern-but-fair manner you might expect from the local bobby in an episode of All Creatures Great And Small.”
Now this got me thinking what other refs could we shift sideways into the entertainment world. Well of course Ed Morrison is a dead ringer for Father Ted and Tom & Barbara & Jerry & Margot enjoy the Goodliffe (oh come on, think about it). We could even pass our old pal Ashley Rowden off as the housewifes favourite Alan Titchmarsh but theres one image I cannot get out of my mind. Steve Lander as Mr Mckay from Porridge. The facial expressions, manner and over officiousness is almost uncanny.
Now all this is hopefully down (fingers crossed) to a hangover of the previous two weeks rousing wins over Tigers and Gloucester. Some people’s minds could have been on disciplinary matters both internally and externally that must have disrupted the squad’s week but on Saturday we simply were not even at the races. The mindset looked all wrong and maybe it was the Gloucester shadow still looming large and the lads just found it hard to raise their game both physically and mentally after last weeks heroics.
However consistency is the key if you are going to win any silverware and I’m sure Wayne Smith and his team will be delving deep this week to look for the answers but it must be of some concern that we can play like world beaters with thirteen men one week then barely get out of the starting blocks with a full battalion seven days later. I hope the comment I heard from a fellow Saint on leaving the Stoop, that “We’re just the same old inconsistent Northampton” is proved wrong by seasons end. Time, as always, will tell but lets not hit any panic button yet.
LOOKING AHEAD
Was it just me or did we supporters give a below par performance on Saturday too? Granted, there was not a lot to cheer on the pitch but I thought our efforts after last week were a bit jaded too. I know it’s a bit different in the enclosed cauldron of the Gardens but even at the windswept open stands at the Stoop (where you can’t even see Concorde coming in to land anymore) we could not raise more than the odd muted Oh Wendy, by half time we had even given up on them. However Saturday gives us a chance to put that all right.
This weekend we visit Bath for the second time this season in the Powergen Cup and it is the clubs intention to get 1,000 of us down there for the game at the ‘Wreck’. Smudger and Allan Robson put their heads together after the Gloucester game and agreed the Gold, Black and Green hordes can travel to the West Country on the clubs chartered train (dubbed Von Robson’s Express) at a reduced price of £10 standard and £20 in the posh seats. So its party time all the way and hopefully a bigger party all the way home. Call 01604 581000 for further details.
For those not wanting to let the train take the strain the Saints Supporters Club are running coaches leaving the Gardens (from the VIP car park) at 9am. Adults: £13, Children/Students/OAPs: £8
call Jean Collingwood on 01604 583283 for details.
As for the game itself it would be good to put one over this years surprise Zurich high flyers after the dismal game down there in September when Saints were caught cold from the off. We will of course travel down as underdogs with their confidence sky high after their recent run. We could however just catch them on the hop.
If it is anything like last years cup game down there we are in for a good day out. So no excuses get yourself down there and make some noise. Might just be the day for a Saints smash and grab raid, or should that be a great train robbery?
BLAIR SWANNELL
Im mentioning Edgar Mobbs in the last couple of weeks I have been reminded of another rather more eccentric Saint and dual international who lost his life in the First World War. Blair Swannell was born in Weston Underwood, near Olney in 1876. In eight years between 1896 and 1904 he played 116 games for the Saints scoring 16 tries. He was an ‘uncompromising forward’ and soon came to the notice of selectors for the Lions, touring Australia and New Zealand in 1899 and 1904. He stayed on Down Under and even played a game for Australia against the famous 1905 All Blacks the following year, the same team that played Northampton at the Gardens later that season.
Now why eccentric I here you ask, well it seems, and I quote from a NZ journal of the day “ (Swannell) being a notoriously dirty player, stood apart from everyone else because his personal hygiene left a lot to be desired. His unsavoury play and unusual hygiene, always turning up to club matches in a filthy, once-white sweater, with badges and dates of all countries he represented on it. His prized possession was an also once-white pair of football breeches, which he refused to wash, and which he wore in every match.”
Now despite all this Blair made the rank of Major in the Australian army and led his own company up the Gallopoli beaches. He died in the assault at Bloody Angle and is buried nearby. It was said of him, shortly before the Battle of Gallipoli began, “he realised he would play this game as he had played Rugby football…with his whole heart”
CONSTABLE SPREADERS & LANDER of HMPS
It seems that Tony Spreadbury is maybe the only Englishman appreciated down under during the World Cup. the ‘Australian’ daily paper saying "Spreadbury possessed that familiar stern-but-fair manner you might expect from the local bobby in an episode of All Creatures Great And Small.”
Now this got me thinking what other refs could we shift sideways into the entertainment world. Well of course Ed Morrison is a dead ringer for Father Ted and Tom & Barbara & Jerry & Margot enjoy the Goodliffe (oh come on, think about it). We could even pass our old pal Ashley Rowden off as the housewifes favourite Alan Titchmarsh but theres one image I cannot get out of my mind. Steve Lander as Mr Mckay from Porridge. The facial expressions, manner and over officiousness is almost uncanny.
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