Well we can only look for some silver lining in that grey cloud this week as the Saints mini slump continues with Saturday’s 42-13 loss at the 'Wreck' to Bath in the Powergen Cup. But hey, look on the bright side.
You will not have to scramble around to get tickets for your thirty once a year ‘friends and acquaintances’ who only seem to know you when Saints get to a final. You will not have to worry about being stuck on a boiling hot coach on the North Circular for two hours with kick-off rapidly approaching and no sign of Twickers on the horizon. And lastly you will not have to suffer the bitter disappointment of the last two visits to HQ when we were outplayed by Irish and Glos.
Yes your right, I’m clutching at straws. It’s no consolation at all is it? We were getting rather used to our annual jaunt down to Twickenham despite our run of results hoping that one day our luck would change but alas this season it’s not to be.
As Wayne Smith said post match you could not fault the lads effort but our attack, which had up to Saturday scored 24 tries in nine outings, could not unlock a Bath defence that was kept pinned in its twenty two for long periods of the game without breaking. Unfortunately pressure does not win you games, points do, and to add insult to injury Bath broke away to score three times while we were throwing everything at their line.
However it could have been such a different story. At halftime a missed Shane Drahm penalty and a throwaway interception try was all that separated two very evenly matched sides. Had we gone in at the break 9-9 Bruce Reihana’s try after the restart could have been the platform we needed but all credit to Bath they played with a confidence that reflects their league position and they rode out the storm and secured a place in the last eight running away with it at the end. They go into the hat for the last eight while we just have a few free Saturdays to look forward to. But then, there is always Europe…….
CHOO CHOO
Now I don’t know if the BBC are ever planning to do another series of ‘Great Train Journeys of the World’ but if they are can I suggest they consider the Bath to Northampton ‘Von Robson’s Express’ route for one programme? Like a few hundred others I travelled down to the West Country on Saturday on the clubs chartered train and despite a few hiccups, like broken down locomotives and a tour of Birmingham football grounds along the way, our group of eight, including a chap from Canada going to his first game of rugby, thoroughly enjoyed the day (apart from the result of course). Now I understand some suffered on the return route in carriages with no heat or light and were down to their last shared Jaffa cake on reaching Northampton, only good old Dunkirk spirit getting them through the journey. However I’m sure these are problems that the club can iron out with the charter company because it would be a shame to see this initiative fold after just one bad experience. Indeed the only thing missing for me while I lunched on smoke salmon and Alsace beer was views of Mount Fuji and wildebeest wandering down to the waterholes so if anyone from the Beeb is reading this forget Michael Palin and Clive Anderson, give me a call!
LOOKING FORWARD
Saturday sees the visit of Phil Davies’s Leeds side, one of the surprise packages of last season. Despite being most people’s dead certs for relegation after finishing bottom of the pile the previous term, and after Rotherham were denied promotion to the top flight, the Tykes secured fifth place in the table and a place in the Heineken Cup playing some good enterprising rugby. Indeed the Leeds v Saints game up in Yorkshire was Tykes first win over the us since they came into being with the amalgamation of the Headingley and Roundhay clubs in 1991. Davies made some astute signings over the summer in the likes of Phil Christophers and Aaron Persico but he surprisingly let two of last years outstanding players George Harder and Zak Feanauti move on to pastures new and their season has failed to ignite yet. I’m sure most of you remember the 73-35 cup win a couple of seasons back, well I cannot see that happening again but I would take the Saints to get things back on track on home soil to restore the Franklins faith. It will however be interesting to see what effect a little game taking place down under in the morning has on proceedings.
CLIVES MASTERPLAN
So Clive Woodward’s master plan has almost paid off. Fooling the whole rugby world that England had peaked too early and were scraping past teams that would have been considered mere steeping stones pre RWC (and what a convincing job they did) they line up on Saturday against Australia in the World Cup Final. Now all being well three Saints, Wally, Ben and Daws, should be in the starting lineup so there is a lot of local as well as national pride at stake. With a 9:00am kick-off it is going to be a long, long day however the club will be opening the club bars including the ‘Rodbar’ at 8:30 so you can all watch it on the large screens.
For those that can’t make the Gardens there are around 10,000 (and counting) special licences for pubs and clubs up and down the country so you should all be able to see it somewhere if you want to leave the comfort of your own armchair. Everywhere is bound to be busy as the whole of the English nation, and his brother, come out of the woodwork as closet rugby fans this week cheering on ‘Mark Dawson, Len Cohen and Steve Tompkins’ to hopefully victory. Apologies to all our ‘foreign’ readers but C’MON ENGLAND!!!.
XMAS ALREADY
The Saints Supporters Club are holding their 8th Annual Free Christmas Draw on Friday 29th November at 7.30 pm, in the Sturtridge Pavillion. The draw is totally free to all SSC members but fear not all non members can join up on the night. There are plenty of prizes on offer, including a top prize of £200 up for grabs. You must however be there to stand a chance of winning in other words you gotta be in it to win it! The SSC are hoping there may even be a player or two in attendance to dish out the prizes. So be there!
Yes your right, I’m clutching at straws. It’s no consolation at all is it? We were getting rather used to our annual jaunt down to Twickenham despite our run of results hoping that one day our luck would change but alas this season it’s not to be.
As Wayne Smith said post match you could not fault the lads effort but our attack, which had up to Saturday scored 24 tries in nine outings, could not unlock a Bath defence that was kept pinned in its twenty two for long periods of the game without breaking. Unfortunately pressure does not win you games, points do, and to add insult to injury Bath broke away to score three times while we were throwing everything at their line.
However it could have been such a different story. At halftime a missed Shane Drahm penalty and a throwaway interception try was all that separated two very evenly matched sides. Had we gone in at the break 9-9 Bruce Reihana’s try after the restart could have been the platform we needed but all credit to Bath they played with a confidence that reflects their league position and they rode out the storm and secured a place in the last eight running away with it at the end. They go into the hat for the last eight while we just have a few free Saturdays to look forward to. But then, there is always Europe…….
CHOO CHOO
Now I don’t know if the BBC are ever planning to do another series of ‘Great Train Journeys of the World’ but if they are can I suggest they consider the Bath to Northampton ‘Von Robson’s Express’ route for one programme? Like a few hundred others I travelled down to the West Country on Saturday on the clubs chartered train and despite a few hiccups, like broken down locomotives and a tour of Birmingham football grounds along the way, our group of eight, including a chap from Canada going to his first game of rugby, thoroughly enjoyed the day (apart from the result of course). Now I understand some suffered on the return route in carriages with no heat or light and were down to their last shared Jaffa cake on reaching Northampton, only good old Dunkirk spirit getting them through the journey. However I’m sure these are problems that the club can iron out with the charter company because it would be a shame to see this initiative fold after just one bad experience. Indeed the only thing missing for me while I lunched on smoke salmon and Alsace beer was views of Mount Fuji and wildebeest wandering down to the waterholes so if anyone from the Beeb is reading this forget Michael Palin and Clive Anderson, give me a call!
LOOKING FORWARD
Saturday sees the visit of Phil Davies’s Leeds side, one of the surprise packages of last season. Despite being most people’s dead certs for relegation after finishing bottom of the pile the previous term, and after Rotherham were denied promotion to the top flight, the Tykes secured fifth place in the table and a place in the Heineken Cup playing some good enterprising rugby. Indeed the Leeds v Saints game up in Yorkshire was Tykes first win over the us since they came into being with the amalgamation of the Headingley and Roundhay clubs in 1991. Davies made some astute signings over the summer in the likes of Phil Christophers and Aaron Persico but he surprisingly let two of last years outstanding players George Harder and Zak Feanauti move on to pastures new and their season has failed to ignite yet. I’m sure most of you remember the 73-35 cup win a couple of seasons back, well I cannot see that happening again but I would take the Saints to get things back on track on home soil to restore the Franklins faith. It will however be interesting to see what effect a little game taking place down under in the morning has on proceedings.
CLIVES MASTERPLAN
So Clive Woodward’s master plan has almost paid off. Fooling the whole rugby world that England had peaked too early and were scraping past teams that would have been considered mere steeping stones pre RWC (and what a convincing job they did) they line up on Saturday against Australia in the World Cup Final. Now all being well three Saints, Wally, Ben and Daws, should be in the starting lineup so there is a lot of local as well as national pride at stake. With a 9:00am kick-off it is going to be a long, long day however the club will be opening the club bars including the ‘Rodbar’ at 8:30 so you can all watch it on the large screens.
For those that can’t make the Gardens there are around 10,000 (and counting) special licences for pubs and clubs up and down the country so you should all be able to see it somewhere if you want to leave the comfort of your own armchair. Everywhere is bound to be busy as the whole of the English nation, and his brother, come out of the woodwork as closet rugby fans this week cheering on ‘Mark Dawson, Len Cohen and Steve Tompkins’ to hopefully victory. Apologies to all our ‘foreign’ readers but C’MON ENGLAND!!!.
XMAS ALREADY
The Saints Supporters Club are holding their 8th Annual Free Christmas Draw on Friday 29th November at 7.30 pm, in the Sturtridge Pavillion. The draw is totally free to all SSC members but fear not all non members can join up on the night. There are plenty of prizes on offer, including a top prize of £200 up for grabs. You must however be there to stand a chance of winning in other words you gotta be in it to win it! The SSC are hoping there may even be a player or two in attendance to dish out the prizes. So be there!
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