Well the holiday is over and after a few barren weeks of competitive Saints rugby its back into the real stuff this weekend as we head into the final furlong of the season with the winning post a trip to Twickenham and the ZP Final just nine weeks away.
Of course there is still a lot of work to be done on the paddock before then but with no other distractions such as Europe, which the other three ‘contenders’ also have to worry about, the Saints have just one aim and that’s to win the Zurich Championship.
Despite what other pundits and wise old heads may say Saints are still up there with a shout as the demolition of Sale before the recent break showed. The fact that pitches are now drying (although you wouldn’t believe it looking out the window today) and firming up can only work in the Saints favour and a return to the fast paced free scoring form of early season could see them going a long way towards a shot at their first domestic title.
With both Bath and Wasps still to play its all in our own hands and it looks like we have an exciting few weeks coming our way starting with the visit of Sarries on Saturday.
JUST LIKE THAT!
So this weekend sees the visit of the Watford branch of the Tommy Cooper Fan Club as Saracens come to town. They seem to have turned a corner of late formwise and were very unlucky not to win the return leg down at Vicarage Road last month. It seems that the signing of Taine Randall has inspired a side that were struggling only a matter of weeks ago and they could be a potential banana skin in Saints title challenge.
However with Rod Kafer currently going on the mother of all shopping sprees with the signings of Sanderson, Vyvyan, Scarborough and potentially Magne its going to be interesting to see what effect this has on morale of this seasons squad, many who may be surplus to requirements at season end. With Chairman Nigel Wray always one of the most vocal when it comes to complaining about a return on his investment in club rugby you get the feeling this recent splashing of the cash may be one last throw of the dice. If it works it works, if it doesn’t then perhaps its time to head off into the sunset.
With no such worries for the Saints, I’m taking the lads to carry on upwards and onwards going into April and to still be in touch Sunday week for that clash with Wasps.
BATH GETTING A LITTLE PARANOID?
So come on, hands up, who has upset Bath? Not content with their supporters casting aspersions about the salary cap on their fans website suggesting that ‘illegal’ payments are made to players and relatives, now their local rag, and I do mean rag, has got in on the act.
Now I do not know why they feel they have to go on the offensive, or who indeed has put them up to it, but the Bath Chronicle it seems has gone for all out war against the Saints in the last couple of weeks. Not only were the potentially libellous accusations made concerning Saints terms of employment but their lead rugby journalist has this week carried on an ongoing tirade against Saints ticketing policy.
Now on the face of it looks like people at the two clubs have been talking at cross purposes with Saints offering 500 tickets to Bath back in September, Bath saying no thanks, then saying yes please five months later. By then of course with the game getting close Saints had sold some of the allocation Bath had turned down but still offered 150 to the West Country club. Bath now peeved said no again and went to their local paper with the story.
Now by the time it gets to the pages of the Bath Chron the Saints are the very devils themselves who by hook and by crook they have gone out of the way to deprive, and I quote “the best travelling fans in the country” that are “worth an extra man” from seeing their club at the Gardens.
Strange then that the Bath only sold 86, yes eighty-six, tickets for the corresponding game last year. Of course a cynic might suggest its all part of a wider plan and a bit of siege mentality would not go amiss at this time of the season for certain clubs who are up there to be toppled, but I couldn’t possibly comment but I do know sullying the name of our good club in the process may have exactly the opposite effect.
JP QUIZ NIGHT
Well a good night was had by all at the Quiz Night held as part of Jon Phillips’s Testimonial Year a couple of Fridays back. Around 350 people turned up on the night to honour one of the Gardens finest with nearly sixty teams doing battle. There was a fair smattering of players both old and new alongside some of the coaching staff including Wayne Smith. Even the Chairman and his wife attended with Uncle Keith and Auntie Maggie joining the Cardiac Club team.
At the end of the night over £1100 had been raised towards JPs fund and it is hoped the night will become a regular feature in coming years. Despite valiant efforts from guest teams from Sarries, Tigers, Wasps and Quins a local team triumphed in the end but the anorak of the night was definitely Large, a Sarries fan known to most, who managed to name each and every station on the Northern Line to win the individual round.
Secretly I think he is a bit of a trainspotter, but then I expect it beats watching his team on a wet Sunday in Watford. Big thanks must go to the organisers, Paul Flatt and Phil ‘Maverick’ Hollis (not Dickens) for a most enjoyable night.
HAIL THE WANDERERS
Well done to the Wanderers who secured the Northern section of the Zurich A League on Monday night by beating the auld enemy up at Welford Road, giving us a first and second team double over the Tigers this season.
I have only managed to make a couple of games this season but if you have got the time it’s a good night out away from the box and I am sure in seasons to come this league will rise in popularity.
The Wanderers now await the winners of the southern section, where Quins currently hold sway, to see who will reign supreme as kings of the second strings.
Despite what other pundits and wise old heads may say Saints are still up there with a shout as the demolition of Sale before the recent break showed. The fact that pitches are now drying (although you wouldn’t believe it looking out the window today) and firming up can only work in the Saints favour and a return to the fast paced free scoring form of early season could see them going a long way towards a shot at their first domestic title.
With both Bath and Wasps still to play its all in our own hands and it looks like we have an exciting few weeks coming our way starting with the visit of Sarries on Saturday.
JUST LIKE THAT!
So this weekend sees the visit of the Watford branch of the Tommy Cooper Fan Club as Saracens come to town. They seem to have turned a corner of late formwise and were very unlucky not to win the return leg down at Vicarage Road last month. It seems that the signing of Taine Randall has inspired a side that were struggling only a matter of weeks ago and they could be a potential banana skin in Saints title challenge.
However with Rod Kafer currently going on the mother of all shopping sprees with the signings of Sanderson, Vyvyan, Scarborough and potentially Magne its going to be interesting to see what effect this has on morale of this seasons squad, many who may be surplus to requirements at season end. With Chairman Nigel Wray always one of the most vocal when it comes to complaining about a return on his investment in club rugby you get the feeling this recent splashing of the cash may be one last throw of the dice. If it works it works, if it doesn’t then perhaps its time to head off into the sunset.
With no such worries for the Saints, I’m taking the lads to carry on upwards and onwards going into April and to still be in touch Sunday week for that clash with Wasps.
BATH GETTING A LITTLE PARANOID?
So come on, hands up, who has upset Bath? Not content with their supporters casting aspersions about the salary cap on their fans website suggesting that ‘illegal’ payments are made to players and relatives, now their local rag, and I do mean rag, has got in on the act.
Now I do not know why they feel they have to go on the offensive, or who indeed has put them up to it, but the Bath Chronicle it seems has gone for all out war against the Saints in the last couple of weeks. Not only were the potentially libellous accusations made concerning Saints terms of employment but their lead rugby journalist has this week carried on an ongoing tirade against Saints ticketing policy.
Now on the face of it looks like people at the two clubs have been talking at cross purposes with Saints offering 500 tickets to Bath back in September, Bath saying no thanks, then saying yes please five months later. By then of course with the game getting close Saints had sold some of the allocation Bath had turned down but still offered 150 to the West Country club. Bath now peeved said no again and went to their local paper with the story.
Now by the time it gets to the pages of the Bath Chron the Saints are the very devils themselves who by hook and by crook they have gone out of the way to deprive, and I quote “the best travelling fans in the country” that are “worth an extra man” from seeing their club at the Gardens.
Strange then that the Bath only sold 86, yes eighty-six, tickets for the corresponding game last year. Of course a cynic might suggest its all part of a wider plan and a bit of siege mentality would not go amiss at this time of the season for certain clubs who are up there to be toppled, but I couldn’t possibly comment but I do know sullying the name of our good club in the process may have exactly the opposite effect.
JP QUIZ NIGHT
Well a good night was had by all at the Quiz Night held as part of Jon Phillips’s Testimonial Year a couple of Fridays back. Around 350 people turned up on the night to honour one of the Gardens finest with nearly sixty teams doing battle. There was a fair smattering of players both old and new alongside some of the coaching staff including Wayne Smith. Even the Chairman and his wife attended with Uncle Keith and Auntie Maggie joining the Cardiac Club team.
At the end of the night over £1100 had been raised towards JPs fund and it is hoped the night will become a regular feature in coming years. Despite valiant efforts from guest teams from Sarries, Tigers, Wasps and Quins a local team triumphed in the end but the anorak of the night was definitely Large, a Sarries fan known to most, who managed to name each and every station on the Northern Line to win the individual round.
Secretly I think he is a bit of a trainspotter, but then I expect it beats watching his team on a wet Sunday in Watford. Big thanks must go to the organisers, Paul Flatt and Phil ‘Maverick’ Hollis (not Dickens) for a most enjoyable night.
HAIL THE WANDERERS
Well done to the Wanderers who secured the Northern section of the Zurich A League on Monday night by beating the auld enemy up at Welford Road, giving us a first and second team double over the Tigers this season.
I have only managed to make a couple of games this season but if you have got the time it’s a good night out away from the box and I am sure in seasons to come this league will rise in popularity.
The Wanderers now await the winners of the southern section, where Quins currently hold sway, to see who will reign supreme as kings of the second strings.
