February 23 2006

Northampton Saints - Thoughts from the Chron
By Chris Gleadell
February 23 2006

Another win for the Saints on Saturday at the Gardens and what a victory it was. The game against Saracens looked like a potential banana skin before the off but once we lulled them into a false sense of security by giving them a ten point start it was Gold, Black and Green non-stop traffic.

For the next hour or so the lads rattled up eight tries and 58 points in one of the best displays we have seen from a Saints side in the last few years, if ever. It was a display that had always looked like being on the cards over the last few weeks and on Saturday it all slotted into place.

The record books will show Sean Lamont had the highest points tally with his four tries but I am sure the moment of the game that will live longest in the memory was the sublime bit of wizardry from Maestro Spencer that almost resulted in what would have surely been the Guinness Premierships try of the season, if not decade, century, millennia. For those of you that have not seen it, and a reminder for those that have, Carlos took a Chris Budgen pass that was high and behind him which left the New Zealander facing our posts deep in our half. Now usually that would mean a short pass back to a supporting player but no, not for Carlos. Instead there was an audacious backward flick over his head with his boot, a spin on a sixpence then an incredible taking of the ball after a single bounce in one hand then a popped pass inside to Sharky Robinson.

Unfortunately after the ball was quickly sent to the wing via Steve Thompson it was knocked from Ben Cohen’s grasp as he was about to go over in the corner. The try would have been a fitting reward for those few seconds of Kiwi magic, it wasn’t to be but when most of what the Saints XV did attempt did reap rewards over the afternoon it would be churlish to complain, it was worth the admission price alone.

So while it was the backs who were weaving all the magic a special mention has to go to the forwards. After the game at Vicarage Road earlier this season where the Sarries pack strangled the life out of the game there was always a danger that the same could happen again especially given what the Watford based team had done to Bath in the second half the previous week. Our lads did not let them settle though and harried the likes of Yates and the cornerstone Visagie all afternoon. The lineout was assured and the back row of Paul Tupai, Dan Browne and Sam Harding all over the shop not letting their opposite numbers get a look in. On this platform the game was won and not tempting fate, it really does look like the Saints are back.

ON TO IRISH

The good work can continue at the ‘Madstad’ Reading on Sunday when the Saints travel south for an early 1:00pm kick off against London Irish. The Exiles are having one of their best seasons for the last few years. They currently sit fifth just three points off a Championship semi final spot but as always (and I write this each and every season) you never quite know which London Irish is going to turn up. It must be very frustrating for their support, and lord knows after last season we know all about that, but it must be irritating seeing your team win at places like Gloucester one week then lose to lowly Newcastle at home the next. Having said that a look at the stats shows they have won only three of their seven home games in the GP this season and given that in all competitions the Saints have won seven of the nine games they have played at the Madejski getting something out of this game is certainly attainable, especially given last weeks form. Could we pull off the win and Leeds, who pushed table toppers Sale so close last week, defeat Worcester then we will be in a top six spot and that elusive Heineken Cup spot that little bit closer. Not counting any chickens yet but things are starting to get that little bit more interesting in outlook this season.

BUDGE ON THE LINE

I am sure a few of you reading this will have got the telephone call from Budge Pountney one evening last week. Like most I was slightly taken about to pick up the phone and hear ‘Hello Budge Pountney from the Saints here’. My first thought was, whoops, what on earth did I put in the paper last week that has caused the head honcho to ring me and complain and it took me a second or two trying to get a word in edgeways about how I even liked the music now though I’m still not happy about the bars shutting at Christmas before I realised it was a recorded message reminding me I had not ordered my ticket for the European quarter final. A good move by the club, like a few others it had completely escaped my mind about purchasing for the game. Two points, the club could have saved themselves a few quid if they had a comprehensive database of the many thousand of us now on email, perhaps we could register through the clubs website or something, and Budge if you’re reading this can you call my Dad in August and remind him of his wedding anniversary?

SIX NATIONS

It is Six Nations time again this weekend and the chance to Ben Cohen and Sean Lamont come face to face in the Calcutta Cup game in Edinburgh on Saturday. Being an Englishman I’m hoping ‘Monty’ has a quieter weekend than he had last week.
It was good to see Jon Clarke get a call to the full squad this week. Despite earlier reservations about his lack of experience in his new position and believing he should be given time to develop his continued improving form really deserves the call. Well done Jon.

February 17 2006

Northampton Saints - Thoughts from the Chron
By Chris Gleadell
February 17 2006

Whatever your point of view, whether you thought it was two points gained or two points lost on Sunday at the Causeway, it was still a great result for the lads and one I’m sure we would have taken with both hands had we been offered it earlier this season.

But as someone remarked this week, perhaps it shows a mark of our gradual improvement over the season that some people were a tad disappointed that the win was not in the bag even though we can now lose the ‘Lost’ prefix on Lost Causeway.

Given what we had been hearing all week from south Bucks, about how the Wasps team had been decimated by international calls, by the time the whistle blew the comparable difference in how each team had indeed been affected was slim. So all in all a very good result for the team and one they can build on for the visit of Sarries to the Gardens on Saturday.

We can only hope that the Fezheads from Watford play like their first half performance against Bath last Sunday rather than the second. Bath had the try bonus point secured on the half hour and at 31-3 up were cruising to a hefty win. Whatever they put in the halftime tea at Vicarage Road did the trick, well almost, as Sarries hit back and not only gained two bonus points (one for four tries, and one for being with seven points) but almost stole the game the final whistle saving Bath at 29-34. It was notable that two of Saracens scores were penalty tries and it looks as if in the second period they reverted to the type of game that secured them the points in the more than dull encounter against Saints earlier this season. It could well be maul, maul then maul some more if they get their hands on the ball.

Lets hope on Saturday we have an official who refs both aspects of that maul, both attack and defence, evenly, rather than what we saw at Vicarage Road where Saints were penalised for coming in at the sides yet the attackers were joining in at all kinds of angles. But then again who knows we might just see the totally legal tactic the Italians tried against England at the weekend with the defence not engaging and someone running round the back of the ‘maul’ and tackling the person with the ball. It might be worth a try but it would be a brave referee that lets you do it all afternoon, legal or not but then anything might be worth a try to stop the opposition strangling the life out the game.

Having said that though our pack is still improving week on week and with the addition of the likes of Paul Tupai have become a bit more streetwise than perhaps we were and at our best certainly a match for the Sarries eight. Behind the scrum, though Sarries have undoubted talent including the mercurial Thomas Castaignede, they have been a little blunt this season and I’m taking our backline, ably assisted by the forwards, to secure the game for us and move us nearer the top six.

THE SSC GOES WWW

There’s a new Saints presence on the World Wide Web this month with the Saints Supporters Club launching their own website. The site, which can be found at www.saintssupportersclub.com has details of various SSC activities including info on upcoming functions, a chance to buy SSC branded merchandise, travel details, the latest newsletter and even an online form to join the SSC if you are not a member yet. On the subject of travel the Supporters Club will be running coaches to London Irish, on Sunday 26th February, they will be leaving Franklin’s Gardens at 9:30am. The prices are: Adults: £12 Children/Students/OAPs: £7 To book places on the SSC coaches, please call their NEW number: 01604 751742, with your name, telephone number and the number of seats. Or you can book seats, by texting 07771918245 with your name, the number of seats & the match.

CLOCKING OFF

I see that yet again there was trouble with the official timekeeping on Sunday. After our game against Leeds, where everyone could clearly see the countdown clock ticking on after referee Tony Spreadbury had signaled time off, the same thing happened at the Causeway on Sunday. When the clocks were late in arriving at the start of the season we were told it was because technical glitches were being ironed out so it was somewhat surprising to find that the clocks are not directly controlled by the referees themselves but a separate timekeeper who turns the clock on and off on signal from the referee, exactly how ‘technical is that?.

Simple as it sounds though it is just not working. Whether it is misinterpretation between these two officials or plain human nature the referees watch and the countdown clock are clearly not in sync and this could potentially cause all kinds of problems and accusations of misuse once push comes to shove at season end when clubs Guinness Premiership future or Heineken Cup qualification are at stake. Is it just me or wouldn’t a far simply solution be, especially in these days of mobile technology, to have referee and countdown clock directly linked so that when he stops the clock stops. He only has to glance at the main clock to see all is well rather than rely on a third party, or is that too simple?

ALL RUGBIED OUT

Can you have too much of a good thing? There was some talk a while back about rugby not getting fair coverage on our TV screens, well Saturday was certainly the opposite. Rising early I watched Crusaders v Highlanders then Reds v Waratahs in the Super14. An hours break then it was the first half of France v Ireland before going to watch my local club, Milton Keynes play Gosford, prior to going to the pub to watch Italy v England. You might call me a glutton for punishment and by the end of the day I was truly all rugbied out. However I’ll look forward to doing exactly the same the week after next.

February 2 2006

Northampton Saints - Thoughts from the Chron
By Chris Gleadell
February 2 2006

Well there goes the month of January for the Saints and for the first time in a long while a month with a 100% playing record, or as ‘Monty Masters’ a fan with an 'alternative' view of things on ComeOnYouSaints.Com said, played four, won five (including Viadana), you can’t get much better than that.

The closeness of Saturdays score probably was not a fair reflection on the game itself. We dominated possession and territory in the first half allowing Leeds to enter our half on only a handful of occasions. However on three of those visits they came away with points and the lads must have been kicking themselves at halftime with just two scores from Sean Lamont and man of the match Jon Clarke to show for their efforts.

The second half started in pretty much the same vein until Justin Marshall, the key to a lot of what Leeds were doing well, took exception to a clattering tackle from Ben Cohen and set about rearranging Bens face with a couple of sharp punches. With Marshall given a yellow and ten minutes rest when probably a red would have been more the order of the day the Saints upped it another notch but still could not get the ball over the whitewash. As the game wore on Leeds came back into it and after a flurry of personnel changes Saints seemed to momentarily lose their shape and purpose allowing Leeds back in with a late score. Luckily Bruce, with a late, late penalty, saved the day but it could well have been one of those ‘Saints grab defeat from the jaws of victory’ headlines in Monday nights Chron.

But the potential banana skin was avoided and Saints gradually start the climb skywards. The Guinness Premiership table makes interesting reading. Saints now lie in ninth place but are nearer a potential Heineken Cup spot in five or sixth than they are the relegation trapdoor in twelfth. There is of course a lot of rugby still to be played yet and a few more twists and turns but we are certainly in much better shape than we were a few weeks back and once the drier tracks come into play come season end we could be a match for anyone. Before then lady luck might just have dealt us a good hand in the fixtures with a visit to Wasps a week on Sunday.

The players, those not involved in the Six Nations, have the weekend off before we look to the trip to High Wycombe. Whilst we will lose Ben, Wally, Sean Lamont and Jon Clarke to international duty Wasps are in danger of losing a whole rake of their team. Whilst they do have good strength in depth the likes of Dallaglio, Lewsey and Dawson will be sorely missed and maybe, just maybe we are in with a very good chance to finally beating that ‘Lost’ Causeway hoodoo. At a place where not many teams get a look in it could be an unexpected bonus getting something out of this game.

FRANCE

I’m sure, by the wonders of satellite television, some of you saw the conditions that the French Top14 games were played in last weekend. Some games could not take place at all due to snow, even coastal Narbonne having a foot of the white stuff on their pitch. Nearby Perpignan were not to be beaten, they opted for a bulldozer to clear their pitch, leaving not only a mudbath but tire tracks everywhere (I’m sure Piggy Powell was mightily impressed?). In the post match analysis there was talk of a fixture pileup elsewhere and the pressure to play such games but the French being the French just shrugged their shoulders and got on with it any way they could, even if it did mean reducing their hallowed turf to a quagmire. It has to be said the Biarritz & Perpignan players really looked like they enjoyed the game, even ending it in a mudfight to get those who still had a patch of clean linen showing completely muddied. This got me thinking, whilst over here we hear about player burnout, there being too many games and the national union seeing central contracts as the only way to protect players as the way forward, why don’t we hear the same from France where they play a comparable amount of games and go to such extremes to play them?

If you take that argument a step further, we also hear from some coaches at national and club level, Rob Andrew said it again this very week, the fear of relegation is affecting the way some clubs play, choosing a stilted 10 man game over the expansive game the likes of which the Saints are trying to develop such is the fear of relegation. That in turn affects how England plays.

Tell that to the French, they have a 14 team top division in which three are relegated either directly or via playoffs. Does it affect their flair or the way the national side plays? No of course not and if I was a betting man I’d be putting my money on France to win this years Grand Slam. So on the face of it, it seems one country is close to getting it right whilst another is still just looking for the next excuse or scapegoat and until us English get over that there will be little chance of hitting the heights like we did in 2003.

SIX NATIONS

So with no Saints game this week I’ve been lucky enough to get a ticket for England's opening Six Nations game against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.
A while back there was a discussion on a New Zealand website (thesilverfern.com)
about the relative merits and quality of the 6N. In reply a French chap, a supporter of Castres, now resident in Ireland wrote the following which in my mind sums up what it’s all about.
“It's not about the teams you play, it's about tradition.
It's about Underwood diving in the corner, Thornburn tears and Castaignede's drop goal. It's about O'Driscoll dummies and Jeffrey's bloodied jersey.
It's about grand slams and Calcutta cups, triple crowns and wooden spoons.
It's about national anthems being sung by 80.000 people as one, from the top of their lungs. It's about some fields in Athenry, some flowers in Scotland and swinging chariots.
It's about the fervour of Cardiff and the barbecues of Twickenham, the train station at Lansdowne road and the sunshine of Flaminio. It's about the berets of St-Denis and the kilts of Murrayfield.
It's about goats and cockerels on the side of the pitch and St George crosses everywhere in the stands. It's about thistles, roses, shamrocks, leeks and daffodils.
It's about 93 years of blood, sweat and tears.
It's about Pride.”

I’ll drink to that!