The aim now will be to consolidate that position and with a bit of luck climb higher given the erratic form of Gloucester and London Irish immediately above us. It’s a tall order with just four games left and some matters are pretty much out of our hands but even a top four finish and a championship semi final spot is not outside the realms of possibility given the run in of the two aforementioned clubs. It may be counting chickens a little early but in the topsy turvey world of the GP you just never know. One thing is for sure, now this team has gelled and has built its confidence over the last few months, (still just one defeat in 2006) come next season we will be hitting the ground running and will be a match for anyone.
It’s a break away from the GP this week. Before we take on Bath at the Gardens in two weeks time we have the European Challenge Cup quarter final against Worcester at the same venue this Saturday. The EEC still has high importance. Even given Saints rise to sixth place the winner of this competition rates higher in the criteria for Heineken Cup qualification than ending fifth or sixth in the GP so progress is essential. Worcester have been having an erratic time of it themselves lately. Two weeks ago they hammered champions Wasps at Sixways yet last week lost by a similar margin at lowly Saracens. They are no mugs though and having already sneaked a win at the Gardens this season they will be looking to repeat the feat.
I think on current form though that we will have the edge on them and progress to the semi finals.
Just who our semi opponents will be should we overcome Worcester is open to question. We are due to play the winners of the Gloucester v Brive quarter final away. Given the form of Brive, and the history of French teams not travelling well in Europe I am sure like most of you I had this down as a trip to Kingsholm. However at time of writing it is not clear if Gloucester can fulfil the fixture on Saturday due to an injury crisis that leaves them short of registered players for Europe. Should this be the case, or should the fixture take place and Brive prevail, instead of a journey to darkest Gloucestershire on the weekend of 22nd/23rd of April it could be a trip to the Limousin region of France. Should this be the case I’ll have more details on Brive and how to get there (and hopefully back) for you next week.
After Saturdays game the Saints Supporters Club, with the help of matchday sponsors Mira, have arranged for some post match entertainment in the shape of band The Big City All-Stars in the Rodber Suite from 6:00 till 8:00. All welcome.
EUROPE OR WORLD?
And so to this weeks political rumblings in the game. Further to last weeks report that there are suggestions that both English and French clubs will be boycotting the Heineken Cup after the final in 2007 when the current agreement runs out, French league president Serge Blanco has added further fuel to the fire by suggesting a World Club championship is the way forward. Apart from his own countries clubs Blanco, the chairman of Biarritz, claims he already has the backing of the English and some Super14 sides including the Crusaders. Of course this may just be pie in the sky and may only be a bargaining tool for the French and English clubs to get their own way on a revamped European Cup but it certainly whets the appetite. If it did happen and Saints secured themselves a place in this new competition I am sure no one would turn down the chance to see the the team play a competitive game in the likes of Auckland, Sydney or Cape Town every other year. Now will the supporters club be running a bus?
FRIDAY NIGHT
What a good evening it was on Friday at the Gardens. Although I guess there were a few aching limbs from some of the Old Boys and Legends on Saturday morning the guys put on a great display that was enjoyable to watch. Well done.
Hats off to the Saints Academy and their Leicester counterparts too. In a hard fought game Northampton lads overcame our rivals from down the road. As this was a fund raiser for young player who will never play rugby again I thought the game was a fitting spectacle and in a week where the hierarchy at the RFU were questioning the quality of players at this level a sign that at least at both Saints and Tigers we are heading in the right direction as far as youth is concerned.
And a third and final well done for those that organised the evening and especially the SSC who organised a bucket shake that added a further £2795 to the appeal funds.
AND THANK YOU PETER WALTON
And a huge thank you to Peter Walton. I am sure the Newcastle forwards coach’s comments about certain Saints players living outside the laws of the game were well noted at the club and may well have been pinned on the dressing room wall pre-match. It did make me smile though when ex-Saint Pete said he would be having a word with the referee before the game pointing out our perceived n’er do wells and how he should handle them. Given that the referee was Tony Spreadbury, probably the most experienced of all English referees, I thought it was a bit like me trying to tell Michaelangelo how to paint his kitchen.
On a serious point though, do we really need this in the game. Other sports have only dragged themselves through the mud once the whinger and bleater becomes the norm.
I thought rugby’s answer to Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson had been sacked by Sarries a few weeks ago, we don’t really need anyone in the game to follow his lead
It’s a break away from the GP this week. Before we take on Bath at the Gardens in two weeks time we have the European Challenge Cup quarter final against Worcester at the same venue this Saturday. The EEC still has high importance. Even given Saints rise to sixth place the winner of this competition rates higher in the criteria for Heineken Cup qualification than ending fifth or sixth in the GP so progress is essential. Worcester have been having an erratic time of it themselves lately. Two weeks ago they hammered champions Wasps at Sixways yet last week lost by a similar margin at lowly Saracens. They are no mugs though and having already sneaked a win at the Gardens this season they will be looking to repeat the feat.
I think on current form though that we will have the edge on them and progress to the semi finals.
Just who our semi opponents will be should we overcome Worcester is open to question. We are due to play the winners of the Gloucester v Brive quarter final away. Given the form of Brive, and the history of French teams not travelling well in Europe I am sure like most of you I had this down as a trip to Kingsholm. However at time of writing it is not clear if Gloucester can fulfil the fixture on Saturday due to an injury crisis that leaves them short of registered players for Europe. Should this be the case, or should the fixture take place and Brive prevail, instead of a journey to darkest Gloucestershire on the weekend of 22nd/23rd of April it could be a trip to the Limousin region of France. Should this be the case I’ll have more details on Brive and how to get there (and hopefully back) for you next week.
After Saturdays game the Saints Supporters Club, with the help of matchday sponsors Mira, have arranged for some post match entertainment in the shape of band The Big City All-Stars in the Rodber Suite from 6:00 till 8:00. All welcome.
EUROPE OR WORLD?
And so to this weeks political rumblings in the game. Further to last weeks report that there are suggestions that both English and French clubs will be boycotting the Heineken Cup after the final in 2007 when the current agreement runs out, French league president Serge Blanco has added further fuel to the fire by suggesting a World Club championship is the way forward. Apart from his own countries clubs Blanco, the chairman of Biarritz, claims he already has the backing of the English and some Super14 sides including the Crusaders. Of course this may just be pie in the sky and may only be a bargaining tool for the French and English clubs to get their own way on a revamped European Cup but it certainly whets the appetite. If it did happen and Saints secured themselves a place in this new competition I am sure no one would turn down the chance to see the the team play a competitive game in the likes of Auckland, Sydney or Cape Town every other year. Now will the supporters club be running a bus?
FRIDAY NIGHT
What a good evening it was on Friday at the Gardens. Although I guess there were a few aching limbs from some of the Old Boys and Legends on Saturday morning the guys put on a great display that was enjoyable to watch. Well done.
Hats off to the Saints Academy and their Leicester counterparts too. In a hard fought game Northampton lads overcame our rivals from down the road. As this was a fund raiser for young player who will never play rugby again I thought the game was a fitting spectacle and in a week where the hierarchy at the RFU were questioning the quality of players at this level a sign that at least at both Saints and Tigers we are heading in the right direction as far as youth is concerned.
And a third and final well done for those that organised the evening and especially the SSC who organised a bucket shake that added a further £2795 to the appeal funds.
AND THANK YOU PETER WALTON
And a huge thank you to Peter Walton. I am sure the Newcastle forwards coach’s comments about certain Saints players living outside the laws of the game were well noted at the club and may well have been pinned on the dressing room wall pre-match. It did make me smile though when ex-Saint Pete said he would be having a word with the referee before the game pointing out our perceived n’er do wells and how he should handle them. Given that the referee was Tony Spreadbury, probably the most experienced of all English referees, I thought it was a bit like me trying to tell Michaelangelo how to paint his kitchen.
On a serious point though, do we really need this in the game. Other sports have only dragged themselves through the mud once the whinger and bleater becomes the norm.
I thought rugby’s answer to Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson had been sacked by Sarries a few weeks ago, we don’t really need anyone in the game to follow his lead
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