Saints 57 - Wasps 10

Nice to get back to winning.  Although Wasps were fairly dire so this is not really a true indication for the next few weeks.  But 8 tries to 1 (which was illegal anyway but we will let that pass) made braving the rather bitter weather worth it.

The Saints are now in the LV semi-final with a home game against the Scarlets.  Revenge or a repeat humilation, which will it be.

Half Time 22-3

Attendance 12,128

Referee Dean Richards

 MOM Christian Day

Northampton Saints

No.	Name	T	C	D	P
15	Paul Diggin
14	Jamie Elliott	2T
13	George Pisi
12	James Downey
11	Noah Cato	2T
10	Stephen Myler		7C		1P
9	Martin Roberts
1	Soane Tongauiha
2	Andy Long	1T
3	Brian Mujati
4	James Craig	1T
5	Christian Day
6	Calum Clark
7	Ben Nutley
8	Roger Wilson
16	Mike Haywood
17	Alex Waller	1T
18	Tom Mercey
19	Mark Sorenson
20	Samu Manoa
21	Ryan Glynn
22	Tom May
23	Vasily Artemyev

London Wasps

No.	Name	T	C	D	P
15	Hugo Southwell
14	Lee Robinson
13	Alex Cheesman
12	Chris Mayor
11	Richard Haughton
10	Will Robinson		1C		1P
9	Charlie Davies
1	Tim Payne
2	Nathan Morris
3	Ben Broster
4	Heinz Koll
5	Ed O'Donoghue
6	Tinus du Plessis
7	Matt Everard
8	Victor Gresev
16	Vladislav Korshunov
17	Bob Baker
18	Simon McIntyre
19	Joe Burton
20	Sam Jones
21	Joe Simpson	1T
22	Nicky Robinson
23	Charlie Ingall

Two Different Games, Two Similar Results

Bad times for the Saints. Two very different games a week apart, but between them shipping over 90 points. The defensive machine has fallen and no-one is entirely sure why.

The first of these matches was against Munster and it was the last pool game of the Heineken. We had already messed up the Heineken and wouldn't be going through but, as well as pride, there was the chance to drop into the Amlin. So not a dead rubber.

Munster played their best game this season. But that doesn't tell the whole story. The Saints just didn't really get going. Whenever they made progress then they rapidly shipped points from poor restarts. Was it the disruption of playing a home match in Milton Keynes, something that had caused an awful lot of angst amongst the fans. Was it the antics of Flash and his move to Saracens announced during the week leading to him storming off the training pitch a few days earlier. Was it ten players with their eyes on the England shirt. Whatever it was, the end result was ugly. The Saints scored over 30 points, normally enough to win a match but gar away even more. In the last 5 matches the opposition only crossed the try line 3 times, in this match Munster crossed 5 times. A remarkable transformation.

Which brings us to the second match. LV Cup this time. The LV is still a possible route for us to get to the Heineken next season. So some consternation when a young team was picked to play an almost full strength Bath side. And it was as painful as we feared. Lacking Dicko to marshal the forces and all the rest of the Englamd call ups to provide stability, there was a lack of game management that Bath were able to capitalise on.

Still wearing the shirt, still a Saint, but a tough week at the office!

Scarlets 17 - Saints 29

The Heineken has not been a good hunting ground for us this year, and the Scarlets especailly wounded us when they came to Franklins Gardens.  This was an opportunity for revenge and pride, although there is still a possibility of getting into the Amlin Cup.

The first half was a disaster.  Within two minutes of kick off Tom May had been shown a yellow card.  Exactly how warranted that was may be a matter of debate.  Certainly he acted petulantly, throwing the ball in the face of the oppostion after the whistle had been blown, but with no warning and much worse being seen in matches (including later in this one) with no action then it could have been considered harsh.  The Saints failed to take this warning to heart though and throughout the first half continues to upset the ref, even getting a penalty reversed against them at one point.  And when playing the ref like that it becomes difficult to play the opposition.  Rolland had a poor game all told though, giving many warnings, final warnings, final final warnings, and final final final warnings.  He never really got the game under control and it all ended up very scrappy, not an enjoyable match to watch.

Tom May being sent off seemed to galvanise the team however, learning from earlier in the season, and they had the majority of the possession to begin with.  This couldn't be converted in to points and, in almost a role reversal of last weeks match against the Quins, it was the Scarlets who managed to get the first points on the board during a rare passage of play in the Saints half.  In fact Priestland was to get a second penalty shortly after and within the first quarter of an hour the Saints were trailing 6-0.  A couple more penalties were exchanged and then the game broke open with Priestland giving a fine chip for his wing to collect and dot down for the try.  The Saints were looking at risk of falling off this one and, with only one more penalty for Smyler before half time, it was clear that the game plan needed to be changed.

Don't make as many silly mistakes, don't annoy the ref, and use the scrum.  Three basic rules that, when the Saints follow them, usually spell success.  And five minutes after the restart, sure enough sticking to these rules saw Tiny slam the ball down over the try line.  It had to go to the TMO but the try was awarded and the Saints looked like they might be finding the route back into the game.  Some more penalties from Smyler and it was looking good for the Saints.

Then something happened.  Exactly what is unclear.  Was it the Scarlets bringing on Stephen Jones, was it them replacing their front row?  Whatever it was, one moment the Saints were down on the Scarlets line looking confident of scoring and then the next, with eight minutes left, the Sacrlets upped the tempo and sddenly the Saints were on the back foot again.  The Scarlets were down camped right on the Saints line and they weren't going to let up their position.  However the Saints weren't going to let their defence down either.  Time after time the Scarlets came for the line, time after time the Saints repelled them.  Massive tackles from Samu and Easy, Fodes everywhere on the pitch making those try saving tackles.  It was intense.  And gradually the Scarlets got more an more frustrated.

Smyler got Man of the Match.  While some of his tactical play in the first half may not have been perfect, a 100% success from the kicking tee was a great result and he deserved the accolade.

Match Details

• Half Time 14-6
• Attendance 9,869
• Referee Alain Rolland
• MoM Smyler

Scarlets

No.	Name	T	C	D	P
15	Liam Williams
14	George North
13	Scott Williams
12	Jonathan Davies
11	Viliami Iongi	1T
10	Rhys Priestland				4P
9	Gareth Davies
1	Iestyn Thomas
2	Matthew Rees
3	Deacon Manu
4	Lou Reed
5	Dominic Day
6	Aaron Shingler
7	Rob McCusker
8	Ben Morgan
16	Ken Owens
17	Phil John
18	Rhodri Jones
19	Josh Turnbull
20	Jonathan Edwards
21	Rhodri Williams
22	Stephen Jones
23	Gareth Maule

Northampton Saints

No.	Name	T	C	D	P
15	Ben Foden	1T
14	Chris Ashton
13	George Pisi
12	Tom May
11	Vasily Artemyev
10	Stephen Myler		1C		5P
9	Martin Roberts
1	Soane Tongauiha	1T
2	Dylan Hartley
3	Brian Mujati
4	Samu Manoa
5	Mark Sorenson
6	Calum Clark
7	Phil Dowson
8	Roger Wilson
16	Mike Haywood
17	Alex Waller
18	Paul Doran-Jones
19	Christian Day
20	Ben Nutley
21	Lee Dickson
22	Ryan Lamb		1C
23	Scott Armstrong

Saints 24 - Quins 3

So I'm getting a bit behind with writing these up, which after such a good match is a shame.  Finally the Saints put in a full 80 minutes, and it really showed, taking apart the Premiership leaders and dominating the match throughout, apart from a ten minute period at the beginning of each half.

2011 had ended well for the Siants, while the Quins had shown a bit of a wobble.  But all Saints fans will be aware that it was the Quins who broke us at home this time last year and started a bad run of form.  How would we face up to them this year?  The whistle went, with another full crowd at the Gardens, and you could feel the anticipation in the air.  Friday night matches aren't everyones favourite but I like them, and was pleased to ahve managed to get back from London in time.  But to begin with I wondered why, as the Saints only had possession for 35 seconds in that first 10 minutes, that's right 35 seconds.  This was not the start we were hoping for.  Despite this though the Saints defence held up and with the first foray into the Quins 22 we got a penalty which Lamby slotted over.  Despite an unbelievable level of possession, the Quins were behind.

Next step in the right direction came from the Saints scrum.  They repeatedly put pressure on the Quins right on the try line and finally Dave Pearson snapped, hand in pocket and Nick Easter was seeing a yellow.  While the good position couldn't be translated into a try, Lamby then knocked over a lovely drop goal.  More points on the board.  Number advantage was to tell further as the Saints again entered the Quins 22.  A pass to Lamby saw him juggling the ball for a moment, causing everyone to take a sharp intake of breath, before he gathered it enough to pass to Fodes.  This set up a quick battle of the England full backs, Fodes racing for the line and Mike Brown closing in on him.  A smart hand off from Fodes saw him get the better of the exchange and he was over for the try.  2 more penalties to Lamby and one to the Quins and the first half was over.

Again the Quins started the better of the two teams and heaped the pressure on the Saints.  While the defence held strong a few penalties were given away but twice the Quins missed their opportunities to get more points and the kicks failed to go between the uprights.  At 56 minutes the Saints came back with another try from Sarge and everyone thought the game was done and dusted.  Until two minutes later Sorenson was given a yellow for entering a ruck from the side.  Unlike earlier in the season the Saints did not panic or get frustrated and clung to the motto "they shall not pass".  Excellent defence meant that the Quins could not get any more points.  An exciting game came to a close with the Saints clear victors, and man of the match went to Samu Manoa who, along with Easy, was putting in immense tackles to stop any advance from the Quins.

Match Details

• Half Time 17-3
• Attendance 13,459
• Referee Dave Pearson
• MoM Samu Manoa

Northampton Saints

No.	Name	T	C	D	P
15	Ben Foden	1T
14	Chris Ashton
13	George Pisi
12	James Downey
11	Noah Cato
10	Ryan Lamb		1C	1D	3P
9	Lee Dickson
1	Soane Tongauiha
2	Dylan Hartley
3	Paul Doran-Jones
4	Samu Manoa
5	Mark Sorenson
6	Phil Dowson
7	Tom Wood
8	Roger Wilson	1T
16	Mike Haywood
17	Alex Waller
18	Brian Mujati
19	Christian Day
20	Ben Nutley
21	Martin Roberts
22	Stephen Myler
23	Tom May

Harlequins

No.	Name	T	C	D	P
15	Mike Brown
14	Tom Williams
13	Matt Hopper
12	Jordan Turner-Hall
11	Ugo Monye
10	Rory Clegg				1P
9	Daniel Care
1	Joe Marler
2	Chris Brooker
3	James Johnston
4	Ollie Kohn
5	George Robson
6	Chris Robshaw
7	Luke Wallace
8	Nick Easter
16	Joe Gray
17	Mark Lambert
18	Tim Fairbrother

19	Tomas Vallejos-Cinalli
20	Tom Guest
21	Richard Bolt
22	Benjamin Urdapilleta
23	Sam Smith

FALCONS 14 SAINTS 32

We haven't made as many away matches this year.  Couple of reasons behind that.  But when we saw the New Year game was at the Falcons, and with the thought that they are looking likely for relegation so this might be a limited opportunity to visit their ground, it seemed that a trip was needed.  We did have a minor problem when they changed the date from New Years Day to New Years Eve, but I sweet talked the hotel to changing the nigh of our booking (and also got upgraded, thank you Novotel).  We drove up and arrived in good time, giving us a chance to pop into the club shop and buy our pin badges then go on to a local pub (Two Farms) which served very good food, good beer, and had good company of a mixture of both Falcons and Saints supporters.  Then to the match.

The first half was error strewn by the Saints.  Despite opening the scoring with a try in the 9th minute, scored by Fodes touching down a loveley grubber kick from Easy, the Saints continued to make heavy going.  Especially when they let the falcons in for a try.  At half time it still felt that it could go either way.  Then when Jimmy Gopperth kicked over another penalty I was seriously concerned.  However the next score came from Fodes, this time after a grubber kick from Lamby.  The Saints heads were up and they pushed on.  Literally, with Tiny being driven over for the next try.  Three tries in and the Saints were now looking comfortable.

Tom May wrapped up the bonus point with the fourth try within a minute of coming on, finally capitalising on some nice work between Fodes and Vaseline.  He got some stick from the Falcons crowd, and not all of it good natured, surprising when considering all that he did for the club.  He was genuinely upset but I am pleased to say many supporters have apologised to him.

Saints 22 - Bath 13

The Saints continue to be a confusing mix of moments of brilliance surrounded by mistakes.  And this was the second game where we scored three tries in the first half and then failed to score another to get the bonus point.  A win is a win as they say, but a bonus point may be critical at the end of the season with so many teams clumped together in the middle of the table.

It wasn't as though the opportunities for a fourth try didn't exist.  The most glaring being a fantastic break and run by James Downey.  With both Fodes and Jamie Elliott outside him, Downey was clearly confused by the wide open spaces in front of him.  He is a crash ball man, he isn't used to having to pass.  And so he didn't.  A clear overlap and guaranteed try was swallowed up by a tackle and the ball was lost.

Going down to 13 men didn't help either.  Another match where the ref had a big impact, with four yellow cards being given, first off were two to Bath - during the first one the Saints actually managed to get 10 points, somewhat unusual for the Saints managing to capitalise on a man advantage - and then two in quick succession against the Saints meaning that for about 9 minutes we only had two men on the pitch.  The Saints defence during this stage was incredible, and a large part of the time was actually spent camped on the Bath try line.

Pisi was a derserving man of the match.  Once again he showed a great sidestep, after catching a neat chip from Lamby, to open up the Bath defence and a deft offload to Woody saw the number 7 go in for a straight forward try.  In addition, Easy's defence was a rock, with some immense tackles put in.  Put Easy and Courtney on the pitch at the same time and the opposition know that they are going to be hammered.

It was good to see both Sarge and Dowse back - injury and suspension respectively - and they showed that they were hungry to make an impact.  Vaseline again had a solid game, catching high ball, tackling, and showing some wonderful footwork from a standing start to evade a number of Bath players and creat the first try.

The failure to score the try in the second try wasn't only down to the Saints.  Bath changed their game plan when they highlighted how the Saints were getting through.  Before half time the chips from Lamby were finding gaps and turning the Bath defence on its heels, effectively breaking them down.  The gaps were closed in the second half but Lamby continued attempting the chips, there was no obvious plan B to turn to.

The Saints are sometimes guilty of trying too hard and trying to be too clever.  Rather than stick to the basics they start to throw te ball around with adventurous offlods.  When they come true then they are great, and they are what makes the team exciting to watch.  However there are times where it would be better to bring it down a notch and keep working the phases.  The skills are there, the ability is there, the mental position is possibly lacking at the moment.  the team seem to freeze at times, and it is especially oticeable in big games or when the fourth try is up for grabs.

When all is said and done though, a win was a great early Christmas present.

Match Details

• Half Time 22-3
• Attendance 13,475
• Referee David Rose 

Northampton Saints

No.	Name	T	C	D	P
15	Ben Foden
14	Vasily Artemyev
13	George Pisi
12	James Downey
11	Jamie Elliott	1T
10	Ryan Lamb		2C		1P
9	Lee Dickson
1	Soane Tongauiha
2	Dylan Hartley
3	Paul Doran-Jones
4	Courtney Lawes
5	Mark Sorenson
6	Phil Dowson	1T
7	Tom Wood	1T
8	Roger Wilson
16	Mike Haywood
17	Alex Waller
18	Tom Mercey
19	Samu Manoa
20	Ben Nutley
21	Martin Roberts
22	Stephen Myler
23	Scott Armstrong

Bath Rugby

No.	Name	T	C	D	P
15	Nick Abendanon
14	Jack Cuthbert
13	Ben Williams
12	Olly Barkley		1C		2P
11	Matthew Banahan
10	Stephen Donald
9	Michael Claassens
1	David Flatman
2	Ross Batty
3	Dave Wilson
4	Dave Attwood
5	Ryan Caldwell
6	Andy Beattie
7	Guy Mercer
8	Francois Louw	1T
16	Chris Biller
17	Nathan Catt
18	Anthony Perenise
19	Will Spencer
20	Josh Ovens
21	Chris Cook
22	Tom Heathcote
23	Nick Scott