Up and Down

There has been some talk of expanding the premiership to 14 clubs and then dropping relegation.  These "top" 14 clubs wolld be safe and simply have to compete against themselves.  I am pleased to see that the idea is blocked, at least for now.

The basis of this has come from claims that the Magners League is stronger than the Guiness Premiership, and arguments that this is because the teams in the ML don't have to worry about relegation.  In fact I think it comes a lot more from the fact that they don't have the same wage cap as the English clubs!  That aside however, it is impossible to draw comparisons between the two systems.  Wales, Ireland and Scotland play regional rugby, the teams in the ML are a region and they are able to draw from all the local clubs in their area.  If you look at club level then they still have to compete to avoid relegation.  But at regional level they don't because who would they play against if they were relegated - you couldn't really have the Scarlets playing against Cwmbran now could you!  However in England we still have a club system, the Saints have their own squad to call upon but they aren't then drawing on talent from all around.

So,unless the English system is completely reworked to form regions, then the current system remains the best, and produces some exciting rugby.

2 weeks rest

There's no match for the Saints this weekend.  It's a long time since they haven't had a match, and it's a good thing that the team have a bit of a rest.  They have looked tired.  That's the problem of playing so many different leagues - it's difficult enough remembering which one it is when you are supporting them.  With the Guiness, the LV and the Heineken Cup its been very full.  So a weekend off will probably go down well in order to get their strength up for the final game of the Guiness Premiership against London Irish, before going to the play-offs.  If we can beat London Irish then we get a home semi-final, against the Saracens.  If we lose and the Sarries beat Leicester then its an away semi-final but still against the Saracens.  Basically, whatever happens we have another match against the Sarries, which will make 5 in one season!

New Scrum Half

The Saints have signed a scrum half, mainly because Alan Dickens is leaving to concentrate on coaching. Luckily for Lee Dickson, Ryan Powell is coming to the rescue. We were worried about Lee because he has had to play a lot this year and he needed some back-up. Next year was going to be even tougher.

Ryan Powell is a former Welsh international, and he has also played for the Cardiff Blues. Grandma and Grandpa support the Blues and they say he is a very good player. He is now coming to us from the Worcester Warriors who have just been relegated.

Hopefully Lee will still be our number one choice for scrum half, but we will have to see just how good Ryan Powell is. We like Lee and think he is excellent. I have noticed that he doesn't look when we have a kick at the posts, if you watch him you can see him walking away as far as he can.

Saints 27 - Saracens 28

I got the overall number of tries correct, but the wrong way around.  Saints only scored two while the on-form Sarries scored three.  This running rugby from the Sarries comes from a change of game plan after the Saints had beated them twice at Franklins Gardens earlier in the season during the LV Cup, so in a way we have ourselves to blame.

In fact, the Saints have themselves to blame in a lot of ways for losing this match.  For the first 20 minutes of the game the team did not seem to really get going, and overall they were looking tired throughout.  A long campaign has started to catch up with them.  Then the defence, which earlier in the year was so strong, has begun to show holes.  The last few matches have seen us letting in tries, something that wasn't happening before.  And finally the restarts are terrible, whether by us or the oppostion, we aren't winning the contest and this keeps us on the back foot.

It was a close match, only ever a point between it.  And a score by the Saints in the last two minutes looked as though it might have been another of those last minute get-outs that we have seen so often.  Unfortunately Shane couldn't convert, and the end result was that the Franklins fortress was broken.

Scorers
Saints - Tries: Penalty, Foden; Con: Myler; Pens: Myler (5)


Saracens - Tries: Joubert, Powell, Penney; Con: Jackson (2); Pens: Jackson (3)

Team Up

So I wasn't quite right.  Instead we have:

Fodes, Flash, Downey, Clarke, Brooce, Smyler, Lee, Tiny, Dylan, Murray, Lobbe, Kruger, Lawes, Dowson, Wilson.

I missed Lobbe off and moving Lawes to flanker to start intead of Beast.

It's a good team.  And it will need to be.  Sarries are playing good running rugby again and scoring a lot of tries.  Whereas our defence has been weaker for the last month or so.  I expect a high scoring game.  The first thing though will be avoiding a yellow card.  We've had a yellow in both of the last two matches.  The front row is likely to be a hot-house, with a few niggles left over from the "Tiny" saga, then Dylan coming up against Brits.  Hopefully people can keep a check on their tempers.

I'm going for a close win, Saints scoring three tries and the Sarries scoring 2.

Team Prediction

Hopefully later today we will learn the team for the Sarries match tomorrow.  However, this shouldn't be too difficult to predict so I will give it a go.

Fodes, Flash, Downey, Clarke, Brooce, Smyler, Lee, Tiny, Dylan, Murray, Kruger, Lawes, Dowson, Best, Wilson.

Benuna Forever

Ben Foden has helped release a charity single.  He is supporting STOP, an anti-bullying campaign.  The Saints have been involved in a lot of local charity work for children so this is another step.

To be honest though, Ben has not been adverse to a bit of singing for a while.  He is currently going out with Una Healy, and videos of them singing together keep popping up on You Tube as "Benuna".

Smiling About Smyler

If he comes on to play against the Sarries on Saturday then it is going to be Smylers 100th appearence for the Saints.

He's our best kicker and he is loved by the fans. I think he is really good, excellent, amazing. So far he has scored 715 points in this time for us. Like Flash he came from rugby league and has made the change well. Earlier in the season his kicking was a bit off target but it has improved a lot since Christmas. And we saw a wonderful drop goal a few weeks ago that won the match.

Hopefully he will be leading the team out.

The End of an Era

Rumour has it that Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe is hanging up his his boots at the end of this season. This is very sad. Not just a club player, over his time he has been capped by the Pumas 66 times, and has played in three World Cups.

He joined the Saints in 2008 and has proved himself a force of strength in the scrum. He can certainly play rugby and has captained the team a number of times this year, including last nights game against Bath.

However he is now 35 and it is time for him to retire. He is going to be missed very much.

Bath 21 - Saints 20 Final Score

So, close at the end.  A bonus point which is important, when I expected a bigger gap.  One try to the Saints, which was what I expected, but only two for Bath.  The penalties and a conversion made the difference in the end.  Neil Best getting a yellow card was the killer blow, playing the last 8 minutes down to 14 men.  The three points from Olly Barkley took Bath ahead and the Saints just couldn't claw it back, despite what sounded like a valiant effort.  In fact, at the end they clearly didn't want to simply settle for the bonus point and were trying to get the lead back.  A drop goal attempt by Shane sounded a hope rather than an expected score, but it was worth a go.

Scores
Saints - Try: Digger. Pens: Shane Geraghty x5
Bath - Tries: Mears; Banahan.  Cons: Barklay x1.  Pens: Barkley x3

Half time Bath 11 - Saints 8

Most expecting Bath to run away with this match, they have kept a strong team whereas the Saints are playing a lot of their second tier.  First half was tough.  Barry Everitt weak under the high ball and not having the positional sense that is needed.  But for most of it the Saints had it under control, even in the lead.  Digger got a try, as I expected.  And defence was strong despite repeated attacks from Bath.  So where did it go wrong?  Basically the last 5 minutes and two poor throw-ins from Brett Sharman.  From a strong position one throw-in stolen by Bath and the Saints booted back down into their 22.  Then a second mistake, another throw-in stolen by Bath and a try in the last seconds of the half.  So Bath go in, just in the lead.  What is Jim going to do, bring on the heavy guns or stick with the team on the pitch.  Hoping that Andy Long comes on for Brett to start the second half.

Advice on autographs

Have you ever thought that getting autographs would be a fun thing to do? I personally thought it would be a fun thing to do but I didn't know where to go. It seemed wrong to ask for an autograph before the match but then I still didn't know where to go after the match. However last weekend i found out how to get them so here is my advice:

It was the end of the Gloucester match and i saw my friend 'N' as we were walking back. We stopped to say hello outside the corner of the tetleys stand and south stand. We started talking about the munster match because we saw them there as well. Suddenly Joe Ansbro walked past us. As soon as i saw him i got my pen and paper out and 'N' and i ran up to him and asked if he could sign my book and to my surprise he did. As we stayed there i got about 2 autographs a minute because more and more of the saints came out. So i got 18 autographs altoghether, including Flash, Fodes and Smyler.

So hang around for a hour after the match, they are all friendly.

And one more thing enjoy yourself!

Bath Preview

Three games in 7 days is never going to be easy.  Especially not at the end of a season when your key players are tiring.  And especially when your EPS players are only allowed a limited number if minutes in any week period (the Premiership defining a week as 9 days!).  So the team for the Bath match tomorrow night, postponed from the snow earlier in the year, includes some names that are almost unknown this season:

15 Barry Everitt; 14 Paul Diggin; 13 Joe Ansbro; 12 Jon Clarke; 11 Bruce Reihana; 10 Shane Geraghty; 9 Alan Dickens; 1 Regardt Dreyer; 2 Brett Sharman; 3 Brian Mujati; 4 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe (capt); 5 James Cannon; 6 Mark Easter; 7 Neil Best; 8 Mark Hopley

Some good names there (very happy to see Digger back, he played fantastically while the capped players were off for the 6 nations, and I felt it tough on him that he got dropped), and a few more on the bench, but others that have struggled to get game time.  Overall, not a good feel about it.  Bath have named a strong side, they aren't taking risks, they want the win.  Against a Saints line-up who have no experience together.  Despite the presence of The Mooj, the front row is likely to struggle in the scrum. We won't have the set piece play.   This will be a tough match and, much as it pains me to say it, I give Bath the edge.  Predicting final score 24-13.  I will retain a get out clause however, the Shane factor, if he plays a blinder then it will turn the game on its head.

EuroTable - European Club Rugby Ranking

The Eurotable provides rankings for 46 teams across the 6 key rugby countries in Europe. It is based on performance over the last 30 games and has been running since 2000 (there is a football equivalent as well). It provides a form guide to compare the teams, with the top team having a rating of 100.

Position - Club - Rating
1 Leinster 100.00
2 Northampton 93.26
3 Munster 86.29
4 Toulon 82.99
5 Toulouse 80.47
6 Leicester 79.82
7 Cardiff Blues 77.99
8 ASM Clermont Auvergne 72.99
9 Biarritz Olympique 72.79
10 Wasps 72.05
11 Perpignan 67.87
12 Edinburgh 67.33
13 Bath 66.32
14 Saracens 66.04
15 Glasgow Warriors 65.88
16 Ospreys 65.82
17 Gloucester 64.95
18 Racing Metro 92 63.69
19 Newport Gwent Dragons 60.55
20 London Irish 60.28

The Saints are doing even better than before!

Come On You Saints!

Standings In The League

In another weekend of rugby the Saints are 2nd in the league with Leicester at the top, with both teams getting bonus points from their matches, but the Saints remain a game in hand.

A surprise at London Irish however saw them going down to Leeds despite the home advantage. That moves Leeds higher up the table and may mean that they are almost safe from relegation but it isn't looking good for Worcester languishing at the bottom after yet another defeat.

Next time Saints are against Leicester may be the very final game at the end of the season, and I hope that they are going to be crushed, but you never know!

Saints 38 - Gloucester 23

Since winning the LV Cup final, it could be said that the Saints haven't been firing on all cylinders.  Culminating in the loss to Munster a week ago.  How could they fare against Gloucester, a team out for revenge as this was a rematch of that LV Cup final, and one definitely on the up since Christmas.

The match didn't start well for the Saints.  Within 3 minutes Gloucester had a penalty kicked by Nicky Robinson.  Was this going to go the same way as the Munster match?  From early on it was clear that the ref didn't like our front row. This was going to become important later in the match.  But Stephen Myler came back with a penalty for the Saints at 8 minutes and we were starting to show a bit more form. Restarts were to continue to look shakey (another echo from the Munster trip) but we were definitely up for running rugby.  The Saints had the edge in the line-outs but scrums were a little less predictable, sometimes one way, sometimes another.

A rush of lood to the head saw Gloucester taking a quick penalty instead of going for the points between the sticks.  Saints got turn-over ball and Ben Foden hoofed the ball down the pitch.  Although Gloucester had the throw in a magnificent leap by Courtney won the ball, it was worked out to the middle, then found Flash who split Gloucester defence in two with his speed and perfect line to score the first try.  With Smyler being on form, Saints were up 10-3 within quarter of an hour.

The Saints were penalised immediately on the restart, but Nicky Robinson had not brought his kicking boots and was unable to claim the points. Things remained tense, despite another Smyler penalty.  Then Gloucester made the break they needed and scored.  13-10.  And then another penalty to the Saints, 16-10.  This game could go anywhere.  The end of the half saw the Saints in the lead, but Gloucester ahd made one more attack and almost got the try, foiled only by James Downey knocking the ball over the dead ball line before Gloucester could get their hands on it.

The second half started with the same intensity.  The Cherry and Whites got a penalty.  Then Dylan Hartley scored a try for the Saints.  Another penalty to Gloucester.  Then a second try for Flash.  But I said earlier that the ref had taken a dislike to the Saints front row. At this point it came to haunt us, Dylan receiving a yellow card for cynical killing of the ball.  The yellow card cost the Saints 10 points, with a penlaty, a try and a conversion all tucked away.  30-23, and again it could go any way.  But the try came at the end of the ten minutes and the Saints were back to full strength.

Along with others, Smyler was subbed and Shane Geraghty came on.  Always a scary moment for a Saints fan.  Shane can show class and magic, but he can also fall over drastically.  And there was little leaway here.  Shane soon had his opportunity with a penalty, which was fairly straight forward, but we have all seen Shane hit the cross-bar from "relatively simple" kicks.  He didn't fail this time.  The Saints were 10 points ahead.
 
But there we were at the end, seconds ticking down, and we had failed to get our fourth try.  A bonus point at this point in the season was essential, but it wasn't going to be.  Until suddenly Bruce Reihana had the ball.  A wonderful darting run down the left wing, with chants of "Brooce Brooce Brooce", side-stepping (or just going through) tackles.  And he was there, over the try line.  To the amazement of everyone he did not touch down however, instead passing the ball to Chris Ashton who was on his right shoulder so that Flash could touch down and get his hat-trick. 

Bruce is a real soldier for the club and a real hero.  He is everything you could want from a player, completely selfless.  Over the years he has turned down the chance to go back to New Zealand and stake his place in the All Blacks, and turned down an offer from Munster when we were relegated.  We are incredibly lucky to have him, as he symbolises everything that is good about rugby.

Gloucester came to Franklins Gardens knowing how hard it is to win at this fortress.  But they came here planning to play rugby and not just spoil ball.  Great credit to them, worthy opponents, and in many ways they deserved to get at least a point from this match.  This match flowed back and forth, with attacks and counter-attacks abounding.  And credit to the Gloucester fans as well, valiant and polite in defeat.

Scores
Saints - Tries: Chris Ashton x 3; Dylan Hartley. Cons: Stephen Myler x3.  Pens: Stephen Myler x 3; Shane Geraghty
Gloucester - Tries: Charlie Sharples; Dave Attwood.  Cons: Nicky Robinson x 2.  Pens: Nicky Robinson x 3

Tiny Stays With The Saints

After a prolonged and disruptive disagreement with the Saracens, the two teams have come to an amicable agreement.  This is a relief for all as the name-calling, especially from the Sarries direction, was getting a bit much and casting a cloud over the usual good relations between clubs.  Exactly what the agreement is, nobody knows.  While there have been rumours of the Saints paying off the Sarries, these appear unfounded.

Whatever has gone on, the good news is that one of our best loved players, Tiny, is staying with The Saints.  The end of the season can now continue without lawyers getting in the way, and all can concentrate on the rugby.  We will be sure to welcome the Sarries to Franklins Gardens on the 24th April.