Sale Win by a lot Saints lose by not so much!

OK, that was an abject lesson in how to self destruct.  At half time the Saints had the game under control.  They were dominating in the scrum, their handling was sound (if not threatening) and Smyler was popping them over.  A reasonable lead and the upper hand, despite once again not capitalising on a man advantage.  Second half just needs to be cool, collected and more of the same.

So how come we end up shipping tries, down to 13 men, and when we could have got to a losing bonus point instead a quick tap penalty with nothing to come from it.   Callum Clark getting a yellow card wa silly.  But Dowson, supposed to be captain, getting a yellow card for kicking the ball away was farcical.  We are loging games, not other teams winning them.  Bad discipline is costing us dearly.

Incredibly painful to watch.

Saints 13 - Irish 14

A very unsatisfactory match which the Saints deserved to lose even though the NotNots didn't deserve to win!
The Saints are demonstrating a worrying lack of learning at the moment. The opportunity was there on more than one occasion but ill discipline (hmm, is there a team in the World Cup with the same problem), repeated handling errors and a continued failure to get points on the board when having a man advantage all took it's toll. The game came down to a penalty in the dying minutes.

Unfortunately it's looking like the plan for deepening the squad has been rather scuppered by injuries.  First choice scrum half and No8 are both ouot.  Not only is the replacement full back out but his replacement as well so we are now down to playing a centre at full back.
Sale next, who have already won two matches. It's looking tight.

Quins 26 - Saints 13

In what was, ultimately, a depressing match to watch, there were some worrying echoes from last seasons downturn. Missing 12 players through a combination of World Cup and injury it was always going to be a struggle, but foolish errors cost the Saints dearly. A number of penalties given away within range for Nick Evans meant that Quins were able to keep in touch and ahead despite the first try going to Tonks for Saints. If the excellent break by Robbo and some good passing could have been replicated then maybe it would have been different. Instead the game was littered with knock ons, turnovers, and even a wayward throw in by Andy Long. In the last ten minutes the Quins were down to 14 men after a yellow, but the Saints failed to capitalise (an ongoing problem from last year). School report definitely to read "could do better".

Saints 26 - 24 Gloucester

The first game of the premiership season and if they are all like this then I won't have any nails left, and I'm not sure my heart will last either. From being tense and nervous before the game it all just got worse.

Saints are missing 8 players to the World Cup and then on top of that there are injuries to Sarge, Dicko and The Step. This meant a number of new players and youngsters were taking the field. Despite a good pre-season we still weren't sure just how this would turn out. What we got was some good play, mixed with some basic errors, but we also got to see some real promise.

Martin Roberts really stepped up to fill Dickos shoes. I'm not quite sure why he was down to fourth choice at the Scarlets last season because he showed some pace and an eye for a break. What I look for in a scrum half is someone who doesn't need to take three steps before his pass from the scrum, and Robbo has a great pass. He managed to get a try in his first real game for the Saints, making the most of a sleepy Cherry and White pack.

Samul Manoa was another one to shine. He passed over the opportunity to play for the USA in the world cup, preferring to play for the Saints. A brave choice. He certainly didn't look like someone who has never played for a professional team before. For a big man he had a good turn of pace and his line out jumping was excellent.

Ben Nutley deserves a mention as well. A real youngster coming up through the ranks from the academy. From this performance you wouldn't known that he hadn't been out there for years. Absolute commitment and even with a head injury he didn't want to go off to be bandaged up.

So why the nail biter. At one point Saints were ahead and almost comfortable. 51 minutes into the game the score was 23-13. All the Saints players had to do was shut the game down. Unfortunately that's not how it goes when you're a Saints fan. And sure enough, 76 mins in the game had changed and the score was 23-24. But Gloucester made a fatal error, a punch thrown in a heated moment, and Lamby, in his first match, had the chance to win the game with a penalty. Not the hardest but also not the easiest, and under immense pressure he landed it. 26-24

Two players are looking like remaining controversial amongst Saints fans. Smyler has always been one you either love or hate. Overall he had a good match and showed sone variety in gameplay not often seen before. In fact Dowse's try game from Smyler sucking in the defence and then a beautiful underarm backhand off-load. The other to attract debate is NotNow. He is too hesitant off the foot and needs to back his own ability, but he was active and certainly not a winger who is happy on the sidelines. He put in some strong tackles and has potential.

Saints - Tries: Robbo, Dowse; Cons: Smyler (2); Pens: Smyler (3), Lamby
Gloucester - Tries: Sharples, May; Cons: Taylor; Pens: Taylor (2), Burns; DG: Burns

Here We Come, Come On You Saints

A victory in the last pre-season warm up against Leinster, 14-19, sees the Saints well set for the start of the season tomorrow. A starter against the Cherry and Whites will be tough, especially with 5 Saints in New Zealand for the World Cup. But a deeper and tougher squad gives more options. Jim Mallinder admitted this week that last season suffered at the end from the need to put out the first team for every match. So we can expect to see a bit more rotation and, as a result, some tactical variation.

This will start tomorrow with a new look team. 5 of the new signings have been picked, including Tom May at centre, Noah Cato on the wing, and Martin Roberts at scrum half. In the scrum Samu Manoa will bring some significant weight, and Paul Doran-Jones gets to play his first Saints match against his old team.

Last season was a good one. Can we do better?