Castres 41 - Saints 22

The misery continued with this match.  While the new players stood up to be counted, the older ones had some major issues.  It's looking as though the World Cup is still taking its toll as mentally some of the players seem completely shot.  And its hard to understand how a team can score four tries for the bonus and still lose.

I'm afraid this one will ahve to go in the "least said soonest mended" category.  I can't face a write up.

Castres Olympique Scorecard

Try

Malonga

2

Conversion

Teulet

3

Penalty

Teulet

17

Penalty

Teulet

30

Penalty

Teulet

34

Try

Martial

40

Conversion

Teulet

40 +1

Penalty

Teulet

48

Penalty

Teulet

63

Try

Martial

68

Conversion

Teulet

69

Try

Diarra

77

 

Northampton Saints Scorecard

Try

M Sorenson

9

Conversion

S Myler

10

Try

Elliott

31

Try

Elliott

44

Try

S Manoa

55

Munster 21 - Saints 23

Anyone who knows the history of these two teams would have known that this was always going to be close.  But Thomond Park is a really tough place to play, I've been there, it epitomises the word "cauldron".  The Saints have learnt in the last few years, but had they learnt enough.

Within 3 minutes of kick off Munster had scored a try.  And not only had they scored but they had done it by pushing our forwards over the line.  It could all have gone wrong then.  But instead the Saints lifted their heads and came at Munster.  They got ahead with a try and almost went into the half time oranges ahead, but a panicky end to the half gave Munster the chance to get back ahead.  Again the Saints came back and took the lead.  They held it for all of the second half.  The game went past the 80 minute mark, the next time the ball went dead then it was all over.  But Munster had the ball and were in the Saints half.  The Saints drove them back, but then they came again.  Over 40 phases and four and a half minutes neither side gave away a penalty.  Munster were left with one choice and one choice only, but they had a sublime player for it, and sure enough Ronan O'Gara took a drop goal and planted the ball between the sticks.

It was all over.  The Saints had played one of their best games, but it wasn't enough and they had victory snatched away.  A painful painful end.  But both teams could be proud of their work on the pitch.  A fantastic spectacle and a great advert for the game.

Match Details

• Half Time 17-13
• Attendance 26,500
• Referee Nigel Owens

Munster Rugby

15	Johne Murphy
14	Doug Howlett	1T
13	Danny Barnes
12	Lifeimi Mafi
11	Denis Hurley
10	Ronan O'Gara		2C	1D	2P
9	Conor Murray
1	Wian Du Preez
2	Damien Varley	1T
3	Brendan Botha
4	Donnacha Ryan
5	Paul O'Connell
6	Peter O'Mahony
7	Niall Ronan
8	James Coughlan
16	Denis Fogarty
17	John Ryan
18	John Hayes
19	Donncha O'Callaghan
20	Denis Leamy
21	Tomas O'Leary
22	Ian Keatley
23	Will Chambers

Northampton Saints

15	Ben Foden
14	Chris Ashton	1T
13	Jon Clarke
12	James Downey	1T
11	Vasily Artemyev
10	Ryan Lamb		1C		3P
9	Lee Dickson
1	Soane Tongauiha
2	Dylan Hartley
3	Brian Mujati
4	Courtney Lawes
5	Mark Sorenson
6	Calum Clark
7	Tom Wood
8	Roger Wilson
16	Mike Haywood
17	Alex Waller
18	Paul Doran-Jones
19	Samu Manoa
20	Phil Dowson
21	Martin Roberts
22	Stephen Myler
23	George Pisi

Saints 44 - Falcons 15

This was always an important match for both teams.  The Saints, after a difficult start, now had three wins on the trot and wanted to keep the form flowing.  Falcons, even this early in the season, were contemplating possible relegation and desperately needed a win under their belts.  With both teams at the bottom of the table a lot was riding on the result.

The start was all about testing out the opposition, and while the Saints looked more dominant, it was initially honours even with 3-3 after ten minutes.  The next ten mminutes were a different story though.  Slow ball from a ruck allowed the Saints to get themselves well set and as Chris Pilgrim tried to clear the line his kick was charged down by Tiny.  It was a clean charge but it was enough and Dowse was able to gather it in.  A couple of quick passes and the ball reached Tom May.  Now, in all honesty, he should have passed it one more time, but this was his 200th premiership appearance and it was against his old team, so clearly he wanted to make it a bit memorable and he barged his way over the line to touch down his first try for the Saints and the first try of the match.  It only took 7 more minutes for May to go over the whitewash again and he had bagged a pair.

The Saints were looking in control but to the supporters dismay Lawes was soon in trouble.  Whether the ref thought it was a shoulder charge or a late tackle was not entirely clear but Lawes was seeing a yellow card while Manning rolled around on the ground in obvious agony.  Well, it was obvious until Lawes sat on the naughty step, at which point Manning sprang up with no assistance from the physios, grinned at the crowd, and then got on with the game.  This had the side effect of making the game appear like an early panto show as every time Manning touched the ball throughout the rest of the match then boo'ing could be heard around the stadium.  The first couple of times the boo's were heartfelt but after that it became a comedy element that everyone got into and enjoyed.  Gopperth managed to kick the penalty and then the Falcons tried to up the pressure.  Despite some silly handling errors byt the Saints, the Falcons couldn't capitalise on their advantage in numbers and finally Gopperth had to go for a drop goal. 

Half time and the score was 18-12 to the Saints.  The reality was that the Saints had had the best of the match so far but Gopperth was keeping the Falcons within touch and greater discipline would be needed in the second half if the Saints were to make the most of their dominance.

It didn't take long.  Within 4 mionutes of the second half the Falcons had a line-out at their 22.  An overthrow saw the ball collected by the Saints and spun out to Lamby.  He spotted a gap and dived through it, leaving enough numbers to his left for him to pass to Clarke who then passed to Vaseline.  The Russian was over for the Saints third try of the  match and continuing his impressive entrance into English rugby.  And it became even more impressive 10 minutes later when he went over again in a similar move.

The scrum were now demolishing the Falcons who were repeatedly left a pile on the floor.  And Flash was obviously feeling left out having watched others score tries.  He was to round out the game with a brace for himself however, the first from short range and the second scopping up the ball in the Saints 22 after a Falcons handling error and running the length of the pitch for a Splash.

The Saints had put in another strong performance.  A defence that never looked like being breached, a scrum that had territory, a line-out that was winning and pressurising the opposition, and a back line that was spinning the ball and finding the gaps.  While positions in the table haven't changed that much, with the Saints at 8th, it looks more hopeful and the Saints seem to have remembered their winning ways.

Match Details

• Half Time 18-12
• Attendance 13,326
• Referee JP Doyle
• MOM Ryan Lamb 

Northampton Saints

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

Newcastle Falcons

No.	Name
15	Jeremy Manning
14	Luke Eves
13	Corne Uys
12	Jamie Helleur
11	Rikki Sheriffe
10	Jimmy Gopperth			1D	4P
9	Chris Pilgrim
1	Grant Shiells
2	Joe Graham
3	Euan Murray
4	Andrew van der Heijden
5	Tim Swinson
6	Mark Wilson
7	Will Welch
8	Ally Hogg
16	Mike Mayhew
17	Ashley Wells
18	Dan Frazier
19	Glen Townson
20	Redford Pennycook
21	Jordi Pasqualin
22	Greg Goosen
23	Alex Tait

Ospreys 22 - Saints 32

This always had the potential to be an interesting match.  Ospreys put out a fairly junior team (with a lot of players still in New Zealand or making their way back after a fairly successful World Cup for Wales - as an aside, how do Wales get to the 3rd/4th play-off and still go down in the world rankings, something wrong there) while the Saints had their World Cup players integrating back into the team.  One of those matches that is always threatening an upset. 

Looking at the result you could think that it was closer than, in many ways, it was.  Saints got the bonus point for 4 tries.  Ospreys only got one try, the rest of the points came from the boot of Matthew Morgan (rightfully MOM), and that was despite playing for 20 minutes with only 14 men after the ref gave two yellow cards.  But while the Saints showed their experience in holding the game and correcting early errors, the Ospreys youngsters should be proud of a fantastic effort

The first half was an untidy affair from the Saints.  A lot of errors, handling was rusty and penalties given.  Typical integration team, the world cup players not really sre of the new members of the team and calls not fully understood.  The first try came from Vasily, making 4 tries in two matches, after a nice pass from Lamby found Fodes who then put Vasily over unopposed.  For a while everything bogged down into a rough and slightly bad tempered game and the half time score was 19-10 to the Ospreys.  Saints fans where left wondering what was going to happen, the Saints looked dominant but weren't getting the points on the board whereas the Ospreys were keeping it all ticking over, helped by their one try just before half time coming from an intercept by Sonny Parker of a Vasily pass.

Jim Mallinder clearly gave the guys a bit of a talking to.  They came out looking determined, if not happy.  But they put the ill-discipline to the side and tightened up on all aspects.  Starved of penalty opportunities then the Ospreys were always going to struggle.  But even after Dylan collected the next two tries during the first fifteen minutes of the second half, he still didn't break a smile, clearly this wasn't enough in his mind and more was needed.  And sure enough, a few minutes after that Callum Clark collected a wonderfully weighted cross kick from Lamby to go over, with other men spare.  19 unanswered points and the Saints looked done and dusted.  A penalty each for the teams didn't affect the final score greatly and the Ospreys were unlucky to leave without a bonus point after a good display.

Match Details

• Half Time 19-10
• Attendance 4,463
• Referee Neil Hennessy 

Ospreys

No.	Name	T	C	D	P
15	Ross Jones
14	Tom Prydie
13	Ben John
12	Sonny Parker	1T
11	Eli Walker
10	Matthew Morgan		1C		5P
9	Tom Habberfield
1	Cai Griffiths
2	Scott Baldwin
3	Aaron Jarvis
4	Tom Smith
5	Ian Evans
6	James King
7	Sam Lewis
8	Morgan Allen
16	Mefin Davies
17	Joe Rees
18	Duncan Jones
19	Richard Kelly
20	Chauncey O'Toole
21	Tom Grabham
22	Will Price
23	Kristian Phillips

Northampton Saints

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

Saints 36 - Sarries 6

Over the last couple of years the Sarries have become a bit of a bogey team for the Saints. There are several reasons behind it - some of the support is more football like than rugby, the Tiny incident, the fact that they keep beating us (!). Anyway, having finally got a win last week this was theoretically not the match that we now needed. Yes, it's LV Cup so not the full first choice Sarries, but it isn't our top team either. Some interesting choices in the team though - Vasily Artemyev making his debut, Jamie Elliott finally back from injury, Tom Wood back from the World Cup, Sarge back from injury. And on the bench Dylan, Courtney, Tiny, Cesare.

It turns into a dream start for Vasily (now nicknamed Vaseline for his ability to slip through) and he has a try within minutes of the whistle. Like last week the team are showing signs of playing and running. A second try for Vaseline before half time and he has won over the fans. Sarries putting on pressure but other than two penalties they can't follow through.

The second half continues well. Vaseline gets his third try, a hattrick on his debut, how's that to light the rugby world, and Jamie Elliott gets a brace. When the Saints run then hey are fun and dangerous. When they go back to a kicking game then it becomes less dominant and some worrying moments. When the Saints play well though it is a great game, audacious off loads which don't always go to hand but you can forgive for the vision. And without the ones that don't go to hand then those that do wouldn't happen either and we wouldn't have 5 tries. It's worth mentioning the last try, a beautifully weighted chip from Smyler going into Elliotts hands for him to dive over after a sprint for the line.

Saints 33 - Chiefs 3

The two teams came into this match from opposite sides of the spectrum.  The Chiefs have got their season off to a flying start whilst the Saints have been struggling (to say the least).  Having beaten the Tigers at home the Chiefs must have fancied their chances.

So at kick off to see the Saints collect the ball and then run rather than kick for clearence had many of us with our hearts in our mouths.  Any moment we were waiting for the whistle to blow as ill-discipline has been a big part of our downfall.  But when the whistle did blow it was a for a try, scored by Downey, and the Saints were off to a flyer. 

The score board at the end was misleading.  In fact the Chiefs had the majority of the possession and spent a lot of time in the Saints half and even on the try line.  But resilient defence and a refusal to infringe meant that the Chiefs couldn't find the gap that they wanted.  

It's hard to say what made the difference, and it is only one game.  Personally I hold to the line that it is the return of Dicko.  I beleive we saw the same efect last season.  I beleive that Dicko keeps them on the straight and narrow while organising the defences to withstand the hordes.  Others will say it was Ryan Lamb (MoM) running the ball and creating openings.  Whatever the reason, this was the team that we expect to see and there were smiles all around at the end.

Massive credit to Mike Haywood, a youngster catapulted into playing as the starting hooker with Dyln in Ne Zealand and both Sharman and Long injured.  Hooker is a tough position to play and normally age is needed to get wise. Mikey played fantastically and earned the respect of players and fans alike.  Also Samu Manoa deserves a mention - another great game and he is learning each time he pulls on the shirt, he deserves a starting place in the future.

Warriors 12 - Saints 3

It doesn't get better. Worcester fighting to get off the bottom of the league show more determination and more nouse than the Saints. The pre-season warm ups and signings seems to have all been for nothing, confidence is shaky and errors high. Not an inspiring team to watch. How we go from Heineken finalists to resting at the low end of the table is anyone's guess.

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.

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

Ooo La La

The Saints have travelled to France for the week.  A rare opportunity to play in the Vaquerin Challenge.  Two matches in one week, first Castres and then Toulouse.  A young Saints side were blown away by a tough Castres team but a slightly more experienced team were able to take on Toulouse in incredible heat (around 42 degrees) and win with 5 tries to 3.  On the score sheet were James Craig and Noah Cato, both new signings for this year.  That the Saints initially went down by two tries in the first 20 minutes shows not only a great physical fitness but also a great level of self belief.

Saints 54 - Russia 19

Rugby season is almost back, and some friendlies are here to announce its arrival.  The first (and only home friendly) is against The Bears, themselves warming up for the World Cup.

A slightly strange match.  Saints fielded two different teams, one for each half.  Then the music system couldn't get passed the first three or four bars of the Russian National Anthem without breaking down.  After two attempts the Russian team decided to finish the anthem as an acoustic version!

Friendlies probably don't say much about the upcoming season and it is impossible to read too much into it when you only see a player for 40 minutes.  But a couple of the new signings took the opportunity to shine, with Samu Manoa and Cesar Sempere both scoring tries.  In fact Cesars try was probably the moment of the game, a beautiful blinding run that simply sliced open the Russian defence, and it was great to see how excited he was about going over.

Irish 20 - Saints 26

This was set up to be one o the most important matches of the Premiership season for the Saints. A loss would almost surely see the Saints to fail to make it to the top five and hence out of the Heineken next season. A win and fourth place with the play-offs was suddenly an attainable dream. No wonder Jim had rested a lot of the team for the Gloucester match during the week (there is something wrong with a structure that meant 4 matches in 14 days, it is too easy for teams to cancel a match because of weather). Was it going to be enough?

Rather than a game of two halves this was a game of 60 minutes vs 20 minutes. For 60 minutes the Saints were in control. Even though they didn't have the possession it still didn't look as though the NotNots were going to get through. Instead two wonderful break away tries put the Saints in charge.

Then Jim changed the team with 20 minutes to go. An eye on next weeks Heineken semi-final saw a mass of replacements and the game tipped. The notnots got their tries and the Saints were clinging on for their lives. Somehow they managed it and another win was under their belts.

Notable mentions to Dicko, as ever providing quick ball, and to Smyler for controlling the game. Flash was in the right place to get the tries but they were team efforts.

Notorious mention to Delon Armitage. A nasty man with anger management issues, he put in a thump to the face on Smyler while Smyler was on the ground. A chicken hit which will hopefully see a citing.

Saints 23 Ulster 13

Saints got through the pool stages of the Heineken without a defeat. But that felt like an eternity ago. Since then the Saints went off the rails whilst Upster have found form. This was always promising to be a good match. And it delivered, it was epic. It can be hard to understand why Heineken is a step up from premiership but after 10 minutes it felt like we had watched 50. Everything was at pace. Ulster played well and I think they had the first half. But Saints have been learning and came back. In fact the last 20 minutes saw annulling of intensity. Well played

Saints 53 - Sale 24

From the sublime to the ridiculous, or in the Saints case, from the ridiculous to the sublime.  However, I am aware that if I write this up then owing to my recent lack of posting it just looks like I am a bad loser, and only want to write the good things.  It has been more a time thing really, but it still looks wrong.  So enough to say 8 tries.  A magic moment from TinTin kicking the ball back TOWARDS the Saints line but also straight to Brooce to set up an almost try.  And a good match all round.

Now, how does this set us up for the Ulster match next week?

Round Up - BAD

I realise I haven't done an update of the last matches.  To be honest my heart wasn't in it.  It wasn't just the fact we were losing, I'm not a fair weather fan, but the manner in which we were losing.  The spirit seems to have gone out of the team.  Can't help but wonder if that is a lack of Fodes, Flash and Dicko, the true clowns of the Saints.  Without them buoying up the lads then the heads seem to have gone down.  From a team that before Christmas didn't believe it could lose, we now seem to be watching a group who don't believe that they can win.  Even when they did get ahead yesterday they didn't grasp the opportunity. 

5 premiership losses in a row.  Bad days.

Saints 38 Leeds 23

Well I said that the first ten minutes would be important. Saints scored a try ten minutes in and then got rolling. Flatmates Tonks and Commins both scores tried so that gives them something to talk about tonight!
Leeds will be bitterly disappointed to throw that away. They get a bonus point for 4 tries, but not enough.

Mixed feelings coming away from this game.  Certainly if we let the Sarries get this far ahead next week then it is unlikely we will be given an opportunity to get back in.  But a lot of credit to the team for not letting their heads drop and to show this much resilience.

Defence was poorer than we normally expect from the Saints.  Exactly why is unclear.  TinTin does struggle and bounces off a lot of tackles rather than holding his man, and then we seemed to be leaving gaps that aren't normally there.  Just not tight enough.  The attaking game was better though for the first half lacking penetration.  Not least because of unforced errors at vital times.  Sometimes it is as thought they try too hard, and by trying to force it then they slip.

Scores:
Saints - Tries: TinTin, Brett, Tonks, Piggy, Sarge, Commins; Cons: TinTin, Brooce (3);
Leeds - Tries: Tincknell, Craig, Fourie, Rowan; Cons: Thomas (2)

Saints 12 Leeds 19

Not a half-time score I was expecting to see. Saints not firing properly and squandered some chances. But more importantly the Saints defence is leaving holes for Leeds to come through. And this week we don't have a Wanderers team out. A number of our first choice players who should be doing better than this. Can Jim turn them around now and fire them up. The first 10 minutes of the second half will be crucial.

Sent from my iPhone

Wales vs England

Four Saints players starting for England. Thus leaves me somewhat split. I support Wales but I want the Saints players to do well. This means that the pain of final score is numbed by the pleasure of seeing Flash score two tries.

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London Irish vs Saints

An interesting game this one. As a result of International and Saxons duties the Saints were severely depleted. Even those that weren't committed elsewhere were being rested so this was effectively a Wanderers team. In fact two of the bench are normally on loan to Cambridge.

Despite this they put on a good show and at times had London Irish worried. They probably showed more running rugby but were unable to break through a resilient Not-Not defence.

A loss but a good run out for the youngsters, some of whom showed promise for the future.

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