News: Thoughts from the Chron 31st December 2009
By Chris Gleadell
January 1 2010
Saints certainly did not have it all their own way in the Guinness Premiership win down at Sixways on Boxing Day however that they were in a hunt for a try scoring bonus point as the final whistle went just went to show what a difference ultimately there was between the two teams.
Fair play to Worcester though, they stuck at it for most of the game and might have even drawn level on a few occasions up to that game breaking try but they do seem to lack a certain something. I wrote last week how you have to feel for their fans and the continual treading of water in the Premiership table with little or no progress since they were promoted to the division. Perhaps even more so after Saturday's display, they do seem to have the talent and certainly had their share of possession but there were a lot of blind alleys and not all due to Saints stout defence. There were some angry exchanges on their supporter's website after the game about the way forward and most asking for a change of leadership and direction. I hope they can do something to turn it around because when the chips were down they looked in confidence and application not unlike a certain Saints side that slipped through the trapdoor a few years back. They have been a
breath of fresh air since their arrival to the top flight and it would be sad to see it happen, here's hoping they turn things around and are on the cusp of happier times ahead.
As for Saints well it looks like our days of woe are truly behind us now as the Worcester win makes it eight wins in a row in all competitions and you would have to look a long way back to find a run like that whilst playing in the top competitions. It was also the eighth win in the Guinness Premiership and at the half way stage in the competition we sit in third just four points, or one victory, behind leaders Saracens.
A long way to go but we are looking good for a GP playoff place at present, whilst we head out LV= Cup group and are still in the hunt for a Heineken quarter final berth so it is all still there to play for as we move into the second half of the season.
And what better way to start the downward side of the Guinness Premiership than by entertaining our old friends London Irish. Perhaps the Exiles have been the real success story of recent seasons in the domestic game. Not so long ago they were the perennial plucky underdogs, could give everyone a good game on their day but never played throughout a whole season with consistency (mind you the last part of that statement sounds just like us in times gone by). It seems that Toby Booth, following on from the firm foundations laid by Brian Smith, has tapped into something at Irish. Perhaps in the past we may never have exactly looked on a visit from the Reading based team as a threat to our long standing home record. On Saturday however if we are not if we are anything but our best there is a real chance they could head back to Berkshire with the spoils.
There are perhaps chinks in their armour though. Whilst the media will tell you both teams are the biggest exponents of free flowing rugby in the country a recent analysis of stats rather suprisingly showed that Irish tend to kick just as much as any other team. Sure the Exiles like to throw it about themselves and keep the ball alive but perhaps there may be a few more gifts skywards that might first be imagined. And as we have seen this season I am sure the lads will be happy to have more than a few balls fired down their throats to run back at them from deep. That may be a sideshow however, I have a feeling this game will be won up front and maybe our aggressiveness and speed at the breakdown more than anywhere else will edge it for us on the day. A close run thing maybe but results elsewhere could see the victors heading the table by Saturday night. Here's hoping!
As usual when a year comes to a close people are looking back over the last twelve months for their personal highlights. From a Saints perspective of course the European Challenge Cup final win at the Stoop on a balmy May night is up there but I would take the win over Munster at the Gardens this term as my personal favourite, it was a game that had everything both on and off the pitch. Perhaps overall though the most pleasing thing about the last twelve months is how far the squad have come on since the turn of the year. Coming into 2009 we were still finding our feet in the top division. We still had not won on the road and displays like we saw down at Quins in the Premiership away game had you thinking we were anything but getting near the finished article. Little by little this was turned round though and by season end there was real optimism that we were going places.
Four months into this season that optimism seems well placed as we are back up there with the big boys and fighting for silverware on all three fronts. A job well done for Big Jim and the squad and a big hearty thanks from all of us i'm sure.
Maybe with this decade coming to an end too it is time to reflect over the last ten years also. A few highs and far too many lows than I would care to remember but the standouts for me were European wins in Agen and San Sebastian, winning at Welford Road becoming a habit and to cap the lot that day at Twickenham when we lifted the Heineken Cup. Yes the biggest day in the clubs history but maybe in some ways the most relevant. Coming into 2000, the first year of the ‘noughties', we were in a not too dissimilar position than we find ourselves now.
Riding high in the league, going strongly in the domestic cup and still in Europe - though just about everyone had discounted us being anything but also rans in the Heineken. Five months later we were the kings of Europe, had lost narrowly in the domestic final and fell away in the league due a series of injuries but most of all due to fatigue after giving everything on those three fronts. It's a different game now of course re rotation, fitness, conditioning and fatigue may not be the worry it was. Certainly under Nick Johnson's guidance I would expect us to be still going at it with gusto until the final, final whistle. As Saints supporters we go into 2010 and the next decade full of hope and looking forward to some more exciting times ahead.
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Happy New Year to you too.
Appetite well whetted now!
[ticketfront.com] looking forward to it.