News: Saints get their self-belief back

On Saturday, the Saints visited Leeds Carnegie for the rearranged AP game from Round 10, the original fixture having been frozen off during the little cold snap we experienced in early December.  This was another proper kick off time, 3 o’clock in the afternoon on a Saturday:  unfortunately the local soccer team, “Leeds United”, also had a game at the same time, entertaining a side from Ipswich.  So early arrival was advised.

Saints get their self-belief back 

Match Report Leeds Carnegie vs Saints
Saturday March 12^th 2011,  Kick off 3:00pm

Leeds Carnegie 13-23 Northampton Saints

By Frank Chambers

The morning was bright, dry, and quite mild.  Just the weather for some skilful running rugby!  However, the Leeds management obviously had other ideas about that, snipping a couple of yards off either side of the pitch, making it more of a corridor than a playing surface.   The Leeds Carnegie stadium does actually have the thickest white lines of any sports field I have seen (note to self:  avoid jokes about players “having a nose for the line”). However, as there had been a Rugby League match the previous evening (Rhinos 46, Salford Reds 12), the lines had been redrawn to allow for minor differences such as a 22 instead of a 20...  and to create a narrow pitch instead of a normal one.   Consequently if you stared at the pitch for long enough it felt like you had double vision.

As can be seen from the teams below, the Saints were missing five regular first team players who were involved in the Six Nations.  Leeds were missing skipper Marco Wentzel and Wally Thompson, but had received a boost in the form of Hendre Fourie being released back to his club earlier in the week.  If one old friend – Wally – was missing, there was another to see, Daniel Browne, he of the sticky-up hair and rugged permatanned good looks.  Except he was sporting a new haircut: the cock’s comb thingy has gone, replaced by a sleeker, more aerodynamic style.   Also on the Leeds side was Adrian Jarvis – ex of Quins and a number of other clubs - who had been brought into the Leeds side, one assumes, for his kicking.  Certainly Ciaran Thomas, who he replaced – enjoyed a similar reputation to, well, your average Saints kicker.  So with the narrowed pitch, we anticipated a bit of a kickfest.  And so it came to pass. 

 More encouraging for the Saints was the gradual return of some of their missing players.   Courtney was back for his second full game; Roger Wilson was back after two weeks in the chokey for doing something inconsequential to a Sarrie, and joy of joys, Lee Dickson was finally able to play after some seriously bad luck with consecutive injuries.  So the Saints were able to field their strongest side since the Six Nations started.

So to the match.  Leeds were clearly up for it from the kickoff, which was well taken by Bruce Reihana but turned over shortly afterwards.   A penalty was duly conceded 30m out in and front of the posts, and Leeds were 3-0 up after just a minute or so.   The kicking strategy was clear as Jarvis kicked the ball into the Saints’ corner.  An inconsequential lineout led to a Leeds scrum – now we would see if Leeds would miss Marco Wentzel as much as we thought they would.  They did.  The Saints made a mess of the scrum, Saints eventually won the turnover from Leeds’ messy ball, and Shane Gerachty cleared his lines.  

After just six or seven minutes, the Saints showed how dangerous they could be if everything clicks, and they scored a try in the blink of an eye.   They pinched a Leeds Lineout, Myler hoisted a huge garryowen, and big James Downey was up with the kick to take the catch.  He offloaded to Myler, who broke through some flimsy tackling to score by the posts.  With Myler’s conversion, the score moved to 7-3 to the Saints.

The Saints were still finding their feet however, and we giving away what seemed to be unnecessary penalties.  After some argy bargy on the floor of a ruck, referee Chris White awarded Leeds a penalty in front of the posts on the 10m line, and Jarvis converted to make the score 6-7.

On the quarter hour mark Saints mounted only their second real attack on the opposition’s 22.  They did look sharp with pinpoint passing mixed up with heavy drives through the middle.  A Leeds misdemeanour had given the Saints a penalty advantage though, and when play broke down Myler knocked over a simple one from in front of the posts.   6-10.

The Saints were starting to get the better of the exchanges now, exemplified by the pack getting the upper hand on Leeds put-in, and Lee Dickson pouncing on the ball the moment it made an appearance at the back of the scrum.  Oh how we have missed him...

By now it was clear that both sides were employing the kicking percentages game similar to the one that Saracens employed with some success at the start of last season.  Hoof it up, hoof it back, hoof it up again and the first one to knock the ball on is a cissy.  At least the Saints tried to be creative, such as when Digger hit a low kick off a Leeds player which dribbled over the line at their 5 metre mark.  As much as we didn’t like to see possession being kicked away, nothing bad seemed to come of it, and generally we were gaining territory.  The Saints supporters seemed happy with proceedings, anyway, judging from the volume of the Wendy’s being belted out.

Towards the end of the first half, Leeds started to suffer more with lineouts not being straight, dropping the ball, and other signs of a team that is out of sorts (sound familiar?).   It was also clear that Lee Dickson had added zip, creativity and some virtuoso passing behind the scrum, and Roger Wilson was a big steadying influence.  

As time passed, there were more and more fizzing passes thrown with growing confidence, and the Saints’ backs seemed to have more time to decide which way to go.  We felt that the Saints were the better team in the first half, but the game was by no means over.  Indeed, right on 40 minutes there was a breakaway by Hendre Fourie which looked momentarily serious until Chris White called a knock on and blew for the end of the half.  Cue boos from the crowd, and awful music from the PA.

Half time:  Leeds Carnegie 6, Saints 10.

The second half opened with more of the same:  if there had been half time lectures, they hadn’t changed the pattern of play much.  Indeed a small moment of amusement came when Jarvis kicked the ball straight out from outside his 22 – and it landed between the new sideline and the old one.  Kick, kick, kick - that’s what we got with the narrowing of the pitch.   The Saints had two full backs – Shane and Bruce – because there wasn’t enough room for more than one winger!

courtesy Redhat

Half way through the second half and we could report that Leeds’ handling hadn’t improved much (but the Saints weren’t perfect either), the Saints scrum was dominant, and their lineout got the better of the Leeds one now and again.  On the floor, Leeds were tenacious; they certainly knew how to ruck.

On 58 minutes, two things happened:  the Saints mounted a determined attack around the Leeds 10m line, and gained a penalty for offside.  As Myler prepared to take the kick, the big screen displayed “Italy 22-21 France” – that got a cheer.  As did Myler’s kick which was successful.   Saints now 13-6 up.

Shortly afterwards Myler kicked possession away again, but after it was taken by Alfie To’oala (a monster of a player in the Chabal mould) he found himself isolated and was penalised for holding on.   Another three for Myler, 6-16 after 62 minutes.

A few minutes later, and everyone’s favourite winger, our Digger, scored a belter under the posts.  Being in the right place to collect a pop pass from Myler, he weaved over the line past some forwards (including the aforementioned D. Browne), and touched down under the posts.  Myler converted, and now the Saints looked a little more comfortable at 23-6 up.

At the point the Saints seemed to sit back and let Leeds come at them, so confident were they with their defence.  To be fair, they had defended comfortably for the whole match so far.  However, Leeds now threw everything at the Saints, gradually pushing them into their 22.  They also cleaned up their handling act, and were no longer knocking on regularly to give the Saints relief.   The Saints now resembled a 15-man peppermint punch bag as they absorbed drive after drive...  but Leeds had slow ball. 

At a break in play, for a Leeds scrum near the Saints line, the Saints did a mass substitution – the whole from row were replaced by Mercey, Long and Waller, Mark Easter came on for Calum Clark and Stuart Commins replaced Lee Dickson.  Huge cheers for the departing heroes.

Unsurprisingly, the scrum with the new personnel was not what we had come to expect, and Leeds were awarded a free kick.  Taken quickly by Danny Paul, he rounded the scrum and strolled through the Saints defence and touched down at the posts.  Converted by Adrian Jarvis, the score now stood at 13-23.

At 75 minutes, for the first time and with two replacement front rows, we had a mild case of handbags.  Considering the pressure exerted by the peppermint pack throughout the game, it was perhaps surprising we had to wait so long for a show of aggression. 

Finally, in the last couple of minutes a penalty was awarded to Leeds on halfway and over by the sideline.  Three points would give Leeds a losing bonus point and something to show for their efforts.   Adrian Jarvis made good contact...  and the ball hit the post.  Some scrambling after the ball followed, Leeds knocked on and the game was over.  Hard for the Leeds supporters to take, but when you’re out of luck, well, it hurts.

No side: Leeds Carnegie 13, Saints 23.

So at the end of the game the Saints had ended their losing run, and poor Leeds are still 7 points adrift of Newcastle having played one more game.  It’s not looking good for them, but their supporters remain cheerful and friendly to the end.  Good on them.

 As for the Saints, they have moved up to fourth in the table, with no more games until their Galacticos return.   But have they turned the corner?  I mean no disrespect to Leeds, but let’s not forget that they are bottom of the table.  Our fingers should remain firmly crossed.

Bits and pieces

Of the 80 minutes of the game, at least 40 were taken up by scrum resets.  A slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean.  At one repeatedly reset scrum, Chris White came round to Brian Mujati’s side as he suspected skulduggery.  BM duly bound onto his opponent’s bicep, not on his shirt...  and White ignored it.

Adrian Jarvis was voted man of the match, possibly by his mum.  Well done him, but in my opinion some other players had better games.  Dicko, for example.

As well as Lee Dickson, Shane Gerachty had an active game with a couple of very fast breaks.  He is swift.  Steven Myler played unflappably, didn’t do anything wrong and did a lot right.  The front five had a very good game, and the backs, notably JC, hardly put a foot wrong.   Amazing what a win does for the players’ form....

As requested by St Dom (our own Academia Nut) here is a brief report on the pie situation.  A number of meat and potato pies were obtained from a nice lady in Leeds City Market (is it the biggest in the world?  Seems so).  They were very good examples of the genre, quite peppery and made with meat most probably obtained from a quadruped.  The perfect breakfast food, it is quite impossible to only eat one.  Worth the trip.

Driving into Leeds City Centre on Saturday morning and negotiating the bypasses, flyovers and one way systems, it became quite clear that the entire city was conceived by a civil engineer with sense of humour and a chemically-enhanced imagination.  But once you find the centre, it is a rewarding experience...  all the top names are represented (Harvey Nicks, Debenhams...) and it’s all laid out really well.   Perhaps the Northampton councillors could take a day trip to see what can be done?

Leeds Carnegie team

15. Michael Stephenson 
14. Henry Fa'afili 
13. Luther Burrell 
12. Scott Barrow (c) 
11. Peter Wackett 
10. Adrian Jarvis 
9. Scott Mathie 
1. Gareth Hardy 
2. Scott Freer 
3. Juan Gomez 
4. Daniel Browne 
5. Sean Hohneck 
6. Kearnan Myall 
7. Hendre Fourie 
8. Alfie To'oala 

16. Phil Nilsen 
17. Mike MacDonald 
18. Phil Swainston 
19. Danny Paul 
20. James Craig 
21. Warren Fury 
22. Ceiron Thomas 
23. Semi Tadulala 




Saints Team


15 Shane Geraghty 
14 Bruce Reihana 
13 Jon Clarke 
12 James Downey 
11 Paul Diggin 
10 Stephen Myler 
9 Lee Dickson 
1 Soane Tonga’uiha 
2 Brett Sharman 
3 Brian Mujati 
4 Courtney Lawes 
5 Christian Day 
6 Calum Clark 
7 Phil Dowson (capt) 
8 Roger Wilson 

Replacements 
16 Andy Long 
17 Alex Waller 
18 Tom Mercey 
19 Mark Sorenson 
20 Mark Easter 
21 Stuart Commins 
22 Matt Cornwell 
23 Greig Tonks 



Referee:  Chris White

Attendance:  4,262 (but it seemed like fewer)