News: Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do..Saints v Bath
Oh s%$t !!
By Dominic Newbould
September 18 2010
Bath sunk, Saints buoyant, with a win, four tries and a bonus point. Saints are top of the table, first three games of the season won: a record - what a start!
AVIVA PREMIERSHIP ROUND 3
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS v BATH RUGBY
Franklin's Gardens 17th Sept 2010
Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do…
A tale of 2 packs
Northampton 31 Bath 10
By St Dom
Bath sunk, Saints buoyant, with a win, four tries and a bonus point. Saints are top of the table, first three games of the season won: a record - what a start!
My voice is still hoarse, the sweat lies caked on my brow and my teeth are gritted to a stump. We all said this would be a tight match, but we never expected this powerful, attritional and full-throttle display of Premiership rugby at its most entertaining.
Wham, slam, bam, crash – just about summed up the first 14 minutes and then we had our first scrum. That was when it became seriously tasty, as a geriatric Bruce Forsyth might say of his latest conquest… And yet, the score was only 3-0 after 20 minutes: tight as a No 3’s bind.
As so often
in this absorbing game, it is the pack that wins matches, and the backs decide
by how much. Tiny, with Daisy and Dowson well packed behind him, was
immovable. On the other side, Brian “the Mooj” 
was propelled forward by Lawes
and Wood. It was a totally subversive Saints pack and it was fitting that Geech, Saints
former coach but now Bath Consultant, and dear old Nacho, now a Bathist, were
there to see the Bath scrum demolished, with or without Dave Wilson (without
from 51 minutes while he spent 10 in the sin-bin).
Daisy was
supreme in the lineout, supreme in the ruck and – whatever comes after supreme –
he was it in defence. Dylan hammered and drove across the gain line;
Courtney strolled around piggy’s patch like a newly released giraffe
discovering it was heaps bigger than anything else in the safari park (until he
was taken off at 9pm because it was past his bedtime).
Bath missed Flatman and Mears and, perhaps foolishly, left out the crafty Claassens, in favour of the much travelled McMillan (formerly of Glasgow twice, Leeds and Wasps). Banahan, slightly injured as so often he is, did not appear on the team sheet, but – on tonight’s showing – it wouldn’t have made enough difference.
As it happened, I was at the Wreck at the fag-end of last season, and saw Bath’s slick passing and accurate kicking win that game by a single point, a game they probably deserved to lose but Saints didn’t deserve to win.
This time, the atmosphere was as electric as the Recreation Ground was flat, and the tries were dotted down (two by Flash: hurrah!) and (most of) the kicks flew over the posts, which looked a little awry to my jaundiced eyes…
After such a wonderful atmosphere, on a fine Friday evening in September and a glorious victory over an old adversary, it seems churlish to carp or criticise anything.
So I won’t.
The End
P.S. Just a word of caution. I have to say this: I’ve never seen Saints’ defence as parsimonious as it has been in the last 3 games, but it can’t go on like this. Not even the behemoths of St James can take this kind of battery and assault, week after week.
P.P.S. Euan’s wedding tomorrow (Saturday). I’m told it will be a dry affair, but what a stag night!
Referee: Chris White (181st Premiership game)
Northampton Saints 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Bruce Reihana, 10 Shane Geraghty, 9 Lee Dickson, 1 Soane Tonga’uhia, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt) , 3 Brian Mujati , 4 Courtney Lawes , 5 Christian Day , 6 Phil Dowson , 7 Tom Wood , 8 Roger Wilson
Replacements, 16 Brett Sharman , 17 Regardt Dreyer, 18 Euan Murray, 19 Calum Clark, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Ryan Powell, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Joe Ansbro (All replacements used!)
Bath Rugby 15. Nick Abendanon, 14. Matt Carraro, 13. Shontayne Hape, 12. Olly Barkley, 11. Tom Biggs, 10. Sam Vesty, 9. Mark McMillan, 1. David Barnes, 2. Pieter Dixon, 3. David Wilson, 4. Stuart Hooper, 5. Danny Grewcock, 6. Andy Beattie, 7. Lewis Moody, 8. Luke Watson (c).
16. Ross Batty, 17. Nathan Catt, 18. Duncan Bell, 19. Ben Skirving, 20. Josh Ovens, 21. Michael Claassens, 22. Ben Williams, 23. Jack Cuthbert.
By the way: Is Northampton the only club that hasn’t ruled out signing Henson?
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According to @shane_geraghty, the wedding was dry with Apple Tizers!
Saint til I die
"It's not the despair, Saints, I can take the despair. It's the hope I can't stand."