New look Northampton Saints taking shape.

By Chris G
July 20 2002

With the announcement of the signing of All Black Bruce Reihana coach Wayne 'Smudger' Smith has added another piece to his jigsaw for the Saints side this coming season. So just how are the new look Saints taking shape?

BACKS

Fullback:
Nick Beal is currently the player viewed by most as their starting fullback but things could change this season. With the departure of Joe Shaw to Newcastle it appears on the face of it that the main threat to Nicks spot will come with the arrival of Bruce Reihana in November. Oriol Ripol has been mentioned as a possible in this spot but surely his stature might raise question marks and he is more than likely destined for a wing slot.

Wings:
Ben Cohen is a cert to start leaving one wing open to be claimed by Ripol, the returning Jonny Sleightholme or either of the aforementioned Beal or Reihana.
Ripol, or 'Raspberry' as some Message Board wit has already named him, may be given the chance to prove his ability at this level early on but a return to top form by Sleights could really upset the applecart in this area.
Certainly an embarrassment of riches in this area and we have not even mentioned James Brooks who played on occasions on the wing last season, but more of the mercurial youngster later.

Centres:
Peter Jorgensen is now a fixture in the centre of the park and, but for a slow start after his return from Rugby League, he could well have pushed Andy Blowers all the way in the various player of the year votes last season. The guys a star!
Despite doubts from some readers over John Leslie, I'm in no doubt he's the man for the job alongside Jorgy. Certainly since the arrival of Wayne Smith, Long Johns gameplan has changed and he clears up a lot more in midfield than he is given credit for and I'm sure the Leslie/Jorgensen combination is the start of a beautiful friendship.
To cover there is Mark Tucker and again Mr Reihana who has been known to play centre in NZ.
It’s a big season for Tucker. Last year was something of a levelling off for the former England U21 skipper and this year he must ensure he takes that step up in class to continually knock on the first team door. He shouldn't be too perturbed, a young Ben Cohen went through exactly the same process and look what happened to him.
Flyhalf:
Unless we are keeping Carlos Spencer under wraps it’s a start for Paul Grayson who returned as a born again No.10 under the guidance of Smudger last season.
Ali Hepher has gone but again Bruce Reihana can cover this berth and we hear great things of young Ben Russell who must surely be given a shot at the big time this season.
The biggest threat though could come from James Brooks. It’s a bit of a conundrum on where to play the youngster who Wayne Smith describes as our 'very own box of tricks'. His future, despite rumblings about him becoming a fullback must surely be in one of the halfback positions given his natural skill. He must however develop his kicking but personally given his displays against Rob Howley and Kyran Bracken last year when he was dropped in the deep end I'd like to see him up there challenging Matt Dawson for his shirt at scrumhalf.

Scrumhalf:
There's only one Matt Dawson!
But over the last few years, although he's given heart and soul to the club, he has not exactly been pushed for his place. Dom Malone, now departed for Munster, never seriously put up any kind of threat to Dawsons shirt.
Youngsters Ian Vass and Johnny Howard understudy but as mentioned above, and this is only a personal view, the one person at the club who could push the England and Lions scrumhalf all the way is Archie Brooks.
It's in Smudgers hands.

FORWARDS

Props:
Towards season end Tom Smith returned to his best and looked like he was starting to enjoy his rugby again. I'd have him down as the cornerstone of the pack. Matt Stewart will have a battle to keep the ever-improving Robbie Morris on the bench this term and given the youngsters meteoric rise nobody would bet against it. Youngsters Brett Sturgess and Kelvin Todd wait in the wings.

Hooker:
Interesting, very interesting.
You have the current England hooker in Steve Thompson being pushed all the way by Dan Richmond. It could be either and given a run in the side who is not to say that young Richmond does not come into international reckoning either before long. With both the English and Welsh U21s hookers on the books of the club this position looks somewhat solid for years to come.

Locks:
Ollie Brouzets return to France has left a huge hole in the second row that will be hard to fill. 'Bruiser' came into his own last season after the departure of Tim Rodber and will be sorely missed.
On the face of it we have just three specialist locks available, Johan Ackerman and new signing Steve Williams look like the starting pair while the ever-reliable Jon Phillips again covers. Other locks at the club Andy Newman and Lee Evans have left for various reasons.
Injuries could cause us problems here and the return to the Welsh squad by Williams does us no favours. Smudger could be tempted to dip into the market and the name Tom Bowman has been mentioned in various rumours but no word from the club as yet.

Back Row:
Budge Pountney and Andy Blowers are mainstays of the team and pick themselves. The question is does AB stay at 8 or revert to the blindside?
Rumours again suggest that a big rangy SH No.8 could be on the shopping list but in Grant Seely, if he can stay injury free, they have the man to fill that role or indeed fill the blindside while Blowers stays at 8. A consistent run could see Grant establish himself as a fixture in the side.
Mark Soden is not the finished article yet but is certainly on his way and will push Grant every inch of the way.

Possible current lineup:
(including Reihana but no other 'possibles')

Reihana
Ripol, Leslie, Jorgensen, Cohen
Grayson
Dawson

Smith, Thompson, Morris
Ackerman, Williams
Pountney, Blowers, Seely

Subs from:
Brooks, Beal, Sleightholme, Tucker
Stewart, Richmond, Phillips, Soden

So there you have it, not quite as bad as we thought given the mass exodus of fringe players over the summer. With one, or possibly two, more class players on the way its some job trying to fit everyone into just 15 spots and there will be some real competition for key places this year.

And that can only be good for Northampton rugby.