Preview of semi final vs Northampton Saints

Semi venue
By Duncan Wood
May 30 2002

It's the biggest game the Memorial Stadium will have seen for some while. Even SKY are venturing further west than Bath to cover it! Twickenham, possible silverware and Heineken Cup qualification await Bristol if they win.

Going into Bristol Shoguns' Zurich Championship semi-final against Northampton Saints head coach Dean Ryan commented:

"We were able to put up a fantastic challenge against Leicester Tigers and come away with a win in the quarter-final. We want to play at Twickenham in the final on 8 June and the preparations have gone well for the semi-final this week. It means so much to the players, the supporters and the Club."

Wayne Smith said:

"Every time a Saints player pulls on a Saints jersey, they go out to win. We are determined to give it our best shot in the semi-final with a hope of returning to Twickenham as a positive end to our season."

So, that's what the two head coaches make of Saturday's clash. They're in it to win it!

The intriguing aspect of this clash is that the two sides met relatively recently, on May 8th, at the Memorial Stadium. On that occasion, Northampton bounced back after a strong first half performance by Bristol and ground down the Shoguns before easing clear in the last few minutes.

I've spoken to a few Bristol players in the last week or so and the general feeling is that they definitely wanted to win that Northampton game but that the match came just too soon after a hard clash with Leicester. 2 games in 3 days was just too much.

There is also a good chance that some of the injured players will be available for selection although everyone was remaining tight lipped and not revealing who they were! What is certain is that Andrew Sheridan (knee) , Matt Salter (neck) and Andrew Higgins (whiplash) and Julian White (suspension) are all unavailable. Beyond that, we'll have to wait for Dean to reveal his team.

The fixture itself is something of a controversial one. The Zurich Championship Playoffs have attracted much debate in the last couple of weeks. Wayne Smith has been particularly vocal describing the organisation as "Monty Python" and criticising the fact that his 5th seeded team have to travel to play the 8th seeded team. Despite that, he is pledging to name his strongest side and play to win.

So, Northampton are in it for the glory, the prospect of a day out at Twickenham and the chance of silverware. Bristol are also interested in all those things but there is also the prospect of Heineken Cup qualification riding on the result.

Northampton have already qualified but Bristol have never played in the Cup, only the Shield. Bristol don't need to win the final, just the semi final. If they fail, Newcastle take this season's final place.

It may be this extra incentive that provides the key. Both teams are professional and will be playing for pride. But will Bristol want it just that little bit more? They have the home advantage and they have the incentive.

Bristol will certainly enter the game full of confidence having beaten Leicester at Welford Road. They will also have learnt a lot from the Northampton game recently. Bristol will certainly need to be tighter around the fringes and prevent the Saints forwards getting their pick and drive game going again.

It should be a great game but very close and very tense. Team news when available but I'm sure both coaches will play their cards close to their chests!

Here are some statistics from previous games.

Bristol Shoguns vs Northampton Saints
Sat 01 Jun, at Memorial Stadium - KO 14:00 (Live on SKY)

Results Summary between 1987 and 2002
Played 17
Bristol Won 6, 35.3%
Northampton Saints Won 11, 64.7%

TEAM GREATS
Biggest Win for Bristol, 46 - 16, 16 Apr 2001
Biggest Win for Northampton Saints, 35 - 12, 14 Mar 1998

PLAYER GREATS
Bristol top try scorer vs Northampton Saints, Paul Hull, 3 tries
Bristol top points scorer vs Northampton Saints, Felipe Contepomi, 63 points
Northampton Saints top try scorer vs Bristol, Harvey Thorneycroft, 4 tries
Northampton Saints top points scorer vs Bristol, Paul Grayson, 140 points

LAST MEETINGS

08 May 2002, Bristol vs Northampton Saints, 27 - 37, Memorial Stadium
25 Nov 2001, Bristol vs Northampton Saints, 23 - 20, Franklins Gardens
16 Apr 2001, Bristol vs Northampton Saints, 46 - 16, Memorial Stadium
25 Nov 2000, Bristol vs Northampton Saints, 6 - 24, Franklins Gardens
12 Feb 2000, Bristol vs Northampton Saints, 23 - 19, Franklins Gardens
05 Nov 1999, Bristol vs Northampton Saints, 19 - 29, Memorial Stadium
14 Mar 1998, Bristol vs Northampton Saints 12 - 35, Franklins Gardens
26 Oct 1997, Bristol vs Northampton Saints, 22 - 15, Memorial Stadium
05 Apr 1997, Bristol vs Northampton Saints, 20 - 11, Memorial Stadium
14 Sep 1996, Bristol vs Northampton Saints, 21 - 29, Franklins Gardens