Supporters views after the win over Falcons

Come on you Saints!
By The Supporters
September 12 2002

Following the 31-13 home win over Newcastle at the new look Franklins gardens, the supporters expressed their opinion on the COYSDC messageboard. Once again there were too many comments to include all of them so we tried to pick out the best bits.

Maverick
Plus points, last week we kept out the ZP's "best" back line, this week the penalty count meant JW couldn't have a bearing on the result. When it all comes together (as I believe it will) there will be one or two sides on the receiving end of a right tonking before the season ends.

Steve 393
Yeah okay it was a win, but it should have been a stuffing. Our forwards played well as a pack, couple of lineouts went askew but nothing serious and everyone got stuck in. We should have tonked em in the backs though. There were 2 or 3 man overlaps a-plenty every time we ran it and all it needed was someone to run straight, commit the tackler, & give the pass & the line was begging. I do like the look of Oriol Ripol though, he's a wee burner and Sleights looked sharp too, his try was well taken. My MOM was JL & I thought we missed him when he went off injured.


Connect
I thought it was a game of missed chances...too many handling errors (gloves)? And too many "I can do this on my own" attempts, when there were players overlapping, who could have scored. Watching the video after the game, it was interesting to hear John Leslie say that Wayne Smith will be giving them a roasting for so many errors...dragging sandbags round at 07.30 on a Sunday morning, then lads?!

Gazmo
Lets not lose focus, yes the Saints made too many unforced errors, they could of played better, they could of scored more tries ( and got the bonus point)But just think, how easy they beat Newcastle, lust imagine when the Saints start firing on all cylinders. There is so much more to come.


Ouseburn
good luck for the rest of the season - hope when you come up to KP we can beat you on our turf - but after today’s performance I'm not so sure. Well done.


Tom Needham
I think you should be aware of a fact that hasn’t been released to you yet, when Ripol played for Roth his 14 tries or whatever came at one per game average, he only played half a season!! You look a little one dimensional, but your pack is awesome.

HeadSaint
Thought Raspberry had a great game. Looking forward to some exciting rugby this season. He's not a shirker in the tackle dept either on today's showing. Whilst it may not have been one of Ben's finest games, he still got on the score sheet - if he can keep doing that I'm happy!

Mark H
Without wishing to be too controversial, if Smudger wants to play Ben at centre, wouldn't it be worth him playing, say, forty minutes in the Wanderers on Monday, just to give him more experience in the position? With the Bris game not being until the Sunday, there's still time to recover for Sunday, especially as I don't see how either Sleights or Ripol can be dropped after today.

St. Bart
Kingsthorpe's finest just doesn't have the whiplash acceleration required of an outside centre. And where was he when Grimes scored? Haven't watched the tape yet, so will keep my thoughts on Raspberry's defensive capabilities till later but I do remember him being pretty well fearless against Epi. No doubt about his pace though, made Sideshow Joe look pedestrian. He could be the signing of the year. Lionel had one of his better games and Larry bossed it well.
It all seemed to go a bit pear shaped when we made all of the substitutions, but Danny Richmond proved what pressure he can put Wally under, stealing several 50/50 loose balls on the floor, and secure in the tight.
5 points were there for the asking, but it's early days yet.

Fly Half
Ripol was very elusive but we didn't score from either of his breaks....too picky ?Richmond played very well but when Wally and Mattie went off we lost our dominance of the front row. Line out was better. By my count we lost three , two of which were to the tail, which was a vast improvement. Vass impressed me when he came on ...what a relief to have a back up who knows what he is doing
the half backs were sloppy in the first 10 mins then tightened up ..no flapping from jar jar ... well done. We didn't show enough patience to get that 4th try. the subs had about 20 mins to gel and finish it but we lost our way for 10 mins after they came on still lots of good things especially the rucking..but do we have any mauling capability?

Bletchley Saint
All I can say is that he (Ripol) reminded me of Simon Geoghan when he was at his peak with Ireland/London Irish...... Both very fast and unpredictable so extremely difficult to defend against...... Worth their weight in gold (green and black!)

Fat Alan
Managed to find a pub to watch the game in. Should have been a bonus point with masses of squandered chances. Two fantastic breaks from Ripol with one going outside Smokin Joe. If we actually get our act together we might be quite good.

Smurfomatic
Agreed - missed out there, although Newcastle defended well. No yellow cards! Ripol had a blinder, glad I didn't have to decide MOTM.

Craig in Wooton
A win is a win I suppose, but we should have got a bonus point. Well done the lads though. Thought Ripol was electric, Jar Jars passing was abysmal, Connors looked steady, and Seely played well also. Onto next week!

Big D
Glad our little Spanish superstar is doing well in the ZP. We all knew at Roth he would shine in the top flight, just wish it could have been with us. Didn’t see much of the game, but did see a couple of flashes from raspberry. He's class.

Big D
You're right Tom, he's a cracking defender, and I think he'd even stop Lomu. I don't recall him shirking any defensive duties last season, and I still think that try against Wuss last year was one of the best I've seen. Thought he was going to repeat it today with a couple of his runs. Anyway, Saints are now my top team in the ZP cos I love little Oriol. In a manly kind of way of course.



Mark H
I don't wish to appear ungrateful, but that was a point dropped - it could have been somewhere in the sixties. I've just see the bit on Sky commenting on Raspberry's defence. So his poor defensive qualities prevented him from ripping down Taione, like he did on numerous occasions. I also thought Grant had an immense game, considering that he was getting hospital passes every other pass he received.

Sambo
Just read Sunday Times report no mention of Raspberry, this boy must be one of the most exciting signings we've made for a few years, a star in the making

Tom Needham
as a Roth supporter who watched the match I thought id give a completely unbiased opinion of the match, you played ok, your forwards were just BIGGER than they were and that obviously gave you a big advantage, but far too often your forwards would stand in the line not giving your backs any option other than to give the ball to them, for me they ought to stand back and give the backs a chance. Your midfield control was appalling, Leslie is a solid centre but I think if you play Cohen at centre again your team will get laughed off the pitch, Grayson was Grayson, classy yet reliable, Dawson had an off day yet still didn’t really let you down. I think you need to re think your centres, I think if you are going to invest money it should DEFFINATELY be on a world class winger to play outside Leslie, Ripol got the ball twice and look what he did. If you look at the momentum your backs put onto the game it is negligible, you are lateral and Grayson despite being class cannot play a completely flat game. You are a very good side, I was impressed with your pack and think you have great potential, but this may have to come at two costs, ONE you have to try to be different, don’t criticise players for doing something different. and TWO buy the best outside centre money can buy, in the same way that bath need a fly half you need someone both to break the outside tackle and not need to kick or cut back inside and someone who isn’t afraid of making a mistake and forcing your wingers to try to go OUTSIDE the man, this is a sign or a confident and imaginative team, when you see your backs BACKING their own ability that is when you know you have the right idea. You had the game won early on and you needed to back your own ability and take a few risks, so what if you concede a try, because if you have true aspirations you need to take risks to get bonus points especially at home. well done, I’m off to watch Roth against Exeter hope to see you next year.... ps great job with the new ground, looks fantastic

Ajack
Tom I agree with what you say and have said so in the thread base skills and ambition. With regard to a world-class winger we have signed Bruce Reihana, he arrives in November.


Alan T
I hope we learn to deal with his pace, as we never really got to grips with Townsend sprinting way ahead of his support. At least at wing it's not as noticeable as at centre/ outside half. On a general view, when we can get rid of the mistakes, we are gonna be awesome. Looking at the Glaws score, it looks like the league this year could be really competitive.

Ben Dover
I must admit to feeling complete and total frustration at the final whistle on Saturday, if only for the fact that we dropped a point that a lot of other sides will take against Newcastle. BP’s are the key to winning the Premiership.
However 24 hours on, I am reminded that it was only the second competitive match of the season. While it is obvious that things are still not translating quiet as well from the training pitch to the match and I await Broonie's detailed analysis with interest, the potential is at least recognisable this season. Lest we forget this time last year it was difficult to see any results coming our way. One encouraging factor is that the players themselves were less than happy with a performance that we would have been happy with last season. It was one of those performances where the lowest common denominator was adopted rather than the side rising to the highest level. We currently still lack the killer instinct that is required to win Championships, the mental side of the game still needs working on. On the practical front, it does remain a mystery to me that we committed ourselves to all our substitutions before the bonus point was secured. In the last twenty minutes we were turned over way too many times. In conclusion I would be just as nervous about the season were we flying high at the top of the table, “peaking too soon” and all that. At the moment the potential is there for the season to go either way, it’s still too early to tell. When it works we will have weekends when we can beat anyone but whether the much-vaunted consistency will be with us this season I have my doubts.

Old Pete
We should have had 50 on the board by half time. and I've no doubt that Wayne will tell them so. Also - although some substitutions may have been "forced " I cant help feeling that some resulted in loss of shape and without them we would have got - well not 50 but certainly that bonus point. Agree about Ben - his power etc was wasted as he tried to work out what to do - sometimes I thought all he was achieving was a bigger faster version of Matty Allen on the crash ball. Trouble is although so many players had moments of brilliance they also had moments of mediocrity or worse. Positives were there - but to my mind only compared with some of last season’s poorer displays. Way to go yet and lastly Raspberry Ripol must be the signing to make others weep.

Broonie
I thought we were dreadful- and that makes me quite excited.
Last year I just did not see how we could beat a good side. this year, how well we do is going to depend on how quickly we can translate the obvious potential into a complete expression of it on the pitch . The support does not yet automatically know where to be (for Larry’s first half break, the Bealer stayed deep and wide far too long, and lost him, when he should have engaged afterburners and headed for the posts as soon as Larry beat the first guy) and the runners don't yet know by instinct where the support is. Daws needs to stop the egg-watching, and Wally will kick himself for slow presentation of the ball which slowed at least 2 moves down and wasted chances. But generally there were the hints of a very high tempo game , with a rhythm that could be very difficult to stop. I can see how a side playing this game accurately could beat the best , which I never could last year.

Tedge
Have to agree with most of Ajack's doubts about their performance. There DOES seem to be a lack of awareness at times - the penalty at 24-6 was glaringly obvious. There was a previous incident which Sky commented on where the decision as to what to do with a penalty appeared to be taken off the field - doesn't say a lot for decisive captaincy, whoever was in charge ! On a positive note it is still very early and I would be surprised if Smudger isn't picking all this up. Mind you he would have seen it last season as well which might be a cause for worry. If Sleights stays fit we look to have a surfeit of wingers and a shortage of quality centres.

Howlin
Just finished catching up on the board and most of the comments seem to go down the same route. Can't help thinking that sometimes we are seeking perfection !! There were a lot of errors in the game but I think most of these are due to the team's ambition. They are trying to play at a faster pace, there are new players to bed in (how long did it take Ollie to settle) and different game plans to get used to. What is for certain is that we are in for some great Rugby at Franklins this season with a few more classy players in the squad who will not be lost during the six nations. I don't think there was anything that went wrong against Newcastle that can't be put right by the coach and the result was never in doubt. I can't wait for the next match. This was always billed as a three-year plan, I would say we are well on track. Who knows, with the championship playoff extended to three teams (although I don't agree with it) we have got an outside chance of the title this year.


Stockers
The recognition in public at long last and from Uncle Keith's own pen in the programme that John Steele was the man who saw the need for Wayne Smith and went out and got him. The new stand looking great and the crowd above 10,000, without much travelling support. Ripol showing us he is class and should dot down a few tries given a bit more application in contact. Sleight's getting his first try for two years. Still room for improvement in many areas mind but wasn't it great to be back at FG!!

Wellsaint too
My opinion on Saturday's game is the same as many others - we won the game and got four points when we should have buried them and got five. Newcastle were very poor, and if they play like that away from home every week most teams will be taking five points from them.

Stockers
If we can win fairly well whilst playing "badly" I'm pretty hopeful about the future.

Shaddo
My thoughts precisely Stockers. Leagues are not won by teams playing brilliantly every weekend, no side can play 100% every weekend. Leagues are won by teams who have an off-day and still manage to win. True, a BP would have been nice, but if we can make mistakes and still win that's a reasonable start. If we were playing our best and failing to get a BP against a weak side, then it would be time to worry.