Leicester v Northampton - ZP Preview

By Chris G
November 28 2002

Well here we go boys and girls, the big one! The Saints travel to Welford Road on Saturday evening with maybe their best chance in years of taking the Tigers home record (although i'm sure I typed the very same thing last year). This time though we may just have the ammunition to do it.

Just three points separates the teams and Saints will not be wanting to see too large a gap opening at this crucial stage despite having the perceived easier run in to the season.

However a lot hangs in the balance and Wayne Smith will not name his team till Saturday to see just how well the returning internationals fare at training this week while he also awaits new on ill and injured players. Tigers too are stalling on naming their starting lineup.

Leicester have not fared quite so well in their international returnees as the Saints with both Neil Back and the outstanding Lewis Moody definitely out of the reckoning after last weeks game at Twickenham where the Springboks (or should that be Springbox?) punched, kneed and kicked just about anything that moved but still could not prevent England putting 50 points on them.

Its now though that the domestic game pays the price with apart from Tigers both Newcastle and Sale having to pay a heavy price losing both Robinson and Wilkinson. The Saints, we hear, may have got off lighty with Matt Dawson declaring himself fit and both Steve Thompson and Ben Cohen chomping at the bit to carry on where they left off last week.

So despite all these lingering questions on fitness just who can we expect to see?

Well the East Midlands derby has never been for the faint hearted so there may be wholesale changes from the two sides on show last week. The young Saints side that took Quins apart and the Tigers side that played abjectly (their description) at London Irish. Both coaches will not be taking this lightly and if the best are fit both Smudger and Dean Richards will have no other option but to pitch them in from the start. Both will be aware that given how tight these games normally are you cannot allow a team an early start and you would again expect this to be blood and thunder, head to head from the first whistle.

In the front row Thompson and Tam Smith would be expected to return while Robbie Morris, on the bench for England again last week will be raring to go in place of the injured Mattie Stewart. All three could have a major impact not only up front in the setpiece but Thompson and Smith especially in the loose where 'Wally' was outstanding for England and Tom pivotal for Scotland.

For Leicester the ABC club has now long gone although Graham Rowntree could make a start after returning from injury. The more likely starting combination (according to our esteemed colleagues at the Tigers site) is Perry Freshwater, Dorian West and Franck Tournaire.

Saints well remember Freshwaters antics last season when he waltzed through the defence to score a try that even half the Tigers supporters was sure was Josh Kronfeld. While West is solid and depenable he is not going to set the world alight and may leave the fireworks to the mercurial Tournaire.

In the second row Saints have a problem. With Mark 'Deso' Connors out with a shoulder injury and Johan Ackerman now back in South Africa there is a mini injury crisis at lock. We await news on Steve Williams illness but if fit he is a cert to start. The question is who to pair him with? Jon Phillips is the obvious answer on form this season while Rob Hunter may partner JP should Big Swilly be absent. However on current showing Matt Lord could get well get a start as he is fresh and not weighed down with any Tigers v Saints 'history'.

That Leicester will almost certainly start with England pairing Martin Johnson and Ben Kay only adds to the conundrum and i'm willing to bet this selection gives more headaches than any other position for the coaching team this week. Theres is no doubt Leicester are long odds on to dominate this area of play, something i'm sure is not lost on Smudger and the forwards coaches.

Two of the Saints back row are automatic choices in Andy Blowers and Budge Pountney and ex-Tiger Mark Soden has also probably done enough over the last couple of weeks to keep the No.8 shirt although Grant Seely could come into the reckoning. Another youngster who showed well in recent weeks, Darren Fox, has time on his side and will be a force in the future but it is hard to see him replacing skipper Budge Pountney, just yet in a game of this importance.

Despite losing Back and Moody Leicester will still be able to field two internationals in their back row in Martin Corry and Kronfeld with either Adam Balding or Will Johnson completing the trio. Kronfeld on his day is a world class act but has lacked consistency at Welford Road since his arrival while Corry has seen a dip in form that has seen him leave the England lineup.
However underestimate the pair at your peril though as Saints found out at the game at the Gardens when Kronfeld dominated in a game where both sides missed their international stars.
This time though up against Budge Pountney is a completely differnt proposition and could be a key aspect of the game as Saints may have to at time live off scraps of lineout ball.

At halfback Grayson and Dawson are the obvious starters for Saints with Larry reborn and Daws playing the best rugby of his international career over recent weeks but with Leicester its perm any two from half a dozen with the joker in the pack Little Austin able to pop up in both positions. Over the last decade we've seen Healey either make or break these derbies and it will be interesting to say the least to see where he starts. He can however expect close attention from a certain Hurricane Blowers should he start at halfback. A potential flashpoint in the making.

At centre, unless Peter Jorgensen makes a suprise return we could well see the pairing of John Leslie and Chris Hyndman continue where they left off last week while Leicester again perm any of Kafer, Smith and Gelderbloom. With the back three and the back row feeding off the recycling of John Leslie and Hyndman, looking like the find of the season last week, with his darting opportunist runs this could be the area where the game is won and lost (despite worries about the lineout) if they put our back three through gaps or into space. Bruce Reihana or Ben Cohen could move inside to replace Hyndman but in my mind that will be an opportunity missed.

And now we come to that back three. Tigers will see the return of Stimpson and Murphy as an absolute plus after last weeks display but its certainly Saints that are in the ascendancy here. A back three of Ben Cohen, Bruce Reihana and Nick Beal, now back to his best, will in all probability be playing together for the first time but boy are they going to put the fear of god into some teams. All are big rangy runners that can attack from deep and Ben and Bruce will be coming off their wings to look for work all over the park. Once that break has been created expect Nick Beal to be on their shoulders for the kill. Call me biased but I honestly don't think Tigers have got an answer for them.

So what of Leicester as a unit?

Well they are the team that everyone else measures themselves against after the successes of the last few seasons but by their own admission they are not having the best of it this time round.
At the halfway stage of the ZP they have lost as many games as they did in the whole of last season and despite a recent return to form thay can still be toppled quite comprehensively as they were last week at Irish international players or not.

Perhaps a bit of the old spark has gone and maybe they are a team in transition but they still have not lost at Welford Road in the league since Jonah was a lad and will fight tooth and nail to preserve that run especially against us, the old foe from over the border.

But i'm going to put my head on the block on this one and despite them dominating the lineout I think Back and Moody are big losses and just for once we have got more talent (on current news) around the park and i'm taking Saints to steal it by a score but given the history of these clashes I would not at all be suprised to see another draw!!!.

See you there..........