News: AP: Northampton Saints vs Harlequins - Match Preview

By serious_saint
February 26 2015

It's another Friday evening game under the lights for Northampton Saints this weekend as they welcome Harlequins to Franklin's Gardens in Round 16 of the Aviva Premiership season. Serious_saint (Richard) is back with the cyber-pen for this one and here's his side-ways take on the match...

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS vs HARLEQUINS

AP: Friday, 27th February 2015 - 7.45pm (BT)

FRANKLIN'S GARDENS, NORTHAMPTON

MATCH PREVIEW

Throughout my life I have been fascinated by the written word, whether this be the classics, newsprint, coffee table reference books or self-help manuals. Contemporary fiction and sports autobiography would be my preference, or the unintended combination of both in the recently read autobiography of Lance Armstrong; Every Second Counts. Published in 2004 this is indeed creative writing of the highest order and now that I have a little more spare time I quite fancy a bit of creative writing myself. Consequently I have been looking at a couple of online courses and discovered that there are a few tried and trusted rules to follow:

Ensure a catchy theme: Histrionicus Histrionicus (Harlequin Duck); “The adult breeding male has a colourful and complex plumage pattern”. I thought this might make an interesting theme for a piece on our friends from London but, in the absence of Joe Marler, this made little sense. Marlon Yarde is doing his best but is not in the same league as his burly front row colleague with his occasional, colourful Mohican hairdo. So, whilst it may not be that catchy, I’m intrigued by the apparent freefall of Quins from End of Season Top of The Table Cup Winners and Premiership Champions in 2012 to the lowly position in which they now find themselves. Table toppers in 2012, 3rd in 2013, 4th in 2014 and currently 9th with little chance of being in the Premiership mix come May. However, like Saints, they appear to have had a reasonably settled squad during this period that seems to be horribly underperforming. Confidence, in any sport, is the factor that frequently determines the winners from losers and it is this quality that the Quins currently lack. They no longer seem able to play their high risk off-loading game with any certainty. Saints, thankfully, have it in bucket loads and it shines through when the pressure is on (Racing Metro aside). Bath away last weekend for instance, 10 nil down after 25 minutes, no problem and no panic. Trust in the game plan and stick to it. This I think will be the main difference between the two sides this weekend.

Develop Characters: Smiling Jim Malinder the shaven headed mastermind behind the East Midlands rugby powerhouse. Why utter four words when one will do? Connor O’Shea, the crew cut genial Irishman attempting to steer his charges off the rocks. I imagine that both Jim and Connor have quite different personas behind the dressing room door and that their easy charm disappears when the need arises. It’s a difficult time for the man from Twickenham as he must be running out of excuses for his teams’ poor performances. Early season most of his post-match interviews revolved around a young team, full of academy players and still learning. I’m not entirely convinced by that as, as mentioned earlier, they have been relatively settled as a squad which, when fully fit, boasts many internationals including the current England captain. Just a cursory glance at the Come All Without, Come All Within website shows that the natives are getting restless and that these are worrying times at the Stoop.

Set Up The Plot: The Gardens under lights on a late winters eve...need I say more? Well yes, The Saints have been under performing, by their own very high standards, in the past few appearances at Franklins Gardens. However, the stage is set for them to put this right and I believe they will on Friday. Due to my tardiness with this preview we now know the Saints lineup and the inclusion of Courtney, Woody, Calum and Corbs in the match day squad is fantastic news. I for one cannot wait to see how the drama plays out but, without wishing to be complacent, feel we Saints fans are in for a treat.

Reconnect With Your Original Theme: So back to our colourful friend the Harlequin Duck, which, my extensive research indicates is the only species of it's genus. Quite apropos as Quins were likewise as a London Premiership club not so long ago. Further reading indicates that its preferred habitat is fast moving streams, however I could find no reference to the choppy waters in which its larger, rugby playing namesake presently struggles.

Northampton Saints: Wilson; K Pisi, G Pisi, Stephenson, Elliott; Myler, Dickson (capt); Waller, Haywood, Denman, Lawes, Day, Manoa, Clark, Dickinson.

Replacements: Williams, Corbisiero, Mercey, Wood, Dowson, Fotuali'i, Olver, Olver, Tuala

Harlequins: Monye; Yarde, Hopper, Sloan, Walker; Evans, Dickson; Lambert, Ward, Sinckler, Matthews, Robson (capt), Clifford, Wallace, Talei.

Replacements: Buchanan, Marfo, Shields, Twomey, Trayfoot, Tebaldi, Botica, Lindsay-Hague.

News: AP: Northampton Saints vs Harlequins - Match Preview

Posted by: ComeOnYouSaints.com (IP Logged)

Date: 26/02/2015 16:35

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