Leicester Tigers 15 Northampton Saints 32

By Mark H
October 27 2003

On Leicestershire Monopoly, Welford Road is worth £160. I’d happily have paid £160 to see Saints continue their “monopoly” of victories over the Tigers, but the £15 I shelled out was well worth it.

It’s very rare for Saints supporters to make the trip up the road expecting their team to win, but that’s what we got, and just as last year, there were one or two special moments to savour on the way.

As usual, it was a sellout, but standing on the Crumbie Terrace it certainly didn’t seem as crowded on the ten metre line as it usually is. Still, I’m not complaining, there was a virtually unobstructed view of the whole game, and I’d take that at any ground in the country. There was what proved to be quite a strong breeze coming in from the clubhouse end, and when warming up, it was noticeable that Shane and Bruce were struggling to kick through from the ten metre line at the clubhouse end, but Shane kicked a monster through the posts at the other end. Saints started the match going into that breeze, and the feeling around me that if the scores were level at half time there would be a sense of satisfaction.

As expected in the conditions, it was Tigers who showed first, and after a maul was pulled down in the second minute Steve Booth, returning from injury at full back, hit the left hand upright from forty metres, and thankfully for Saints, the ball bounced back into the in-goal area for Bruce to touch down.

We weren’t so lucky minutes later though, when AB was penalised for a high tackle on a less than upright Harry Ellis, and this time Booth kicked the penalty. It seemed to the Saintly populous that Mr Maybank had a bit of a problem with Saints’ “intensity”, for within two minutes and on the second of two penalties after Saints had finally had some ball, Booth got three more with saints being penalised for coming in at the side.

Should mention at this point a friend who has this year discovered spread betting. As a result, every point difference between the scores would either earn or lose him a fiver. I turned to him and proposed a whip round for the final whistle if the game continued to this effect. He forced a smile…

Thankfully the tide started to turn, Saints got some ball, and used it wisely. After Shane stuck a free kick to within ten metres of the Tigers line, the pressure was cranked on the Leicester lineout, and with it the mistakes so obvious late on in last season’s match came to the fore. A knock on close to the line brought a five metre scrum just to the left hand side of the posts, and with there being a five-one split amongst the backs to indicate heading left, we expected the ball to go out that way. Instead, AB picked up from the back, passed short to Sharky Robinson, who in turn found Bruce looping round and bursting through two tackles to go over the line. A superb move that had obviously been worked on on the back pitches at FG, and with Shane converting for his 100th Saintly ZP point, Saints went in front 7-6.

It was developing into a cracking match, and if anyone thought that these Tigers would roll over has either never been to an East Midlands derby before or is a Bath fan. Booth set up the impressive Holtby for a run at the line, but Saints managed to scramble the ball into touch. What Saints couldn’t do, however, was avoid conceding another penalty. Where the Tigers side of Johnson and Back would normally go for the corner and try to drive over at this point, captain Kronfeld pointed to the posts. This time though, Booth sliced the penalty badly right. A cruel cry of “are you Stimpson in disguise?” emanated from the Crumbie, and we were assured by the Tigers’ supporters nearby assured us that he was better than that!

Tigers lost Leon Lloyd shortly afterwards when he went down heavily in a tackle, a situation not helped by being stamped on by his scrum half! This brought on another player returning from injury in Freddie Tuilagi. He wasn’t given the opportunity to make an impact straightaway, however, as Saints pressed for another try after a handling error gave Bruce the chance to break. The pressure told eventually, as a penalty was awarded in front of the posts, and Shane made it 10-6 after 26 minutes.

Despite the wind, Saints were starting to get the upper hand, and a brilliantly worked lineout on Tigers’ 22 led to the next score. Dan Richmond totally overthrew the line in a pre-planned move for Sharky to pounce on, and after making ground got another penalty. As has been his wont this season, Shane made sure of the points, and the margin was seven.

Both teams were suffering injuries, however, in the tightness of the game. On the stripey side, Will Skinner was blood replaced after a head cut by Henry Tuilagi, and worryingly for Saints, John Leslie limped off with what looked like a pulled hamstring. That was a pity, because up until that point the had been having a decent game in combining with Mark Tucker and keeping Daryl Gibson quiet. In keeping with the way the game had gone to this point, Booth then kicked another penalty as the rollercoaster swung back onto the Leicester side.

From the kick off, the ball went to Henry Tuilagi, who absolutely dropped AB as if he wasn’t there. It’s taken three seasons, but the great man has finally been run over. That’s it though for the rest of his career, and should the two clash again, I would expect the boot to be firmly on the other foot. He then released the ball to Healey who, showing a vastly improved kicking game, found touch in the Saints 22. The lineout saw Lordy crash down to the ground and stay down after landing on his shoulder. It appeared that although Lordy was not interfered with, his lifter was pushed out if the way, and as a result, George Chuter was sent for a ten minute rest, much to the annoyance of the locals.

Tigers seemed to step up a gear, and really pressed the Saints’ line, and although they didn’t make it over, Mr Maybank found it necessary to even the score up by sending Chris Budgen to the bin for killing the ball. The 14 good guys held the 14 bad guys, and Saints went in with a lead.

The rain had started by the time the second half did, and with the wind, great things were expected in the second half. We got one hell of a start. Tigers were penalised about 55 metres out, but on the angle, and Shane pointed for the posts. We shouldn’t have doubted his intentions, because it went straight through the middle and extended the lead. Booth kicked another penalty just after missing one for 16-12, and then came what possibly was the moment that signified that it wasn’t going to be Tigers’ day. Josh Kronfeld brilliantly came blind off the back of a maul, and having made thirty metres, offloaded for the ball to go along the line to Freddie Tuilagi. Tuilagi then tried to pass the ball to Ollie Smith to expose the cover, but the ball went stray and Drahm broke away down the wing. As he kicked ahead, he was launched into touch very late (don’t know who, it was on the other side of the pitch, but it should have been greeted by a yellow card), and Saints got the penalty from where the ball landed (around the Tigers 10 metre line). That decision didn’t please Mr Gobby, and Healey’s tirade earned Saints another ten metres - useful as Shane looked groggy when he got up. The kick was a formality, and it was 19-12.

If that was the moment that started the turn, the completion was only minutes away, and just as with Budge’s gypsy try last year, it will be something that will be talked about for a long, long time. In years to come, Saints supporters will increase the distance to something approaching a mile. For it to come here, and for it to come from a man who will go down as a Saints legend just made it all a little bit sweeter. Bealer ran onto a pass from Shane approaching Saints ten metre line, looked up, and on the run attempted a drop goal.

It was one of those moments that time seemed to stop, everything went silent, and the whole universe was watching the ball. Given some of Bealer’s previous drop goal attempts over the years, it could have gone anywhere. For it to go over a bar and between two posts was possibly an even sweeter moment than anything from last year. We went wild, the home support acknowledged the kick, and the match was won. The life had gone out of the home support, and the mental psychology of “they can kick them from anywhere” seemed to strike the Tigers team.

Still they tried though, but with Ollie Smith finding it difficult to break the defensive line, they had to settle for another penalty - indeed, Saints could be classed as fortunate not to have more than Budgen taking a walk, and certainly someone like Pearson next week will be flashing his cards around all over the place - and Booth kicked it for 22-15. What was refreshing, and a point that I mentioned to Stopsy after the game which he agreed with, was that the Saintly class of 2003/04 seem to be losing the “too nice” tag that has bugged them over recent years. After all, knowing when to give a team a chance of three points rather than conceding seven has been a Leicester trait for as long as I can remember, and they haven’t done too badly on it.

Lordy and Sleights were replaced by Grant and Brooksy, but Brooksy didn’t last that long, colliding with a mixture of Ellis’ arm and head in a purely accidental collision, and Sleights was back on again. What was costing Tigers was that they were turning over a lot of ball, and in previous years where they would pull the game out of the fire, you just never got that feeling that it was going to happen here. Shane kicked another penalty with six minutes of normal time left to restore the ten point margin, and there were audible sighs of relief - the longer it was at ten points, the better for heart rates!

And then came the piece de resistance. Deep in injury time, AB took a quick penalty in our half, fed Johnny Howard (on for Sharky), and having made a 35 yard break, passed outside to Bruce to cut in and force himself through Steve Booth’s tackle and over the line. If anyone wasn’t sure by this point of a Saintly victory, they would be now.

Unless they looked at the scoreboard. For some reason, it had decided to reset the score to nil-nil. One quick chorus of “Same old Leicester, always cheating” later, Shane kicked the conversion for a 19 point, 100% tally and the match was over. With a golden huddle forming on the pitch, and everyone in gold, black and green bouncing, the records were sent a-tumbling.

First back to back Saintly victories at Welford Road for thirty years, first back to back Leicester home defeats for twelve years.

First time Tigers have ever lost four successive league games, first time in 37 years they’ve lost four successive games.

Most points ever scored by Saints at Leicester.

Biggest Saints winning margin at Leicester.

Tigers fans will try and belittle the result. All I can say is that you can only beat what is put in front of you. Yes, neither team had full strength sides out, but neither were exceptionally weak though - the difference seemed to be that Saints had, surprisingly given what has gone on in recent years, more strength in depth and have adapted to losing their key players. That said, on the Tigers side, John Holtby looked impressive, and just as with our John Clarke, I can see him going to become a great full back. Daryl Gibson shone, particularly in the second half, in a losing cause; Josh Kronfeld had one of his annoyingly effective games and was at times the best Tigers attacking force; and Steve Booth kicked very well and looked sharp for someone that has been out so long.

To try and pick a Saints man of the match is difficult - they were all heroes - but words of praise from me for the entire front row. Brett Sturgess is really coming on, Dan Richmond was faultless in the lineout given the conditions, and Chris Budgen was exceptional against Graham Rowntree. My choice though would be the man who has given us the two most memorable moments of the season so far. So Nick Beal, what are you going to do from sixty metres next week? If it could be to drop kick Stuart Barnes into the lake, then I think you’ll be guaranteed to get player of the year again!!


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