Bath v Northampton - Powergen Report

By Mark H
November 16 2003

You are forty four minutes into a 6th round Powergen Cup tie away from home. Having just pulled the score back to 13-16 with a well constructed try set up by a huge tackle, great kick and chase and opposition mistake, do you?..................

(a) press immediately to try and square the game up or, even better, go in front;
(b) consolidate and look to ensure that the score is not wasted; or
(c) let the opposition stroll through the “defence” and score a try of such soul-destroying proportions that the heads go down immediately?

If you answered (c), then I can narrow you down to one of 14 green shirted men who did exactly that on Saturday afternoon. It may have increased the margin between the teams back to what it was two minutes before, but it was like a dagger in the heart to Saints’ ambitions. Whatever went on after that point - sustained Saints pressure, brilliant Bath defence, poor decision making, clinical use of turnover ball - it was this moment, I believe, that meant that for the first time in Wayne Smith’s tenure, we will not be visiting Twickenham in April.

Hopes of a Saintly victory had been boosted by the news of Shane’s suspension being overturned, but to those who saw him warming up, and some of his early movement during the game, it was patently obvious that he wasn’t fully fit. Whether his performances over the last two games have been a result of physical injuries sustained by the Hazell “tackle”, or whether they are mental, the feeling in the Boater after the game was that he either shouldn’t have played, or should have been taken off a lot earlier than he actually was. The injury could, perhaps, have been well hidden, but the 9-10 combination did not have a good game and too many passes were well over head height or behind the intended receiver, and consequently, the doubts set in.

I said in the report of the league game that I didn’t think that Bath were that good, and that a decent team would have put fifty points on us. Well, with an additional six wins after that day, and the supreme confidence that comes with winning week in week out, a decent team very nearly put fifty points on us. We pointed out pre-match that having AB in the side would make a difference to how Saints went about the game, and to a certain extent it did. The one problem (and it’s a big one) we have though is that we cannot rely on AB (and Bruce) to cover all fifteen positions in the side, such is the lack of belief that seems to be running through the team. Too often our defence is based on “we’ve got AB, he’ll put in a big hit when needed”, and worryingly, our attacking options are starting to be “get the ball to Bruce”. Are we really that easy to read?

To the game, and a certain extent, the facts. The feelings can come in later. Olly Barkley kicked Bath into a third minute lead after a penalty against Mark Connors for use of the elbow, but Saints were having the better of the early exchanges, and could indeed have crossed the line on 7 minutes, when after a penalty was kicked to touch, the ball was worked along the line from the lineout before being knocked on. It would be that sort of afternoon, further summed up by Chris Budgen getting penalised two minutes later, when the Bath forwards drove the lineout ball well over twenty metres into Saints’ territory.

James Brooks won Saints a penalty after a Drahm cross field kick, chasing down the kick and nailing the tackle to ensure that the penalty was awarded for not releasing, but Shane then missed the kick from approximately 35 metres out. Five minutes later, Shane did kick us level, after Bath were penalised for not releasing Bruce in the tackle. With Bath not firing on all cylinders by any means, chances to get points on the board could not be wasted as much as they were being, so kicking penalties to touch and then losing the lineout was just poor. Eventually, if you let teams off the hook, they will punish you. And they did.

Wylie Human, their South African loan signing made a fantastic break, taking advantage of the holes that were all over the Saints defence, and eventually a penalty was given for offside whilst frantic regrouping took place, and Barkley again kicked the points. From the kick off, Barkley didn’t manage to find touch on the Blackthorn side (indeed, the kicking from both sides out of hand throughout the game was poor), and Bealer, ignoring the option of kicking to the open corner with Human hopelessly out of position (or so we thought) ran the ball back. He then threw a pass to Bruce which could be best described as “high” (well over a jumping Kiwi with arms outstretched), and that man Human intercepted the pass and ran the ball in unopposed from the halfway line. Another silly mistake; another try conceded. How many more times this season?

Conversion kicked, 13-3, and Simon Danielli came on to replace Jamie Williams on the wing. It just set up yet another wasted batch (or should that be botch?) of chances for Saints. Bath made a right hash of the kick off, but Saints then missed a three man overlap, and then with an easy penalty in front of the posts, Shane tapped the penalty and Budgen was held up. From the five metre scrum, the ball was worked along the line and Bruce knocked the ball on going for the corner, but at least the pressure was on.

Or it was until Saints were penalised at the scrum for not going in straight.

A word here about the scrummaging all afternoon. Watching the game, it appeared to me that Duncan Bell was using the old three card trick on Robbie Morris - take it down first, push him up next, then get him coming in early and sucker the penalty out. However, I had a chat with a well known referee on the journey home (let’s call him Clive - just in the absence of other things to call him), and he said that he was having trouble all afternoon with Messrs Budgen and Morris for not going into the scrum straight and trying to gain an advantage that way. Lack of experience in not being able to hide it, or unsympathetic refereeing in missing the things that the Bath front row appeared to be doing? Whatever choice you go for, the fact remains that the Saints front row once again got well and truly stuffed by a bigger and wiser unit, and when it’s going wrong at 1,2,3, then it will filter down through the team and cause problems when trying to make anything of whatever ball you can get.

I don’t think that Bath could believe their luck. Here they were, having possibly more pressure put on them than at any other time this season, and they were facing an attacking unit with the cutting edge of a wooden spoon, and a team with the naivety of a two year old. It was not a surprise, therefore, that Bath went for the kill before the interval. Dan Richmond was binned for coming into a ruck at the side, and Barkley elected for the easy penalty and a thirteen point lead. From the kick off though, David Flatman did exactly the same in a very similar position, and didn’t even receive a word. Consistency? Shane kicked the penalty for 16-6.

Right on half time, Bath were penalised for holding on, and with it being the last play, Saints attempted to run it, but got absolutely nowhere faced with the brick wall defence. The touch judge, however, came in having spotted something, and Zak Fea’unati was binned for (Clive’s words) “a high late challenge” on Drahm. The subsequent penalty was this time hoofed into the Virgin Stand, and the pitch cleared for ten minutes - well, as clear as it can be when an army of cheerleaders invades it.

The feeling at the interval was that Saints were by no means out of it, and that the first score would be vital, so it was a massive shot in the arm that Saints got it just two minutes in. Matt Perry was hit with an enormous tackle from Darren Fox, and with the ball turned over, it was quickly shipped along the line to Bruce. He kicked ahead, and looked to be a poor second in the chase for the ball, with Martyn Wood having got back to cover. Trying to gather the ball in though, Wood slipped, allowing Bruce an easy chance to dive on the ball and score the try. With the conversion going over, Saints were more than in the game.

And then came the try that caused so many heads to drop. Steve Borthwick gathered a lineout ball, Wood shipped out to Barkley, he found Robbie Kydd, and from 30 metres Kydd burst through three weak tackles to cross the line. It was the literal knife through butter, and all of the good work may as well have been shredded. From this point on, Saints would put the pressure on, but the fillip that Bath had gained from this try would mean that they knew Saintly spirit was fragile, and all they had to do was to wait for the mistakes to happen - which they did.

For those not there, to show just how much pressure Saints had in the second half, the lineout count of 12-2 in Saints favour should give some indication of where the ball was for thirty minutes or so. That’s the part of the thirty minutes when it wasn’t being put over the Saints try line, that is. Saints actually fell into the same trap that Gloucester fell into a fortnight ago, because when Saints got kickable penalties, and with the deficit only at ten points, the option of getting the points was ignored in going for the corner. It didn’t work for Glaws; it certainly didn’t work for Saints.

They were just some of the curious decisions throughout the afternoon. Going for corners at the expense of easy points; kicking when passing options would be better; making risky (and frankly, shoddy) passes when pinning them back with kicks would be more sensible. I’ve never played top level sport, and unless something unusual happens, I never will, but was that panic setting in, a lack of trust in your team-mates, a lack of self-belief, fatigue, or just running out of ideas? I’d say a combination of all five, but this flakiness has now come out on consecutive Saturdays, and needs to be resolved soon, as no-one likes being beaten week in week out. You only need to ask Bath supporters that; John Connolly has gone about resolving it in an unusual way, but resolving it he is.

We even had the benefit of another ten minutes against 14 men, with Simon Danielli walking for a late shoulder charge on Shane (target? I think so), but still no joy. Frustration was setting in, perfectly illustrated by Darren Fox giving away a penalty whilst attacking, then talking another ten yards away. We were now at the stage of if it could go wrong, it would, and with 14 minutes left came the contest ending try, with Fea’unati going in at the corner whilst they were still down by a man. Four minutes on, the Saints tacklers ignore a Wood break just in the Saints half, and with a two on one situation, an inside pass to Scaysbrook led to the fourth try and a 35-13 lead.

Ben Jones came on for his first XV appearance in place of the struggling Johnny Howard, but despite Saints continuing to press, it was a Bath man having the final word, Danielli pouncing on a Morris pass and running the length of the field to score under the posts. 42-13 may have flattered Bath, particularly in light of the breakaway tries, but no-one could dispute that the better team won, and won well. I still don’t think that they are as good as some of their supporters think they are, but if they beat Harlequins next Saturday I think that they will secure the automatic qualification spot for the ZP final. It would be interesting to know what the supporters’ expectations are now, because I’m sure that they are now expecting to win something, rather than hoping. That itself adds pressure, whereas the pressure for them at the start of the season was to perform better than they had done in recent years.

The pressure for Saints is a different one. First, they need to look like they believe in each other; the lateral passing with little forward movement making them very easy to defend against. Secondly, some of the players need to come out of the firing line; nothing against Chris Budgen, but he looks battered and could probably do with a week off next week - thankfully, we have got Tom Smith available which will make a difference. Thirdly, two men cannot cover 15 positions - word of the reliance on AB and Bruce has got out, and consequently their effect is being mainly nullified. Finally, we need something different, something that will surprise the opposition and break the mould. May I suggest therefore (and following consultation with my fellow coach from Walsall), something close to the following lineup in either the Gloucester or Llanelli games:-

Smith, Thompson, Budgen, Phillips, Connors, Seely, Fox, Blowers, Robinson, Drahm, Reihana, Dawson, Tucker, Cohen, Beal.

Just to shake it up. I don’t like going to away grounds and wondering whether we can keep the score below 40 every week.