Half Term Report on the Wanderers

Barfly
By Barfly
November 30 2004

Till four days ago I had planned that this time would be spent writing a report on the visit of Leicester Extras to Franklin’s Gardens in the Zurich A League. However, as the injury crisis at the club – more of that later – has meant the postponement of said fixture,

it is an early chance to assess the first half, well, first two-thirds of the A League campaign, and the variable fortunes of the Northampton second team – the Wanderers.

The season got off to a promising start as a strong Nottingham outfit was roundly taken apart on the back pitch during the only dry 80 minutes in August, although it was the first game to have been ended by bad light that I can remember.

The form continued as Newcastle became the first hens to be terrorised by the Wanderers foxes at the unusual hour of 5:30, so as to allow for a full 80 minutes to be played on the aforementioned back pitch. As it was, the game was switched to the main pitch, and the Wandies made the most of some seriously slack Falcons lineout work to dominate possession and territory, JC and Tom Tombleson – whose name really wouldn’t sound out of place in a Dickens novel – grabbing a pair apiece. As impressive as the attacking was, it was matched by the Wandies’ determination in defence, and Newcastle didn’t come close to scoring.

Next up were Leeds, at the soon-to-be-demolished Chandos Park. One of the good things about following the Wanderers round the country is that you get to visit some of the more traditional rugby grounds that are still out there in Premiership-land. For every Welford Road, there is a Percy Park, Chandos Park and Goldington Road out there to be experienced, and in the case of a November Monday by the North Sea, frozen at. You also get to meet people like Brett McNamee’s mum and Ben Patston’s dad, who between them rack up hundreds of miles to see their boys play and who must deserve a special mention.

The Tykes second-string were to provide more of a test, though you wouldn’t have known it from the scoreline. They fully deserved their tries, but the Wandies scored every time when the game looked to be turning away from them.Sale were the latest to be blown away in Bedford, and were on the receiving end of a Chris Budgen hat-trick. (We should produce t-shirts: ‘I was there when…’) Ten tries came, despite the best efforts of the backs to slow down the quick ball they came, either passing the ball behind the intended recipient, or sending the ball so flat it, more often than not, ended up bouncing its way to the wings. Having said that, it was Rhodri Davies’ first start at 10, and, by his own admission, the position of pivot is not one that he prefers, being a fullback by trade.

Then came Leicester at Welford Road, and a record crowd of 9,209 – 3,000 more than were at the Walkers Stadium the same evening for a Carling Cup match – and the apex of the season. The whole event, from the twists and turns to the traditional punch-up to Richard Cockerill’s attempted intimidation of Ben Patston – young enough to be his son – to the crowd still streaming in 15 minutes into the game, was one of the all-time great occasions, a real privilege to be at.

For the record, Neil Starling (2) and Chicken got the tries, and the win was the perfect way to send Rob Hunter upstairs into his new role as Academy coach. Little did we know, however, that the malaise that had settled on the first team would permeate its way down to the Wandies, and that the next three matches would see a slide down the table and the postponement of the return
Tigers fixture.

Worcester gave us a premonition of what would come a few weeks later, snatching a win – albeit deserved – in injury-time when a much-changed Wanderers side looked to have scraped a draw through Patston’s penalty.

Then came a trip to Newcastle, and the delights of North Shields’ Percy Park. That was until the game started, at which point you knew the wheels had completely come off the season. A front-row that had introduced themselves to each other when they got on the bus, two scrum-halves on each wing and two wingers in the centre meant that there was to be little chance against the settled Falcons, who exacted revenge for their earlier visit to the Gardens. Still, at least the Newcastle Academy sponsors had a good night, and the post-match pork and potato pie was worth a mention…

And then Leeds, and a deserved win for the Tykes youngsters at Goldington Road. Having said that, the Wanderers had enough possession to win the match and the perfect start when Davies crossed after three minutes. But as the Northampton ball went to ground at the vital moment, the Leeds ball stuck and a try, conversion and two late drop-goals sealed the Wandies fate.

So what can be put down on the lads’ half-term report card? Well, up until the beginning of October it was A-stars all-round. Since then, however, the effort would remain up there but the attainment has slipped a little. Much of this has to be put down to the fact that once the front-row of Robbie Morris, Dan Richmond and Chris Budgen was removed, the power and control went out of the pack and therefore the string of clean ball that allowed the backs to run riot. Secondly, the injury suffered by Luke Myring affected the side’s balance, and though Davies ran the line well at Welford Road and Patston has promise, neither of them are fly-halves, a problem highlighted when they’ve only had limited and scrappy ball to work with. And thirdly, the policy of squad make-up at the club has created its own special problems. At Leeds and Newcastle in particular, the small size of first-team squad means that the academy has had to be enlarged, and as injuries take their toll on the seniors, the second strings have still been able to field young settled sides, a luxury not currently afforded to James Sinclair and Rob Hunter and ultimately leading to tonight’s postponement.

Nevertheless, there is still a chance that the Wanderers can make the A League final, although they will be reliant on a bit of luck and remembering what took them to the top of the table in the first place, i.e. a settled side and ball retention. Not to mention a much-needed mid-season break.