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The Northampton saints thread

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SaiNTLY SiNNeR

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seems a lot of saints on the board so i thought might as well unite us in saintly talks..

to start off, i wasnt at the saints game, how did our guys do??? heard will harries was good, as was everitt...
 
May not have been a full strength Samoan team, but Saints were missing plenty of players and were very unlucky not to take the win. Referee Martin Fox, who I have previously rated, was a waste of space today.

The pack (missing the likes of Smith, Murray, Van Niekerk, Tiny, Hartley...) were immense in the first half in every area other than the lineout, where we wobbled a bit. Really took it to Samoa up front and were definately on top.

Behind the scrum, Everitt was excellent, both in his kicking out of hand and in getting the backs moving. Myler was solid when he came on but had less ball and fewer experienced players to work with when he did. Bruce looked back to his wonderful best, crunching through tackles every time he got the ball at the back. Had to bounce back after one monster hit from the Samoan left winger in close quarters though. Downey showed promise at 12, and young Grant Anderson did very well at outside centre considering he is only 17 and making his debut. Diggin and Harries both defied their size to turn in strong performances on the wings.

Team lost a bit of impetus and penetration when a lot of changes were made in the second half, but it was good to see a lot of youngsters getting a chance. I can't see many sides in NL1 standing up to us if we use this match as a starting block to improve from.
 
all in all sounds good, i think in these games we need to lay down a marker to show we are at premiership standard now..

also, what happend to ben lewitt???
 
Lewitt looked like he twisted his knee or something similar. The fact he played on for 20 minutes after it happened shows it can't have been a major thing.

Also forgot to mention the performance of Mark Easter, who I thought was excellent at 8. Definately seems to be heading in the same direction as his brother.
 
good, my team for quins wouldd be...

15.Ashton (wigan released him early)
14.Harries (see if he can back up his peformance)
13.Anderson
12.Kydd
11.Cohen
10.Spencer (swap with everitt at 1/2 time, lets see if we really need him to start)
9.Brake
8.Hopley
7.Lewitt
6.Tupai
5.Lord
4.Hoy
3.Stewart
2.Ward
1.Sigley
 
I went to this game yesterday - my first ever game of union. All in all I had a good time. I don't pretend to understand the forward side of the game (but I know the Saints battered the Samoans up front) but if it would have been a full strength first team Northampton would have won the game comfortably.

Encouraging for them - their year out will be a roaring success if that match is anything to go by.
 
Yesterday was also my first game at Franklin Gardens and I must say they did impress me... The Forward play was good, although a lot of work needed in the lineout, but to say it wasn't a first choice side in the second half they played some good plays in Rugby...

They will walk their way to the the ***le in National League 1, which is unfortunate as I believe they will only be challenged by 2 maybe 3 teams in that league..

I would also like to say how jealous I am of their facilities there, I wish Bath could have a stadium like that at the Rec...
 
What do you guys see as your best team for this season (I assume this is reasonable as it's a Saint's thread)? Will you go with the Scots for props assuming Smith isn't retiring? I wondered Webby is that Kydd and Clarke in that photo.
 
just seen the samoa game on emtv and im very impressed. everitt kicked superb, bruce beat many defenders, and toops did what he does best, fight. My team, which havent really thought about, would probably be...

15.Reihana ©
14.Lamont/ashton rotated
13.Clarke
12.Kydd/downey rotated
11.Cohen/digger rotated
10.Everitt
9.Robinson
8.Van Niekerk ( before he arrives ill go with easter)
7.Fox
6.Toops
5.Short
4.Lord
3.Murray
2.Hartley
1.Smith
 
I think Everitt may slot in at inside at times. I hope Los is up to his best this season but with some proper coaching and cohesion he may do. I hope Grayson develops into a good backs coach too. I think that's really where he belongs and he'll do a good job of it.

I also hope Myler gets signficant time and that we hold onto him. He's definitely got a bright future with us.

My top concern at the moment is trying to find someone to groom as Sharky's replacement. I know he won't retire yet but it's not that far off and we've seen a lot of players come and go (Danny Pointon anyone?). It'd be nice to know that we've got someone other than Harry Ellis Lite to take over that position in the end (and even he's not young).
 
sharkys understudy looks set to be john brake, hes concentrating on scrum half next season...
 
I wondered Webby is that Kydd and Clarke in that photo. [/b]



Yeah, my sig has Kydd and Clarke in the centres. This was done before we signed many players mind you.



I'd probably still go with that combination as my first choice, but ney guy Downey certainly impressed against Samoa at 12. Hopefully we won't suffer any horrific injury runs this season and will be able to rotate the squad when necessary.
 
<div class='quotemain'>I wondered Webby is that Kydd and Clarke in that photo. [/b]



Yeah, my sig has Kydd and Clarke in the centres. This was done before we signed many players mind you.



I'd probably still go with that combination as my first choice, but ney guy Downey certainly impressed against Samoa at 12. Hopefully we won't suffer any horrific injury runs this season and will be able to rotate the squad when necessary.

[/b][/quote]

I like the Kydd/Clarke combination, I think it'll serve us well. I hear Downey's looking very much like DQ so I'm looking forward to seeing him play.
 
As a tigers fan it's a real shame there's no cup competition like the old knockout cup. It would be interesting to see saints play a premiership side halfway through the season.
 
totally agree, why make the edf cup???, waste of time, and i think many will agree...

playing quins on saturday will show us where stand with the premiership clubs
 
Big news about Ben Cohen this morning.....Do you reckon he's genuinely feeling snubbed or just angling for a move?
 
he's too big for his boots, no one is bigger than the club. i support jim mallinders desicion to have reihana as captain wholeheartedly, and i think most saints fans would agree....
 
he's too big for his boots, no one is bigger than the club. i support jim mallinders desicion to have reihana as captain wholeheartedly, and i think most saints fans would agree....

[/b]

A very "Premiership footballer" thing to do I'd say.
 
spot on, think saints need to get with the times, commence the changing of the guard etc..
 
He's angling for a better contract, as he alwats does. Anyone remember the "guided tour" he got at Leicester 2 years ago? This time for him it backfired.

Still, doesn't matter so much as Ashon is here now any any monkey with a bit of pace can play in the back 3.
 

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