By BigRich
November 5 2006

Two years ago, I remember visiting the Stoop on our second match of the Solomons’ reign. We ran in six tries after Will Greenwood opened the scoring for the home side, and left West London on top of the table, with the season promising great things.

GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP ROUND 6

 

NEC HARLEQUINS 34 vs. 19 NORTHAMPTON SAINTS

 

The Stoop – Saturday, 4^th November 2006. 3pm

 

Poor Penetration Prevents Sorry Saints from Quashing Quins

 

Just in case the memory has obliterated what happened next, I’ll remind you. We failed to win another game for months, the coach got sacked and at the end of the season we avoided relegation because the Quins’ kicker missed a relatively easy one against Sale.

 

Since that day in September 2004, The Stoop has been rebuilt, and is becoming a ground worthy of the club that graces it. The stands are finished with colourful seats that bring a vibrancy to them, and when you can’t see the colours of the seats, they are filled with supporters who got louder and louder as the game progressed.  It made a change to be in an away ground filled with supporters who had a song to sing.  But please, don’t let Mr PS know the price of an AG down there!

 

The performance at the Stoop today rivalled any during the depths of ‘that’ season. Saints forwards lacked any sort of cohesion, the team lacked any sort of ability to retain the ball, the backs looked clueless, and had less penetration than you might find in a convent. Although the team was largely unchanged since last week’s victory over the Borders, it looked as though they had only met each other during the warm up. Remember that this was a game against a team that had not yet won a game in the league since their restoration to the top flight, and was a game that was vaunted as a battle between our forwards and their backs – because they didn’t have a pack worthy of the name.

 

Oh dear! No-one seems to have told the Quins’ players how the script read.

 

The facts of the game as I saw them are this. Quins scored four tries based on the platform built for them by their forwards, the handling was slick between backs and forwards, drilled by our old friend, Andy Gummybear, and directed by the outside half, Adrian Jarvis – rightfully named man of the match. Their big centre, Jordan Turner-Hall looked unstoppable whenever he had possession, and offered a master class in direct running to the Saints midfield.

 

Saints scored two late tries through Sean Lamont and Mark Robinson, but were only allowed to do so once the game was well and truly won.

 

The game started brightly enough for the men in white, with TheMercurialCarlosSpencer © kicking off, Gomersall kicking the recycled ball to touch, and Damien Browne winning the ball from the following lineout. The Quins’ forwards looked under pressure as they won a ball going backwards close to their own line, and Robinson charged down Gomersall’s clearance kick. Nothing came of this period of Northampton pressure inside the home team’s 22, and after 9 minutes, Jarvis opened the scoring with a penalty from in front of the posts after a Saints’ infringement.

 

 

Saints piled the pressure back on from the kick off, forcing a penalty after the Quins’ back row were spotted cynically killing the ball. Such was the dominance of the Saints pack at this point that they opted for the scrum, but (and this was a sign of things to come) they turned over the ball as they drove for the line. Once again, Gomersall’s clearance found touch, but only 5 metres out. The catch and drive from this lineout foundered again, and the ball was turned over, only for it to be spilled forwards. As the scrum broke up, so Quins were penalised for pulling down, and TheMercurialCarlosSpencer © levelled the scores.

 

And so the half limped on. Another promising attack ended with a forward pass, and although the Quins’ scrum twisted and buckled under the pressure, again Gomersall managed to clear the ball to touch. My notes are somewhat Guinness stained, but seem to tell me we lost that lineout, and this galvanised the home team into action. As the ball was recycled through several phases, so the Saints’ defence was drawn in, leaving room on the right wing. Jarvis didn’t need this pointing out to him, and in a move straight off the Franklins Gardens’ training park, dropped the ball into the arms of the onrushing Simon Keogh, who ran in unopposed to leave the conversion easy for Jarvis, and the score at 10 – 3.

 

Quins’ tails were up, and they tried some clever moves, bred from growing confidence. A sly line out throw, aimed at the tail, but flicked short to the front would have worked wonders, but for the strength and tenacity of Robinson, who stripped the prop clean, and broke away down the touch line. Miracles do apparently happen, for the ball was moved down the Saints’ back line, from left to right, but once again, the support ran out, and Sean Lamont was left with no option but to chip ahead, with the ball flying straight into touch.

 

The comedy of errors continued aided by both sides. Saints won a penalty from the lineout, and kicked back to touch. This time, we returned possession via a not-straight throw in.

 

On 34 minutes, Quins were penalised for holding on – He knew! He knew! – in a tricky kicking position, 15 metres out, and only 5 metres in from touch. But TheMercurialCarlosSpencer © stepped up, put on his sunglasses against the glare, and calmly slotted the points. 10 – 6.

 

Quins had scored one from the cross kick, and tried it again. Chris Wyles was up to the task, and caught the high ball under no small amount of pressure.

 

As the half headed towards the death, so TheNotSoMercurialCarlosSpencer © made poor contact on a penalty from 45 metres out, with the ball barely making the try line, much to the amusement of the home faithful. Somewhat unsportingly, Jarvis failed to return the favour on the stroke of half time, slotting a penalty conceded by the forwards for ‘in at the side’, leaving the score at 13 – 6.

 

My notes on the half read, “Scrappy – moments of brilliance separated by moments that would disgrace an under-11s training session. No real sustained attacks.” One of my companions commented that she had found more entertainment in watching the planes on the Heathrow flight path. I wonder if some of the players were guilty of this too?

 

The game was killed off as a contest just three minutes into the second half. Turner-Hall received the ball well inside his own half, and left the Saints’ defence for dead. As the move broke down five metres from the visitors’ line, quick recycling left a gap for Gomersall to break through, and touch down under the posts, leaving an easy conversion for Jarvis. 20 – 6.

 

As the Saints tried to remember that rugby is a team game, and that the ball carrier needs supporting, so Tupai made a break down the left wing – on his own. Man-mountain though he is, he was unable to retain the ball when tackled by half a dozen Quins, who quickly threw the ball wide – too wide, as it happened, and into touch.

 

From the line out, the Saints crashed through the middle, and Old Smiler himself noticed some of those naughty boys in colourful shirts were standing everso slightly off side. From 30 metres out and straight in front, TMCS © bagged the points.

 

Fifteen minutes in, and the players who had just about remembered each other’s names started to be replaced, just to help keep the confusion going. Barnard & Gerard replaced Budgen & Short.

 

Quins now seemed to be brimming with confidence, and were prepared to try a few more adventurous moves. Sustained pressure brought play well inside the Saints’ 22, before Gomersall went the other way, and unleashed Simon Keogh, who didn’t need directions to the line. A successful conversion brought the scores to 27 – 9.

 

Davies then made way for Going, and the backs shuffled, with the latter moving to full back, and Vass tucking into outside centre. Whether this improved the handling or not, I don’t know. What I do know is that we managed to move the ball from side to side, through umpteen pairs of hands, but made about 2 feet in a forward direction. No-one seems to know how to straighten the line, or attack from deep, running onto the ball with pace.

 

The full complement of Easter brothers were now on the pitch, as Mark replaced Daniel Browne, and thus squared up to Nick.

 

On 25 minutes, the Quins’ forwards won a lineout, turned it into a ruck, and once again caught the Saints defence napping, leaving a gap for Jarvis to score the bonus point try, which he converted to leave the score at 34 – 9.

 

From a lineout, which was won scrappily, the Saints once again flung the ball down the line – in a sideways direction, rather than forwards. I noted that Sharky had no time behind his forwards, which has been unusual this season. By now, I was writing things in my notes like, “comedy of errors”, “scrappy”, “disaster” and “fiasco” – and I wasn’t writing about the home team.

 

And then… And then… And then, it happened. One of our backs remembered how to pick a line. Monty came from deep, took the pass, and left the cover grasping at air. Glorious stuff. Why had it taken 75 minutes? With the conversion missed, we needed just a converted try per minute to come close!

 

However, with just 98 seconds on the clock, and the Saints driving at the line, Luke Myring went down cold. A long stoppage ensued, before he was carried on a stretcher from the field. What is it about Saints’ centres and their run of injuries?

 

After the stoppage, the game was restarted with a scrum to the Saints, just a few metres out. Mark Easter picked up, flicked the ball out to Robinson, who crossed the whitewash in the corner. TheNotSoMercurialCarlosSpencer © missed the conversion, and Mr Spreadbury decided enough was enough, and blew for no-side, with the score at 34 – 19.

 

Once again, Saints have handed a victory to a struggling team – and make no mistake, Quins did not play with Heineken Cup winning form. They did the basics very well. They retained the ball, they won their share of the breakdowns, and their backs know how to pick a running line. Deservedly, they ran out the bonus-point winners, and maybe this on the back of the recent wins in Europe will give them the confidence to march up the table.

 

On this form, the visitors will need to consider their position very carefully, or the events of the end of the season two years ago may well be reversed.

 

Richard Slater

4/11/06