An open letter (and match report) to Keith Barwell

I wish to draw your attention to the game at Headingley on Friday night. For the first time in ten years, Saints have now lost six league games in a row, going down 26-21 to a Leeds side who had they been clinical in the first half, would have had thirty points on us by the interval.

I don’t see that getting a bonus point from a 23-6 deficit as a positive; instead, I would like to ask the question of how the hell that position was actually attained in the first place. Granted, the performance of referee Wayne Barnes was unbelievable, having surely broken some sort of Premiership record in losing the plot after about fifteen minutes, but he cannot be blamed for the defeat. He was equally bad for both sides, and perhaps if he’d remembered that there were cards in his pocket sooner, the utter shambles that was the last fifteen minutes would not have happened.

Tykes took the lead after six minutes when Barnes penalised Chris Budgen for collapsing the scrum, and Gordon Ross kicked the penalty from the ten metre line. It only took Saints three minutes to level the game up, but such is the malaise whenever Saints run with the ball in hand at the moment that it should have been more. Iain Balshaw left Ben Cohen all alone of his wing, but rather than a cross kick to him, the Tykes’ defence was thrown by the long pass from Grayson to Wally. Wally and Ben were now left with only Stimpson to beat.

And they failed.

Wally didn’t get the pass away to Ben, instead stopping his run and shipping the ball inside to Bruce (with accompanying Tyke cover). The subsequent drive towards the line was stopped illegally and Grays kicked the points.

It does worry me intensely though, Keith, how easily the centre pairing of Andre Snyman and Chris Bell broke through the middle of our defence, and Balshaw was another who made it look easy (even if he has forgotten how to pass). Indeed, had the Tykes not made a complete pigs ear of a 3 on 1 break, with Balshaw choosing to run straight into Cohen, the first try would have come a lot sooner than it actually did. Two minutes later, the lead was back to Leeds again with Krige and Seely being penalised for going off their feet. Ross kicked it, 6-3.

It was to get worse. After a quick Saints lineout, Hyndman and Reihana took the ball back into the home 22. As Robinson tried to get the ball away, he was caught, the ball quickly recycled Leeds’ way, and Snyman was allowed the freedom of Yorkshire to run into. His only mistake? Passing to a Balshaw line that was going straight down the touchline, exactly the channel that Cohen and Human wanted, and they bundled him into touch. Little did he know that Saints would score from that lineout.

The clearing box kick from the lineout was parried down from Ben to fall straight into AB’s hands, and his break led to Leeds being caught offside, and Grays kicking the score. How Leeds did not retake the lead in great style before the dying embers of the half I will never know; as one esteemed contributor to this site said afterwards, “that was the worst first half from a Saints side I’ve seen in years”. Ben could have scored a try from a crosskick, but just as against Sale, rather than attacking the ball side of the cover (in this case Tim Stimpson), he went far side, and Stimpson managed to put him of enough to cause the knock on. AB was binned in the 46^th minute of the first half for killing the ball (a first offence?), and Ross made it 9-6 with the final kick.

And so Keith, to my next query. Whatever Alan Solomons is saying at half time is having completely the opposite effect on the team. As at Leicester, as at Saracens, as against Wasps, the team came out and conceded a try within three minutes of the restart. Barnes gave a penalty for a reason known only to him (it looked to me like it was for a Tyke holding on), and Ross kicked against a bristling wind to the corner. From the lineout, the ball was mauled across the field whilst edging ever closer to the tryline, and with an advantage being played, Mark Regan grounded the ball against the base of the post pad to score a long overdue try. Not good. Why’s it happening? What on earth is being said?

To make matters worse, the side was still asleep. Moves were going sideways, clueless once more, and Leeds looked like they were going to score every time they got the ball - from anywhere on the field (granted, things were not helped by AB being kept in the bin for 12 minutes, despite breaks in play after the ten minute mark to re-enter the game). Chris Bell was the next to cross the whitewash, on the end of a forward pass from Snyman’s break (he was actually in front of his teammate when the ball was offloaded to him). 23-6. Not good Keith, why can’t we have players like Snyman and Bell who are big, quick, and hungry? We have any number of good squad players, but that is it. Unfortunately, these players seem to have been in the centre of things this season, and it’s a soft centre at the moment when we should be having a chocolate covered pebble.

And finally, Saints woke up. It had taken a hour once again. Have you ever considered that if we played for eighty minutes, we might actually beat somebody? Regan was binned for killing the ball when Saints looked likely to think about trying to score, and in the next seven minutes, the ball did not leave the Tykes 22. Which raises another question. How many penalties do you have to get in a limited amount of pitch space before a penalty try (or two) is awarded? Someone thought that there were about eleven awarded in seven minutes, plus David Rees was sent to the bin for (surprise surprise) killing the ball, and still no run to the posts. It took Saints having to stretch the play out so much to create an opportunity, and finally Chris Budgen was able to rumble in a richly deserved try. Grayson kicked the conversion - 23-13, and a sniff of a chance.

Re-enter Barnes. From the kick off (obviously delayed at length by the 13 man Tykes), and with the ball bouncing around on the deck, Leeds got a penalty. You tell me what for, I have no idea despite it being in front of me. Ross kicked the penalty, and sounded the death knell for Saints’ chances.

Overdrive time again. Regan returned, but could do nothing about Saints stretching the play (as they should have been doing before) and allowing the space for Corne Krige to get a first try for the club. The conversion that hit the right upright and bounce out was not good news, but it obviously confused the scoreboard operator, who only marked four points up for the try (26-17 instead of 26-18). It took four minutes to change it - to 26-16! Grayson kicked another penalty to make it (depending who you were) 26-21 or 26-19, and then, after eight minutes, the correct score finally came up.

Saints still pushed for the try. Still the penalties came. Still the kicks for the corner. Lordy was pulled out of the air, a clear yellow card. Yeah, right. Despite it being the 86^th minute of the game, the message was still “don’t do it again”. Knock ons in desperation, and a final whistle. Six on the trot.

And then Keith, the anger set it. Someone came up to me outside the ground, put his fingers very close together and said “that close”. Complete and utter rubbish. Yes, we were “that close” to getting a result, but we were a million miles away from the sort of performance that I and like-minded supporters would like to see from every Saints side. If we really were “that close”, then that epitomises everything that is wrong about Northampton Rugby Football Club at the moment. Too many people are prepared to settle for inadequacy; for not quite being good enough; for defeats against teams that should, with the personnel you have provided the budget for, be being beaten home or away.

Heart is something we all showed three weeks ago in raising a huge amount for the British Heart Foundation. Unfortunately, the heart is not being ripped out of the club; it HAS been ripped out of the club. As you will understand, sometimes to correct heart problems, you have to work on the arteries.

This is a plea from a very concerned supporter, one who has been watching this club since he was very young and his father took him to watch through the fence whilst he got on with fishing in the old Watney Mann lake where the South Stand is now. If change is not forthcoming shortly, then I will once again be supporting a first division club next season. The last time we lost six league games on the trot, we were relegated. Unless there is change, that will happen this season. FACT.

If Alan Solomons is the answer, then what on earth is the question? I don’t know what the solution is, but it is not Alan Solomons. My suggestion would be to appoint a coaching team of Budge, Bealer and Grays. Yes, they are very inexperienced. Yes, there are flaws. We keep being told though of how good a coach Budge could be. I know that you are desperate to keep Grays at the club for the coach that he is going to become.

There would be one benefit to the triumverate I am suggesting. They are Saintsmen through and through. They have the club in their hearts. We, the supporters, love them and would get behind them in a way that we could never get behind Alan Solomons.

PLEASE ACT NOW BEFORE THE CLUB I LOVE - WE LOVE - IS DESTROYED.

Yours faithfully

Mark H