News: Something’s gotten hold of my heart Saints v Llanelli
By Howlin'
November 19 2011
What came first the chicken or the egg ? What tore the Saints players souls and senses apart ? Perhaps it was the first Scarlets try scored within the first three minutes of the game. It certainly took the wind out of the Saints supporters’ sails and dulled their voices despite the extra lubrication allowed by the 8.00pm Friday night Kick off. In contrast the Scarlets supporters , although relatively small in number, were encouraged to sing their hearts out and continued for most of the match. But the Saints defence already looked leaden footed as Williams scampered through to drop on the hack through.
Heineken Cup Pool 1 Round 2
Northampton Saints v Scarlets
Friday 18th Nov, Franlin's Gardens KO 20:00
Saints 23 Scarlets 28
Perhaps it was the ghost of Munster still clawing at their souls, from the “unjust” loss less than a week ago the pressure must have been building in their heads. Not helped I imagine by a referee from Munster who failed to see either the offside at the restart or the knock on that helped Shingler pick up the ball from an offside position and scamper in for Scarlets second try not much more than a quarter of an hour later. Ryan Lamb, one of the few Saints to play like he meant it, had just managed to get the Saints off the mark with a penalty that led to this restart. Certainly the Munster match had left a few physical scars. Not least the bruised ribs of Ben Foden that resulted in him playing the role of yet another agonised supporter. Oh how Saints missed him. Ashton looks half the player without his “mate” and his replacement had a mixed bag of a game. It was his blatant error that resulted in Scarlets third try as he spilled the ball close to the half time whistle. There was still work to do , but smart interplay allowed Gilbert to romp in under the posts and Priestland’s conversion placed the Scarlets into a 21-9 half time lead That at the time seemed unassailable. One doesn’t like to single out one player in what was after all a collectively poor showing, but One cannot help feeling that if Foden had been fully fit and playing, Scarlets game plan of dropping Priestland bombs at every opportunity would have brought very different results. Saints have greater depth this season. But what team wouldn’t miss one of the best full backs in the World?
Perhaps the malaise actually started even before kick off. Despite Jim’s pre match protestations, I refuse to believe that the speculation over his possible departure did not have a negative effect on team morale. Much of yesterday’s performance reminded me of the match away at Wasps in the league semi a few years back just after we had discovered that Wayne Smith was on his way to coach the All Blacks. Handling errors were uncharacteristically prevalent, some caused by very poor passing. The team were a shadow of what we saw in Limerick. The attitude was epitomised by the way Ashton gave up when he knocked on during a promising attacking move and failed to turn immediately and atone for his error as we would usually expect. His failure to chase back contributing to Scarlets’ kicking, chasing and outrunning any Saints defenders for Priestland to score Scarlets bonus point try and complete a miserable afternoon for the Gold Black and Green.
This came after the promise of a Saints comeback. As, despite the organised and committed Scarlets defence and the numerous Saints knocks on and misplaced passes, Saints had got themselves in attacking positions. Immediately before the final Scarlets try they had even forced Edwards into rash defending, leading to a yellow card and a penalty in front of the posts. But in what probably was the last post for Saints, Lamb’s kick hit the left one and we were left to watch in horror as Ashton committed the aforementioned dastardly deed.
To their credit the players kept plugging away. Probably helped by the introduction of the substitutions, particularly Roberts, Heywood and Manoa, pressure eventually added a couple of tries to make the score line more respectable and helping Ashton and Pisi atone in some small way for their previous errors as they bundled over together. Wood adding the second to remind England of the potency of the weapon they failed to use For those that constantly moaned about the lack of losing bonus points last season it’s time to celebrate. Two in two matches; you must be pleased.
So a huge disappointment for the saintly hoards who were hoping to see the European campaign back on track. I’m afraid it will take a minor miracle; probably two or three, to see Saints even qualify for the quarter finals now. For Scarlets, much to the delight of travelling faithful, their limited game plan was a success. To score four tries was a bonus in more ways than one and they now sit pretty at the top of the group. Congratulations to them and their astute coaching team. There will be a few more twists and turns in this group to come, I will follow future results with interest. As for the Saints, next week it’s back to the grind of the premiership. Unfortunately it is also one of the toughest home games we will face all season. Jim and Co have a tough job on their hands this week. I have no doubt they will get the team physically fit. But how are they going to put their soul and senses back together?
Tom Woods said.....
TIMELINE
2mins SCARLETS Try L Williams Con Priestland 0-7
18mins SAINTS Pen Lamb 3-7
19mins SCARLETS Try Shingler Con Priestland 3-14
22mins SAINTS Pen Lamb 6-14
32mins SAINTS Pen Lamb 9-14
38mins SCARLETS Try Gilbert Con Priestland 9-21
40mins SAINTS Miss pen Lamb
HALF-TIME SAINTS 9 SCARLETS 21
60mins SCARLETS Yellow card Edwards
61mins SAINTS Miss pen Lamb
62mins SCARLETS Try Priestland Con Priestland 9-28
67mins SAINTS Try Pisi Con Lamb 16-28
79mins SAINTS Try Wood Con Lamb 23-28
FULL-TIME SAINTS 23 SCARLETS
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Bridesmaids no more.
Thank you for the kind words form those whose opinions I respect.
Saint til I die
That was a throwaway and inaccurate comment at the end of your report to denigrate the achievement of a very young Scarlets side beating a top Aviva side at their own ground, scoring 4 tries in the process.
Quote:Eif
a top Aviva side at their own ground
Steady on Eif, that's almost something positive about Saints.
And yes, Scarlets did have a limited game plan which was made to look brilliant by a combination of Saintly mistakes, lack of concentration and a woeful bunch of officials.
All together now and hoof the ball up in the air... yum yum - I want to watch that every week - not! I could post all the photos I have of Scarlets backline hoofing the ball into orbit but it would be far too many for folks to go through twice in their lives.
Fair play Howlin - an insightful assessment of the game and excellent match report
ClaireJ
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It was a truly woeful performance by all involved. From selection through to execution, it reminded me of the early season games where our charitableness to the opposition frequently constituted self-flagellation.
Quite why or how the performance was allowed to drop off so much from the previous week I don't know. All I've heard so far are excuses.
Nice report mind.....
Oh I forgot, it was the officials again, wasn't it awful.
Accept that the Saints have one of the best packs in the Heineken but the Scarlets are used to playing against superior packs and have found ways to counter that issue. On Friday, they neutralised the pack battle. In contrast, accept that, in the context of the Heineken, the Saints have a very average mid-field, 9,10, 12 and 13, and the Scarlets have one of the best who will only get better.
You didn't leave it did you...
I would love to watch the Scarlets backs but that requires them to actually hold on to the ball. The only thing I had a chance of noticing was how big Priestland is.
If they had used their backs more on Friday, I am sure they would have ripped Saints apart (there that surprised you) but fact is they were fed by mistakes by the Saints.
As for Scarlets pack usually facing superior packs - let me see... yep Aironi and Treviso in the RaboDirectPRO12 where Scarlets lost to Treviso. Open the other eye Eif, Treviso don't have a superior pack to the Saints by any measure.
And yes, for the second week running we had a poor set of officials that had far too much impact on the game.
Watch Poite's performance at Welford Road - outstanding compared to the dross we suffered at the hands of Owens and Fitzgibbon. Even Owens' performance in France (where he replaced George Clancy) was much better than last week tho' he still has no idea how to referee a ruck or maul.
I wish Scarlets well but unlike you I see a bright future at the Gardens and Parc Y Scarlets - bring on January and a second win for the Saints in Wales this season.
Quote:ClaireJ
Eif,
You didn't leave it did you...
I would love to watch the Scarlets backs but that requires them to actually hold on to the ball. The only thing I had a chance of noticing was how big Priestland is.
If they had used their backs more on Friday, I am sure they would have ripped Saints apart (there that surprised you) but fact is they were fed by mistakes by the Saints.
As for Scarlets pack usually facing superior packs - let me see... yep Aironi and Treviso in the RaboDirectPRO12 where Scarlets lost to Treviso. Open the other eye Eif, Treviso don't have a superior pack to the Saints by any measure.[u][/u]
And yes, for the second week running we had a poor set of officials that had far too much impact on the game.
Watch Poite's performance at Welford Road - outstanding compared to the dross we suffered at the hands of Owens and Fitzgibbon. Even Owens' performance in France (where he replaced George Clancy) was much better than last week tho' he still has no idea how to referee a ruck or maul.
I wish Scarlets well but unlike you I see a bright future at the Gardens and Parc Y Scarlets - bring on January and a second win for the Saints in Wales this season.
I suspect he meant that Scarlet packs over the last 2 seasons have generally come off second best against everyone they have played against. It is only now, with some parity, that they may become something of a team to avoid again instead of a soft option.
Our backs didn't need to move the ball around too much on Friday, your back 3 were so poor as to be impotent. As you acknowledge, if we had moved it, and played riskier rugby, you wouldn't have got anywhere near us on the night.
Remember, "Georgie's gonna get you!"
Another fine read from a much valued contributor. Many, many thanks.
Saint til I die
On the subject of the scrum, the Scarlets' main tactic when faced with a strong opposing pack seemed to be to get the ball in and out sharpish, negating any hairy-chested shoving by the Saints. It seemed to work well, indeed the Saints pack only got a couple of penalties on the Scarlets' put-in, a lot fewer than normal.
That is something the other coaches will have noticed, I hope Dorian has a Plan.
Quote:Howlin
No worries Phil. I was banking on you to "get" the title and theme.
Yes I got it, H. Mind you, Saints did play like a princess in rags...