News: EC: Racing Metro vs Northampton Saints - Preview
shiny new pot!
By PelerinStJames
October 17 2014
Northampton Saints launch their 2014-15 European campaign this weekend with a short hop across La Manche to take on Racing Metro in Paris. Regular COYSDC contributor, PelerinStJames, looks ahead to what should be a cracker of a match...
RACING METRO vs NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
EC: Saturday, 18th October 2014 - 5.15pm
STADE OLYMPIQUE YVES DE MANOIR, COLOMBES
MATCH PREVIEW
Quand les Saints marcheront - Racing Metro 92 V Northampton Saints
Sit rep: 23.15 Thurs 16 Oct Edinburgh Waverly train station.
Mission : To write the preview I completely forgot about by the time I get to Euston en route to Paris so it can be published in the morning
Points to note: Lap top battery not good, limited internet coverage, Cattle class on the Caledonian Sleeper is not particularly comfortable. Been travelling for 5 ½ hours already, and up since 6am this morning so sleep deprived, inspiration running low and this is the 12th opening paragraph I have written. Wish me luck folks, this preview could be merde!
As you have probably gathered, I am on my way to Paris for this weekends’ match against Racing Metro. My journey is somewhat complicated coming from Scotland, however, I remain in good spirits as this is my first chance to watch the Saints since Twickenham, and my journeys to Paris are never straight forward. Indeed, my last trip to Paris some 20 years ago, started on the Big Breakfast TV show in London, and involved cadging an assortment of lifts from TV presenter Danny Baker, a mushroom delivery truck, a coach going to Amsterdam, securing a free ferry crossing by gifting a cucumber and some broccoli to the sales staff, a ride on a Ski-train (as long as we sat in the Bar car) a random French bloke who drove a mini- bus driver. Somehow, however, the 3 Musqueteers made it to the good old Tour Eiffel without spending a franc or pound in just under 20 hours and raised several thousand pounds for Gt Ormand St. Hospital. This time, however, I am very pleased to say that I not wearing tights and a tunic, and nor do I have a plastic sword wide brimmed hat and false moustache; this time, I am wearing the Green Black and Gold and off to support my team, Northampton Saints in the opening round of this years’ Rugby Champions Cup (still sponsored by Heineken). I am one of that number that are marching into Paris in the next few days.
Reading this board, there does indeed appear to be many of us heading over, some of whom whose French may not be up to speed. After all, the way French was taught when I was a lad was pretty dull and boring. The endless need to conjugate the verbs (Je suis, tu es, il/elle est, nous sommes, vous etes, ils/ells sont etc etc) ,the whole masculine/feminine thing (I mean who gives a monkeys which gender a tomato is!) making sure adjectives agree with the nouns, accents go the right way, Mr Vans Tramped (rememember that?) and all those bloody role plays at the bakery, at the greengrocers, at the doctors, buying a bus ticket or a sandwich, or (if you were after the top marks) getting your bicycle puncture repaired. I even spent one lesson describing a lemon in minute detail, wroye essays on 17th century French poetry and discussed the finer points of existentialism before realising the futility of it all. Never ever, in my travels around France, have I once got a flat tyre or have I been bitten by a wasp, (I may just be lucky, I don’t know) but most importantly, and over 20 years on I am still looking for the opportunity, that one opportunity to ask, in context, the holy grail of GCSE role play questions, the question that we all learnt, memorised and practised adfinitum, just for that moment when one day in France, we could ask “est-ce-que le T-shirt est trop grand?” I am still waiting Now, what I really wanted to do when I arrived in France, was to go the bars, have a beer and talk sport, and not Moliere and Camus. After all shopping was easy, you either go to the supermarket and pick what you want off the shelves or simply point to the croissants in the artisan boulangerie . Alas, not once did we have a lesson on “going to the rugby – pre or post match analysis, nor did anyone teach us how to get home after a night out on the bieres. What a missed opportunity to inspire our kids to learn languages…french teachers please take note – less St Exupery and more St Andre please.
I bet know you are wondering how I am going to bring this back to the game, well I am reliably informed that Jamie Elliott and I have both been taught by the same French teacher albeit at different schools and many years apart. So, just in case you get to the Stade Yves de Manoir with a puncture, I have every confidence that Jamie will undoubtedly be your man to help you get it repaired! Which does indeed bring us nicely on to the game in hand.
Saints as we know are sitting very proudly at the top of the Aviva Premiership, with 6 wins and one loss away at Wasps so far season. Racing on the other hand, are currently lying in 7th place in the top 14, having won 5 and lost 4 . From memory, they have won most of their home games and lost the away ones as appears to be the general trend in the Top 14. Depending on what report you read, their 3 welsh Lions, Phillips, Lydiate and Roberts are keen to return to the homeland sooner rather than later, or not as the case maybe, either way Eif will no doubt tell us what is what. Jonny Sexton has been out injured this season, but will be returning back to Leinster at the end of the year. Just in case you were thinking that Racing would be unfamiliar, well, there are also 3 players and a coach previously at Castres who will continue their annual battle against Saints, as well as a certain Mr Brian Mujati, who by all accounts, is the regular wearer of the number 23 shirt. I don’t know about anyone else, but I would love the shouts of Moooooojjjj resonate around the stadium if/when he makes an appearance. However it is far too early/late for me to remember their preferred XV with no wifi!
Saints on the other hand, I would expect to be at full strength, with almost all the squad fit for selection. So far this season, key players have been rested and rotated with many players bang in form, confidence will be high going in to the match, with the team heavily focussed on getting that all important win in the first away game to set them up for the tournament ahead . These days, you need 5 wins from 6 to realistically guarantee qualification. So, my starting team would be
15 Foden
14 Pisi K
13 Pisi G
12 Burrell
11 North
10 Myler
9 Dickson
1 Waller A
2 Hartley ©
3 Ma’afu
4 Lawes
5 Day
6 Clark
7 Wood
8 Manoa
I also wanted to play Fisher, but somehow I can’t quite squeeze him in! The one thing that I do know, regardless of who starts and who benches and who does not even get in the match day 23, is that this looks to be the strongest squad I have seen in the 30 plus years I have been watching Saints. There is quality and confidence wherever you look, including the youngsters who are waiting in the wings for their chance, and as Racing found out last year, in is not necessarily about the individuals, but about the team. Consequently given the togetherness and belief as a squad that Saints possess, I believe we will sneak away from the Stade Yves de Manoir with the valuable W in our possession. It won’t necessarily be by much, but I reckon it will be us by about 5 points.
Sit Rep: 06.04am Fri 17 Oct Now passing through Milton Keynes and I somehow managed 4 hours sleep somewhere in the middle of this piece. Not my greatest effort, for sure so thanks for reading. I need Coffee and a Wi Fi Connection to send this off. For those that are travelling, do so safely and I look forward to seeing you there, and for those watching on TV back home, enjoy the game, and lets hope it is the Saints who march on in triumph. Allez les Saints!
07:38 Café Nero, Euston. Double expresso and a celebratory pain au raisin as I am about to hit send. Onwards to France (via Tunbridge Wells)
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“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
Benjamin Franklin
Tetleys Block F E143
Nice one, thanks!
David L
What if there were no hypothetical questions?
- Live wrong and preposterously