News: Northampton Saints vs Newcastle Falcons - Preview
By HRsaints fan
January 1 2015
First game of 2015 then and table-topping Aviva Premiership champions, Northampton Saints, welcome Newcastle Falcons to Franklin's Gardens on Friday evening bidding to maintain their successful campaign so far. Regular COYSDC contributor, HRsaints fan (Dave to his mates), looks ahead to the game...
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS vs NEWCASTLE FALCONS
AP: Friday 2nd January 2015 - 7.45pm (BT)
FRANKLIN'S GARDENS, NORTHAMPTON
MATCH PREVIEW
Saints versus Newcastle
Firstly a very Happy New Year to you all and my personal thanks to all of those who continue to make this site a very enjoyable place to come and read about all things saintly.
Having been labelled by some newspapers as the “strongest team in the Premiership” in 2014, how will our lads do in the first game of 2015 when Newcastle Falcons make the trip south to Franklin’s Gardens?
The end of the year, and the conclusion of Round 11 saw Saints sit astride the Premiership table although, as we had to make our dear mates at Saracens aware, the only reason for staying top all through the season is the guarantee of a home semi-final as Jim has recently mentioned. Certainly Saints will not want to give up that slot easily, and neither will they want to add to the one home defeat already incurred this season.
So what can we expect from Newcastle?
Their coaches have stated that this will be a much-improved team to the one that Saints visited earlier in the season, and although they still lie eleventh in the Premiership table, recent form would seem to back up those comments. Although I saw only a few minutes of their game against Saracens, it seems that they should have had a draw at least, and that such a result would have been a fair reflection on the way they played in that game.
However playing at Franklin’s Gardens on a Friday night at the start of the New Year against the current champions and, arguably, the in-form team of the league (although the Bath fans will undoubtedly challenge that statement) is a daunting challenge for any team.
This season teams have raised their game against the Saints, and I would expect Newcastle to do exactly the same. After the Harlequins game though I got to wondering what sort of game Newcastle would bring to the party?
We have seen different approaches from different teams thus far. There was the Exeter effective “kick-and-chase-everything-back-to-Saints” approach, which did get them the only away win at the Gardens this season although with all due respect to Exeter I think it was Saints failure to turn up for the first 30 minutes of that game that won Exeter the game rather than their system. And then there was the Harlequins “its-our-ball-and-we’re-not-letting-you-have-it” approach which drew bizarre gasps of admiration from the BT sports commentators about the statistics of the game and yet it took two Harlequins players (Monye and Robson) to point out – correctly - that the only stats that count were the numbers on the scoreboard.
I would expect that possession and territory on Friday night to be more evenly balanced and more in Saints favour as I would think that Newcastle will try to kick effectively to peg Saint’s back in their own half.
As for the teams, I haven’t been able to find out whether Falcons adopt a rotation policy nor whether they suffered any injuries from the game against Saracens. So I am going to plump for the same team that turned out for that game.
Saints during this season has seen good rotation amongst the players and this shows the strength in depth that our relatively small squad possesses. However I think it unlikely that Jim will make many changes other than those enforced by injury (in Kahn’s case) and the return of Courtney to the second row. Of course I could be completely wrong, and that would not be the first time or the last!
Despite all the comments from the Falcon’s staff about their improving team, I expect, along with 13,000 other Saints fans, nothing less than a win for the first home game of 2015 and I think it will be by a reasonably comfortable margin.
Safe journeys for any Newcastle fans making the trip, and please pray that no one breaks down between junctions 12 and 15a of the M1 otherwise yours truly will arrive in a decidedly grumpy and un-festive mood!
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Good read!
"It's not the despair, Saints, I can take the despair. It's the hope I can't stand."
I'm hoping for more than 27% possession in this one! It will start to look like showing off if we keep beating people in adverse circumstances.
“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
"I would think that Newcastle will try to kick effectively to peg Saint’s back in their own half." Well we tried that in the home game back in September, except because we didn't chase very well (and often not at all), we didn't peg you back in your half but instead invited Foden and North to run back at us, which is going to hurt any team. So hopefully a bit more imagination tomorrow.
Can't make it down so going to be watching on BT Sport, hopefully it'll be a good game.
this one definitely has 'banana skin' stamped on it, as Dean Richards finally seems to be achieving the shape and style of play he has worked hard at. looking forward to it. COYS!