Pass the water, Matt
Northampton Saints 10 London Irish 22
Pass the water, Matt
By MrGoz January 5 2003
On Saturday at Franklin Gardens, a relaxed and confident London Irish produced one of the top away performances in the Zurich Premiership this season. This was no scrappy win. From the first minute to the last London Irish out-thought, out-fought and out-played the Saints in their own back yard.
Pass the water, Matt
On Saturday at Franklin Gardens, a relaxed and confident London Irish produced one of the top away performances in the Zurich Premiership this season. This was no scrappy win. From the first minute to the last London Irish out-thought, out-fought and out-played the Saints in their own back yard.
The day dawned bright and early for the LISC Craic Squad as they prepared for their annual trip to Northampton. Throughout Southern England the steam from brewing mulled wine hovered in the cold mid-winter air while the eardrums of passers-by reverberated with the sound of sandwiches being cut.
Soon it was time to be on our way. The coach set sail and the intrepid voyagers soon began to ply themselves with nutritious cakes, doughnuts, sandwiches, biscuits and Scooby Snacks washed down with lashings of hot Mulled Wine.
“We are a performance driven team and it is important we get the preparation absolutely right,” said a spokesman (again).
After a detour to Oxford to collect the eponymous Mr Clive (OxonRob) we were soon bowling along the numerous dual carriageways of the rolling Northamptonshire countryside.
Arriving at Franklin Gardens we marvelled at what is without doubt the ‘Best Club Rugby Ground in Northamptonshire’. Sadly the ‘Best Club Rugby Car Park in Northamptonshire’ was closed so visitors were denied that particular pleasure.
Pausing only to ingest some pre-match AG washed down with Hot Pork Rolls, Burgers, Chips and Pasties (do these people ever stop eating and drinking) the Craic Squad entered the arena. Snuggled together in our compact seats we awaited the arrival of the Gladiators.
The announcement of Paul Gustard as Captain was met with universal approval from the travellers. An inspired and fitting reward for Paul’s contribution to the team and the club.
The Irish team ran onto the pitch to polite applause from the Saints fans, and cheering and drumming from assembled travellers. The crowd then began to sing some strange song. I could not quite catch the words, though they seemed to be repeated often enough. The Saints then ran out to become the second team on the pitch (an omen for the rest of the match).
Soon it was time for the Eastiebeastie (Mr Rowden) to start the game. Barry kicked off and London Irish proceeded to simply blow Northampton away.
Within the first two minutes they could (and should) have been two tries to the good. Attacking from all angles London Irish pulled the Northampton defence the pieces. Openings were too numerous to recall but perhaps the best chance fell to Paul Gustard, whose charge from the blind side of a ruck ended with his unsuccessful attempt to Maori side-step Nick Beal. Soon after that, Paul Sackey had an opportunity from an interception as Northampton tried desperately to clear, but the chance was again missed.
Finally, after three minutes of constant attack the pressure told. An excellent blind-side break by Doctor V was finished off by Michael Horak, who strolled through unopposed to touch down by the posts. Barry converted and Irish had a control of the game that they were never to lose.
Northampton Saints 0 London Irish 7
Irish continued to press and it was a surprise when, on a rare visit to the Irish half, Mr Rowden (turncoat!) awarded Northampton a penalty for an Irish player coming in from the side at a maul.
It was at this time that we first noticed that Northampton had sent on Matt Dawson in the role of Aquarius the Water Carrier (a.k.a. Water Boy). Aquarius was to spend most of the next hour on the pitch, and he warmed up for his run-out by engaging Mr Rowden in an animated conversation as Paul Grayson lined up his kick.
Paul Grayson chose the difficult option of bouncing his penalty kick off the left hand post. From the ensuing melee a Northampton player knocked on (something they were to do with monotonous regularity throughout the game) and Barry Everitt cleared.
Normal service was soon resumed. Another sustained attack was ended when Paul Sackey spilled a try-scoring pass after an excellent run from Barry.
At the ensuing scrum however the Irish forwards simply demolished their Northampton counterparts. Mr Rowden (fine upstanding chap that he is) correctly penalised the Saints as their front row frantically tried to bale out as the scrum collapsed around them. Barry knocked over the penalty and with 18 minutes gone the scoreboard read:
Northampton 0 London Irish 10
Just as importantly the Irish forwards had laid down a marker at the scrums. The Saints pack was in for a torrid time for the rest of the match.
Northampton feverishly tried to get themselves back into the game. However everywhere they went they met a superbly organised and committed defence.
Kieran Dawson, the Doctor and Nick Burrows roamed the Northampton back line in ‘hunter-killer’ roles, picking off victims more or less at will.
With the honourable exception of Nick Beal, the Saints backs did not respond well to the challenge. Time and again they shipped ball and responsibility on to the next man down the line until the inevitable happened and the ball was either knocked on or the last man in the line was crunched.
The disarray in the Saints backs was summed up when, after recovering the ball in their own 22, they ran in front of the kicker as Paul Grayson attempted an ambitious chip ahead. Mr Rowden (fine fellow) awarded the penalty, Barry dispatched the egg between the posts and with 27 minutes played it was:
Northampton Saints 0 London Irish 13
Northampton pressed to try to get back into the game. From a lineout they set up a rolling maul from which Mr Rowden (bad egg) awarded a penalty for pulling down (though strangely the maul and all the players still seemed to be on their feet).
Grayson kicked to the corner. From the lineout Northampton recreated a famous moment in recent rugby history as they performed an exact replica of Keith Wood’s try against England. This time Steve Thompson was in the starring role and touched down virtually unopposed as he sped round the tail of the lineout. Grayson converted to make the score after 29 minutes
Northampton 7 London Irish 13
On 34 minutes came another decisive moment in Irish’s domination of this game. Having spent the first half an hour sussing out the Saints lineout, Nick ‘the ball’ Kennedy nipped in for his first turnover. From then on the Saints lineout went into a flat spin that was to end with six successive turnovers in the last quarter of the match.
From Nick’s steal, Chris Sheasby (playing his finest game of the season) sprinted through to set up Justin Bishop for a race to the line. As the covering defenders came across Bish tried his trademark cut inside, but was tackled and then knocked as he hit the ground a metre from the try line.
We then saw the extraordinary sight of Aquarius calling the Saints forwards into a huddle. He then took up station in the ‘in-goal’ area while he directed the alignment of the backs.
Now we all know that teams use the Water Boy as cover for getting messages onto the field of play. However I have never before seen one standing less than 5 metres from a ball in play while directing players into position.
The travellers did not take kindly to what seemed to go way beyond the accepted role of a Water Carrier and employed vocal encouragement to bring the matter to the official’s attention.
Although Saints kicked clear from the scrum, Irish converted the following lineout into another excellent attacking position from which Mike Worsley knocked-on in a ruck. The Northampton scrum was again destroyed and, although the ball was scrambled clear, the respite was short-lived.
A sustained period of Irish pressure saw an overworked Saints defence concede a penalty for offside and with 42 minutes on the clock Barry slammed home the penalty for a half time score of
Northampton 7 London Irish 16
The second half followed the pattern of the first, with Northampton trapped inside their own half and under pressure. Following one Irish attack Saints were penalised for offside leaving Barry with a straightforward penalty 35 metres out and straight in front of the posts. Unfortunately Barry made poor contact with the ball and it flew wide of the right hand post.
While Barry was lining up the kick Rob Hardwick made way for Simon Halford. A few moments later we saw the departure of one of last year’s heroes. Steve Williams (now in Northampton’s colours) left the field to warm applause from the travellers in the Church’s Stand.
The substitutions continued with Naka Drotske making way for the rejuvenated Richard Kirke.
Northampton were still buzzing around in their own half, like blue bottles trapped in a glass. The pressure defence from Irish was unrelenting and soon forced another penalty for handling in the ruck. Barry showed his last kick was a temporary blip by calmly slotting the penalty and with 7 minutes of the second half played the score was
Northampton Saints 7 London Irish 19
By now Northampton were trying to run everything but a combination of fearsome defence and fumbling fingers meant that they had nothing to show for their efforts. During one of their attacks Mr Rowden (b*****d) awarded a penalty for blocking a kick through. Faced by a set defence, Grayson opted to slot the penalty over from in front of the posts. 51 minutes gone and the scoreboard now read
Northampton Saints 10 London Irish 19
Neal Hatley replaced Mike Worsley and a few moments later ‘Big Bob’ Casey made his long awaited return from injury in place of Glenn Delaney. Steve Thompson’s nightmare was about to begin.
The London Irish scrum forwards continued to destroy the Northampton scrum. From one such massacre in the 56th minute Northampton were penalised for offside and Barry restored the 12 point advantage with another calm penalty.
Northampton Saints 10 London Irish 22
Denied possession at the scrum, under pressure in the backs and with their forwards running into brick walls, the world finally caved in on Northampton with the total disintegration of their line out.
The process started when, faced by the sight of Nick and Bob looming in the lineout, Thompson overthrew his jumpers and Kieran Dawson gathered to set up another attack. The process continued with a succession of steals by Nick and Bob on the Saints throw. On the rare occasions the ball reached a Northampton player he was so surprised he dropped the ball.
Much of the next 15 minutes was spent in a continuous loop of desperate Northampton attacks, occasional penalties for offside, and Irish stealing the lineout ball before clearing. Awesome controlled defence.
With the game won Irish spent the last 10 minutes of match (which included 7 minutes of injury time) camped on the half way line while Northampton went backwards and sideways trying to find a gap. Eventually Mr Rowden decided it was time to put the Saints out of their misery and blew for the end of the match, leaving the final score
Northampton Saints 10 London Irish 22
Attendance: 10,604 (at the start anyway).
After the game the Craic Squad and the rest of the rapidly expanding band of ‘usual suspects’ enjoyed a convivial drink in the splendid Tetley’s bar. There was just time to ‘groupie’ the players as they returned to their coach before it was time to begin the journey home. Fortunately there remained sufficient supplies of cake, biscuits, doughnuts and fortified hot chocolate to sustain the Squad.
So what does this week’s summary look like.
1) On a day of numerous excellent performances the following players shone out:
The Good Doctor – His usual destructive best in defence. Lively and inventive in attack.
The Pack – Destroyed the Northampton scrum and later cleaned out the lineout. Superb.
Nick Burrows – This guy is on the verge of acquiring cult status with the supporters (though he still looks nervous at the sight of the wigs). Awesome in defence and threatening in attack.
Kieran Dawson – Simply everywhere.
Chris Sheasby – His best game of the season. Drove the Saints back every time he got the ball and his charge and pass in the first half deserved better than Bish’s knock-on.
Paul Gustard – Top man, top performance. Along with the front rows, the brick wall on which much of Northampton’s attack foundered.
Barry Everitt – Although he finished with 17 points, it was not Barry the Boot we saw in this game. For much of the time he led the Northampton defence a merry dance with his use of space and runners. The Barry Everitt/Paul Sackey combination out wide from second or third phase ball has the potential to be lethal.
Nick Kennedy – Outstanding in the line-out, particularly once Irish had sussed out the Saints throws.
2) I think Matt Dawson’s enthusiasm got the got the better of him and he pushed the role of Water Carrier further than it should legitimately go. Ultimately his constant involvement during and after every break in play seemed to have a negative effect on the Saints decision makers at 8, 9 and 10. Grayson in particular appeared totally devoid of any authority and leadership on the pitch.
3) For perhaps the first time this season the Irish players looked relaxed and at ease with themselves. This manifested itself in little things like the Subs waving to the travelling supporters while they were warming up, and bigger things like the calm authority with which they ran the game. Let us hope this continues.
4) In the past year I would guess that our travelling away support has probably trebled. Apart from being damned good fun, it seems clear that our good natured support is having a positive impact on the team, and is being well received at the grounds we visit. If you are thinking of joining in, wait no longer. It really is tremendous fun.
Soon it was time to be on our way. The coach set sail and the intrepid voyagers soon began to ply themselves with nutritious cakes, doughnuts, sandwiches, biscuits and Scooby Snacks washed down with lashings of hot Mulled Wine.
“We are a performance driven team and it is important we get the preparation absolutely right,” said a spokesman (again).
After a detour to Oxford to collect the eponymous Mr Clive (OxonRob) we were soon bowling along the numerous dual carriageways of the rolling Northamptonshire countryside.
Arriving at Franklin Gardens we marvelled at what is without doubt the ‘Best Club Rugby Ground in Northamptonshire’. Sadly the ‘Best Club Rugby Car Park in Northamptonshire’ was closed so visitors were denied that particular pleasure.
Pausing only to ingest some pre-match AG washed down with Hot Pork Rolls, Burgers, Chips and Pasties (do these people ever stop eating and drinking) the Craic Squad entered the arena. Snuggled together in our compact seats we awaited the arrival of the Gladiators.
The announcement of Paul Gustard as Captain was met with universal approval from the travellers. An inspired and fitting reward for Paul’s contribution to the team and the club.
The Irish team ran onto the pitch to polite applause from the Saints fans, and cheering and drumming from assembled travellers. The crowd then began to sing some strange song. I could not quite catch the words, though they seemed to be repeated often enough. The Saints then ran out to become the second team on the pitch (an omen for the rest of the match).
Soon it was time for the Eastiebeastie (Mr Rowden) to start the game. Barry kicked off and London Irish proceeded to simply blow Northampton away.
Within the first two minutes they could (and should) have been two tries to the good. Attacking from all angles London Irish pulled the Northampton defence the pieces. Openings were too numerous to recall but perhaps the best chance fell to Paul Gustard, whose charge from the blind side of a ruck ended with his unsuccessful attempt to Maori side-step Nick Beal. Soon after that, Paul Sackey had an opportunity from an interception as Northampton tried desperately to clear, but the chance was again missed.
Finally, after three minutes of constant attack the pressure told. An excellent blind-side break by Doctor V was finished off by Michael Horak, who strolled through unopposed to touch down by the posts. Barry converted and Irish had a control of the game that they were never to lose.
Northampton Saints 0 London Irish 7
Irish continued to press and it was a surprise when, on a rare visit to the Irish half, Mr Rowden (turncoat!) awarded Northampton a penalty for an Irish player coming in from the side at a maul.
It was at this time that we first noticed that Northampton had sent on Matt Dawson in the role of Aquarius the Water Carrier (a.k.a. Water Boy). Aquarius was to spend most of the next hour on the pitch, and he warmed up for his run-out by engaging Mr Rowden in an animated conversation as Paul Grayson lined up his kick.
Paul Grayson chose the difficult option of bouncing his penalty kick off the left hand post. From the ensuing melee a Northampton player knocked on (something they were to do with monotonous regularity throughout the game) and Barry Everitt cleared.
Normal service was soon resumed. Another sustained attack was ended when Paul Sackey spilled a try-scoring pass after an excellent run from Barry.
At the ensuing scrum however the Irish forwards simply demolished their Northampton counterparts. Mr Rowden (fine upstanding chap that he is) correctly penalised the Saints as their front row frantically tried to bale out as the scrum collapsed around them. Barry knocked over the penalty and with 18 minutes gone the scoreboard read:
Northampton 0 London Irish 10
Just as importantly the Irish forwards had laid down a marker at the scrums. The Saints pack was in for a torrid time for the rest of the match.
Northampton feverishly tried to get themselves back into the game. However everywhere they went they met a superbly organised and committed defence.
Kieran Dawson, the Doctor and Nick Burrows roamed the Northampton back line in ‘hunter-killer’ roles, picking off victims more or less at will.
With the honourable exception of Nick Beal, the Saints backs did not respond well to the challenge. Time and again they shipped ball and responsibility on to the next man down the line until the inevitable happened and the ball was either knocked on or the last man in the line was crunched.
The disarray in the Saints backs was summed up when, after recovering the ball in their own 22, they ran in front of the kicker as Paul Grayson attempted an ambitious chip ahead. Mr Rowden (fine fellow) awarded the penalty, Barry dispatched the egg between the posts and with 27 minutes played it was:
Northampton Saints 0 London Irish 13
Northampton pressed to try to get back into the game. From a lineout they set up a rolling maul from which Mr Rowden (bad egg) awarded a penalty for pulling down (though strangely the maul and all the players still seemed to be on their feet).
Grayson kicked to the corner. From the lineout Northampton recreated a famous moment in recent rugby history as they performed an exact replica of Keith Wood’s try against England. This time Steve Thompson was in the starring role and touched down virtually unopposed as he sped round the tail of the lineout. Grayson converted to make the score after 29 minutes
Northampton 7 London Irish 13
On 34 minutes came another decisive moment in Irish’s domination of this game. Having spent the first half an hour sussing out the Saints lineout, Nick ‘the ball’ Kennedy nipped in for his first turnover. From then on the Saints lineout went into a flat spin that was to end with six successive turnovers in the last quarter of the match.
From Nick’s steal, Chris Sheasby (playing his finest game of the season) sprinted through to set up Justin Bishop for a race to the line. As the covering defenders came across Bish tried his trademark cut inside, but was tackled and then knocked as he hit the ground a metre from the try line.
We then saw the extraordinary sight of Aquarius calling the Saints forwards into a huddle. He then took up station in the ‘in-goal’ area while he directed the alignment of the backs.
Now we all know that teams use the Water Boy as cover for getting messages onto the field of play. However I have never before seen one standing less than 5 metres from a ball in play while directing players into position.
The travellers did not take kindly to what seemed to go way beyond the accepted role of a Water Carrier and employed vocal encouragement to bring the matter to the official’s attention.
Although Saints kicked clear from the scrum, Irish converted the following lineout into another excellent attacking position from which Mike Worsley knocked-on in a ruck. The Northampton scrum was again destroyed and, although the ball was scrambled clear, the respite was short-lived.
A sustained period of Irish pressure saw an overworked Saints defence concede a penalty for offside and with 42 minutes on the clock Barry slammed home the penalty for a half time score of
Northampton 7 London Irish 16
The second half followed the pattern of the first, with Northampton trapped inside their own half and under pressure. Following one Irish attack Saints were penalised for offside leaving Barry with a straightforward penalty 35 metres out and straight in front of the posts. Unfortunately Barry made poor contact with the ball and it flew wide of the right hand post.
While Barry was lining up the kick Rob Hardwick made way for Simon Halford. A few moments later we saw the departure of one of last year’s heroes. Steve Williams (now in Northampton’s colours) left the field to warm applause from the travellers in the Church’s Stand.
The substitutions continued with Naka Drotske making way for the rejuvenated Richard Kirke.
Northampton were still buzzing around in their own half, like blue bottles trapped in a glass. The pressure defence from Irish was unrelenting and soon forced another penalty for handling in the ruck. Barry showed his last kick was a temporary blip by calmly slotting the penalty and with 7 minutes of the second half played the score was
Northampton Saints 7 London Irish 19
By now Northampton were trying to run everything but a combination of fearsome defence and fumbling fingers meant that they had nothing to show for their efforts. During one of their attacks Mr Rowden (b*****d) awarded a penalty for blocking a kick through. Faced by a set defence, Grayson opted to slot the penalty over from in front of the posts. 51 minutes gone and the scoreboard now read
Northampton Saints 10 London Irish 19
Neal Hatley replaced Mike Worsley and a few moments later ‘Big Bob’ Casey made his long awaited return from injury in place of Glenn Delaney. Steve Thompson’s nightmare was about to begin.
The London Irish scrum forwards continued to destroy the Northampton scrum. From one such massacre in the 56th minute Northampton were penalised for offside and Barry restored the 12 point advantage with another calm penalty.
Northampton Saints 10 London Irish 22
Denied possession at the scrum, under pressure in the backs and with their forwards running into brick walls, the world finally caved in on Northampton with the total disintegration of their line out.
The process started when, faced by the sight of Nick and Bob looming in the lineout, Thompson overthrew his jumpers and Kieran Dawson gathered to set up another attack. The process continued with a succession of steals by Nick and Bob on the Saints throw. On the rare occasions the ball reached a Northampton player he was so surprised he dropped the ball.
Much of the next 15 minutes was spent in a continuous loop of desperate Northampton attacks, occasional penalties for offside, and Irish stealing the lineout ball before clearing. Awesome controlled defence.
With the game won Irish spent the last 10 minutes of match (which included 7 minutes of injury time) camped on the half way line while Northampton went backwards and sideways trying to find a gap. Eventually Mr Rowden decided it was time to put the Saints out of their misery and blew for the end of the match, leaving the final score
Northampton Saints 10 London Irish 22
Attendance: 10,604 (at the start anyway).
After the game the Craic Squad and the rest of the rapidly expanding band of ‘usual suspects’ enjoyed a convivial drink in the splendid Tetley’s bar. There was just time to ‘groupie’ the players as they returned to their coach before it was time to begin the journey home. Fortunately there remained sufficient supplies of cake, biscuits, doughnuts and fortified hot chocolate to sustain the Squad.
So what does this week’s summary look like.
1) On a day of numerous excellent performances the following players shone out:
The Good Doctor – His usual destructive best in defence. Lively and inventive in attack.
The Pack – Destroyed the Northampton scrum and later cleaned out the lineout. Superb.
Nick Burrows – This guy is on the verge of acquiring cult status with the supporters (though he still looks nervous at the sight of the wigs). Awesome in defence and threatening in attack.
Kieran Dawson – Simply everywhere.
Chris Sheasby – His best game of the season. Drove the Saints back every time he got the ball and his charge and pass in the first half deserved better than Bish’s knock-on.
Paul Gustard – Top man, top performance. Along with the front rows, the brick wall on which much of Northampton’s attack foundered.
Barry Everitt – Although he finished with 17 points, it was not Barry the Boot we saw in this game. For much of the time he led the Northampton defence a merry dance with his use of space and runners. The Barry Everitt/Paul Sackey combination out wide from second or third phase ball has the potential to be lethal.
Nick Kennedy – Outstanding in the line-out, particularly once Irish had sussed out the Saints throws.
2) I think Matt Dawson’s enthusiasm got the got the better of him and he pushed the role of Water Carrier further than it should legitimately go. Ultimately his constant involvement during and after every break in play seemed to have a negative effect on the Saints decision makers at 8, 9 and 10. Grayson in particular appeared totally devoid of any authority and leadership on the pitch.
3) For perhaps the first time this season the Irish players looked relaxed and at ease with themselves. This manifested itself in little things like the Subs waving to the travelling supporters while they were warming up, and bigger things like the calm authority with which they ran the game. Let us hope this continues.
4) In the past year I would guess that our travelling away support has probably trebled. Apart from being damned good fun, it seems clear that our good natured support is having a positive impact on the team, and is being well received at the grounds we visit. If you are thinking of joining in, wait no longer. It really is tremendous fun.
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