Northampton Saints
News: Saints fly on while Ospreys land short.
By Saint Martin
October 20 2013
Sunday 20th October 2013 saw Northampton Saints pay host to Ospreys in round 2 of the 2014 Heineken Cup. In what is becoming a very tense and tight group it was all important for either of these sides to bag the win and to keep their interests in the cup alive.
Heineken Cup Pool 1 Round 2
Northampton Saints v Ospreys
KO 12:45 pm Sunday 20th October
Franklins' Gardens
Being a Sunday and an early kick off 1st on the agenda was to make sure all the Sunday Dinner prep was complete so Mrs Saint Martin was happy and I could head off for a spot of pre match Breakfast. Knowing the result as we do now you may not want to hear that the record had stood at 2 losses when the early full monty had been sought out. Anyway, breakfast duly completed thanks to the lovely ladies at the Super Sausages we headed to The Gardens to take up our vantage point in block D with our fellow supporters. The weather was sunny although a little cool which was far better than the weatherman predicted and the ground slowly filled with fans as well as high expectations.
The Ospreys are a strong team with a sprinkling of Lions thrown in for good measure and they were sure to be smarting from a home defeat the week previous. Saints meanwhile kept faith with the majority of the team from the previous week with Big Sam rested whilst our own Lion Alex Corbisiero was unfortunately on the injury list, for how long we will have to wait and see, get well soon young man.
Anyway onto the match, I won’t give a blow by blow account as a) this can easily be found on the Saints website and b) my memory tends to waver every now and again probably due to chatting with both fellow supporters and a good group of Ospreys fans who stood in front of us.
Saints wearing the “European” shirts with the green and yellow quarters....(opinions on a postcard please??) kicked off playing down the slope and the timing of Courtney Law’s tackle was precise causing the Ospreys player to knock on right in front of us on the 22, we could see the next Saints player to arrive also knock on slightly but this was not spotted by either Mr Rolland or his accomplices and Saints went through a couple of phases in midfield before Ospreys were naughty enough for Mr Rolland to give a penalty to Saints, 3-0 as Stephen Myler did the necessary.
Saints appeared hungrier for the ball and with just over 10 mins on the clock having elapsed Stephen Myler sent a well judged grubber through the Ospreys midfield, the Ospreys full back was conspicuous by his absence, the covering Ospreys winger Walker scoops the ball up but his momentum takes him over his goal line and the Saints chasers force him to ground the ball. Dylan heads to the dressing room for some running repairs and Mike Haywood enters the fray to face the streetwise Ospreys pack. A text book 5m scrum is wheeled slightly to the right and great hooking by Haywood sends the ball instantly to the feet of Samu Manoa’s playing 8 who duly scoops the ball up one handed and with 2 large strides strolls over the line untouched by the Ospreys blindside to dot down for a try. Conversion completed by Myler and Saints had a healthy 10 point lead, Dylan returns.
It would only be a matter of time before Ospreys awoke from their slumber and with Saints infringing at a ruck, Dan Biggar punished this indiscretion knocking over a penalty from just inside the Saints half. The Ospreys total was then doubled when a Myler kick off flew directly into touch, Ospreys then won a penalty from the scrum back on the halfway line. Saints 10 Ospreys 6, 20 odd minutes elapsed.
Saints needed to restore order and they duly obliged. A penalty in Saints half was fired into Ospreys territory...is it just me or is Stephen Myler gaining extra yards this season on these kicks? The line out was won and after several phases where Saints attacked and crossed the gain line finally resulted in the ball being spun wide through a couple of pairs of hands to that 6 foot plus left winger...........Christian Day! He dotted down, Stephen Myler duly converted and Saints had extended their lead to 17-6.
The remaining minutes of the half saw some probing by both teams without much headway until in the dying moments Hartley broke through the defensive line of the Ospreys, he looked for support but with none available he attempted a grubber, however he was tackled as he tried, resulting in the ball squirming forward into the Ospreys full backs hands, he duly shipped the ball wide to his winger who after making some yards then kicked the ball on. The wingers pace took him past Stephen Myler and into the Saints 22 and with Ben Foden tracking back it was on a knife edge who would win this race, however the bounce of the ball ended the competition as it veered sideways and into touch. After a short break for Dylan receiving treatment, the line out was taken and moments later the ball was despatched into the Tetleys, 17-6 to Saints at half time.
The second half got underway with Ospreys facing the Burda Stand, they seemed to have slipped into a higher gear and were now testing the Saints defence with some strong ball carrying and some excellent footwork and passing by Dan Biggar. A sustained period of pressure finally saw Biggar attack the line near the posts, he looked to have been stopped however a final effort propelled him forward in the tackle and he touched down, Mr Rolland called on the TMO and he confirmed the score and the extras were added from in front of the posts, game on 17-13 to Saints.
Ospreys continued to push Saints back into their own 22 and things were not looking good until a misplaced pop pass by the Ospreys scrum half was seized upon by Samu Manoa who had the presence of mind to pass the ball out towards the Church stand, a couple more passes and a punt up field had the Ospreys retreating and only a volley into block Z by Biggar stopped the Saints from scoring. Saints brought on reinforcements with big Samu and Phil Dowson heading to the bench for a well earned rest with Calum Clark and GJ Van Velze the replacements. The Saints line out was in good nick and the catch and drive took Saints to the try line where only some desperate and probably illegal defence halted its momentum, the ball was slipped to the blind side and Day’s final pass allowed Ben Foden to dot down unopposed. Myler once again converted from out wide and a collective sigh of relief could be heard, Saints now 24-13 ahead.
The remainder of the match saw both benches being emptied in between a penalty for Ospreys, again from long range by Biggar being despatched with Myler replying for Saints. Saints led 27-16.
The final minutes of the match first saw some excellent sniping runs by the replacement Ospreys stand off and then another excellent break down the left flank by Saints, Ken Pisi won the race for the ball and any quick service would have resulted in a try however Biggar flopped over on the wrong side and the chance was gone, as was Biggar to the naught step for 10 mins. Saints went for the driving maul from the line out but this was stopped by Ospreys, Van Velze drove for the line but was wrapped up well and support was not forthcoming meaning Ospreys won the penalty. With time up and an outside chance of a losing bonus point Ospreys tried to run the ball from their own goal line, however they kept rebounding off an impressive defensive Saints wall and the ball was eventually kicked to touch to finish the match. Handshakes all round and Saints pick up the 4 win points for a 27-16 victory meaning rounds 3 and 4 versus Leinster become the make or break games we all expected when the fixtures were originally announced.
Final thoughts on the game were
- Another excellent defensive display by Saints.
- I don’t normally agree with Sky but Courtney being Man of the Match was a no brainer. His tackling has been very effective but I have been very impressed with his ability to carry the ball for good yards now which makes him a strong contender to start for England in the upcoming AIs.
- George North was used much more today as a first runner in midfield, good to see as although only a few yards gained his strength to recycle the ball meant Saints remained on the front foot during these phases.
- Last but not least, to all Ospreys fans who have been missing the dazzling skills of wee Shane I give you the twinkling feet of Jamie Elliott, take a bow young Jamie, champagne moment of the match was those sidesteps, so many I lost count.
Thanks for reading, keep the faith.
Saint Martin
Jim's and Courtney's views
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David L
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