What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2021:09:10:12:02:17 by Saint Ted.

Should be interesting to see some of the younger lads and Woody at lock but I would presume this fixture is being used to try that with the second pre-season likely to be closer to the team for Gloucester?

Looking forward to seeing Trokkie do his thing and Danny H-O back from long term injury. Hopefully a confidence building run-out for the likes of big T, Furbank and Mitchell who all have huge potential but hit patchy form last season (they were by no means alone in that so I'm not singling them out on that basis, they're just all players I love to watch when their confidence is high).

Nice balance to that team. Wish I was able to go and watch.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:09:03:12:14:00 by Lamont4Saints.

No hookers or second rows on the bench, but 3 looseheads and 3 tightheads.

I hope that's not a reflection on our fit players and is more a deliberate decision.

Quote:

Lamont4Saints
Nice balance to that team. Wish I was able to go and watch.

The game is being streamed on the club's facebook page for those unable to attend. Details from T'offy

C. O. Y. S. !!

Dont forget David Ribbans is still serving his ban and will be available for the Gloucester game

Can any of the props play hooker? I doubt either side would want to end up with uncontested scrums so I'd be surprised if that's intentional. 2nd row less of a problem, it may be sub-optimal but there will be enough back rowers to cover at a push without a safety issue.

Bedford Blues Forwards Pack:

Joey Conway, Josh Pieterse, Jack Hughes, Osman Dimen, Corrie Barrett, Ed Prowse, Jordan Onojaife, Alex Woolford, Luke Frost, Tui Uru, Bailey Ransom, Joe Atkinson, Oli Stedman

Bedford Blues Backs Unit:

Alex Day, Connor Tupai, Will Maisey, Louis Grimoldby, Dean Adamson, Ethan Grayson, Frank Kelly, Jamie Elliott, Pat Tapley, Matt Worley, Rich Lane

Players in bold have at some time pulled on a Saints shirt. Nothing like catching up with mates after a match.

Quote:

LeicesterSaint
Can any of the props play hooker? I doubt either side would want to end up with uncontested scrums so I'd be surprised if that's intentional. 2nd row less of a problem, it may be sub-optimal but there will be enough back rowers to cover at a push without a safety issue.

I remember Alex Waller played hooker once when we were in a bind. Can’t remember if he was a starter or an in game replacement or indeed if he was on the bench as 16.

Quote:

Pyffy

Quote:

Lamont4Saints
Nice balance to that team. Wish I was able to go and watch.

The game is being streamed on the club's facebook page for those unable to attend. Details from T'offy

Cheers for the info but I’m up in Leeds watching Europe’s strongest man this weekend so wouldn’t be able to stream. It’s good they are doing that though.

Lineout looks similar to last season, at least so far. Unfortunately.

Lineout pretty poor
Particularly in their red zone

Lots of very good stuff though

Wish Mitchell would put some zip on his passing

Lineout terrible agree but lots of positives. Hutch oozing class in midfield. Litchfield looks a good ball carrier. Big T looking for work. Ludlam everywhere. Augustus showing good promise. Wood just keeps getting better.

Good pace of play in the 1st half. Saints had all the possession. But too frantic, just like last season and the one before, trying to play that quick offloading game. Resulting in a sea of turnovers.

[quote TimperleySaint]Lineout terrible agree but lots of positives. Hutch oozing class in midfield./quote]

There's times when I watch him and wonder why he's not our 10

Loosing ball a fair bit when going into contact
Bit more control and composure needed



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:09:03:21:11:55 by Deesaint.

If we play like this against any prem side then we will get stuffed.
Far to many unnecessary penalties and revolving door tackles.
No disrespect to Bedford, but they are a championship side and we are aiming for top 4! ( if you believe it!!)

At the moment we have four prop forwards on😳😳😳😳

I wonder if James Fish is trying to play his way out of Northampton.

Bedford have played really well and good to see lots of old and Academy saints playing well. Saints have been off the pace and far off in accuracy. Some good performances though from Iyogun, TC (has he got quicker?!), Ludlum and Harrison as always, big T looking energised (if still not quite the powerhouse of his first season) and Litchfield really strong. Some really talented young Academy players and obviously lots of players still to come back.

I wonder if James Fish was trying to play his way out of Saints?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:09:03:21:27:05 by Saint Gordo.

Excellent commentary, and excellent camera work, even with only one camera!
Despite the rustiness and a fair amount of sloppy play from Saints, an enjoyable watch!

Plenty for the coaches to work on

Let’s hope the Furbank at 10 experiment is now dead

Was indeed great to watch. Never expected to see a pre-season game. Was happy to hear that over 3000 people were at the game, too.

Plenty to work on for sure. Not many highlights. Unfortunately, most of the errors are the same errors we have seen over the last few seasons. Saints got away with them and perhaps Saints were a bit overly aggressive because it was Bedford and pre-season. At least the scrum was good.

Poor line out, too frantic, desperate to offload, turnovers, sloppy, lack of accuracy.
I didn't see any of the match but the comments seem all too familiar from the last few years.
I hope we haven't adopted the definition of madness for the upcoming season !

A good blow out nothing more nothing less., don’t read too much into it, lots of Academy guys playing that won’t be anywhere near the first team this season. 3rd choice hooker all game with limited jumpers so lineout was never going to be brilliant. Scrum decidedly better towards the end although was pretty solid all game. Some nice passing in the backs. All the main players looked eager to get hands on ball and tackle so all good I think. Backs look good generally apart from being naive defensively now and again.

Listing all those not involved for whatever reason should give some crumb of comfort if we are being picky and getting concerned one pre season game in. Matevesi, Hill, Heywood, Cole’s, Lawes, Ribbans, Api, Nansen, Wilkins, James, Lomani, Biggar, Francis, Freeman, Skosan (apologies to any I’ve missed). Love to know why we only took one hooker and one second row, injuries maybe, thin on the ground so spreading the load elsewhere.

It was a great run-out and not having been to Goldington road I was very pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere and surroundings, although it’s quite a slope they have on the pitch.
We definitely have plenty of pace out wide! The back row looks strong and Augustus definitely provided a bit of go-forward. Woody was particularly strong yet we really did struggle with line out ball largely down to indifferent throwing.
Bedford played with a lot of passion and brio, we got a little caught up in it all and having taken a time to get some momentum in the first half, lost it in the second because we changed the bulk of the team.
There were a couple of highlights, I need to see the video of the Mitchell try to see how he left the Bedford 7 clutching fresh air, he seemed to produce a double step. And young Manny showed some deft footwork as well. Pair him with Paul Hill and we’ll need a hooker who can dance to play between them!

They did say hookers were all injured
Our latest two were having visas sorted out to come across. The one from SA will then have to isolate.
They said Couts may not back until euro games due to England players having a rest.
Tommy Freeman still recovering from surgery but back training

Having just seen the game in full, I am actually slightly less concerned.
The big positives for me were Augustus, Hutchinson, Little T. I still really want to see Teimana and Ludlam as our flankers causing havoc.
Tom Wood deserves mention as the duracel bunny of the squad (what on earth is he on ?!).
I also hope that we land on Grayson at 10 (when Biggar is away but also to lay down a longer term challenge). He has the talent. Just give him a decent run please.

I appreciate its taboo to talk performance after a chop-around friendly but from what I saw, Litchfield looked interesting.... and Augustus looks promising. The rest had odd moments of 'good', and it is clear that we have an issue with injured Hookers, though Matavesi was playing elsewhere with the Navy.

Some of it was a bit sloppy but hopefully this will all knit together before Gloucester.

IMHO, Bedford put up an 'honest', testing performance with Lane being dangerous.

Just relieved to be watching rugby with crowds again.

I deliberately waited until this morning to comment, and to read the views.

I have to say I am surprised by the amount of positivity abounding.

I saw a clueless bunch of people, many - not all - of whom did not appear to think they needed to put in a "shift". No shape to the defence, no urgency to get back into position. Inside balls not being defended adequately. Only one fit(?) hooker. But even there I am tempted to ask "fit for what".

I have to wonder what the forwards have been doing. Certainly no lineout work.

Yes, some very good performances from one or two, some old - TC - and some new - Troky. Litch field has some power. Jake Garside needs to work on his passing ( I know he's young) his speed will only get him so far. But boy, he has got some!

Very keen to se what sort of team is put out next week against Ospreys.

I'm massively disappointed in that performance. How can our "cup final team" give such a poor showing this deep into the season?

🙄

I see the Navy were well beaten by Cornish Pirates last night 55/3

Quote:

TringSaint
If we play like this against any prem side then we will get stuffed.
Far to many unnecessary penalties and revolving door tackles.
No disrespect to Bedford, but they are a championship side and we are aiming for top 4! ( if you believe it!!)

For goodness sake, it's the first pre-season game!

Started again as a new post......
Great to see so many Saints fans at Goldington Road last night - I hope many of you will come again once the season starts.
You shouldn’t be too critical about the Saints performance nor read too much into it. Last night’s squad won’t resemble your full match day squad or even what you will put out next week against Ospreys. It was simply an opportunity for Chris Boyd and his team to give a range of players a bit of a competitive run out.
For Bedford, on the other hand, our full squad was on view and playing for their places (some of whom were playing for you!).
What should concern you is how little value the RFU place in their second tier of rugby. Most of the teams are semi pro and part time. One team has a sugar daddy pouring a seemingly endless sum of money into buying his way into the premiership whilst the rest of us are just hoping to survive another season - hence Bedford’s tie up with Saints.
It was just great to back at Goldington Road, pint in hand, watching a good game of rugger with some chums. Let’s be grateful for small mercies.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:09:04:11:59:41 by Yaffle.

Quote:

Yaffle
Started again as a new post......
Great to see so many Saints fans at Goldington Road last night - I hope many of you will come again once the season starts.
You shouldn’t be too critical about the Saints performance nor read too much into it. Last night’s squad won’t resemble your full match day squad or even what you will put out next week against Ospreys. It was simply an opportunity for Chris Boyd and his team to give a range of players a bit of a competitive run out.
For Bedford, on the other hand, our full squad was on view and playing for their places (some of whom were playing for you!).
What should concern you is how little value the RFU place in their second tier of rugby. Most of the teams are semi pro and part time. One team has a sugar daddy pouring a seemingly endless sum of money into buying his way into the premiership whilst the rest of us are just hoping to survive another season - hence Bedford’s tie up with Saints.
It was just great to back at Goldington Road, pint in hand, watching a good game of rugger with some chums. Let’s be grateful for small mercies.

Well said it was an entertaining game to watch, there's a long way to go yet. Let's be grateful for what we have

Sam Matavasi was there last night

Sam had his wrist in a strapping, nothing too serious, it didn’t stop him hi-fiving or raising a pint but clearly not quite right to play.

Quote:

Yaffle
Started again as a new post......
Great to see so many Saints fans at Goldington Road last night - I hope many of you will come again once the season starts.
You shouldn’t be too critical about the Saints performance nor read too much into it. Last night’s squad won’t resemble your full match day squad or even what you will put out next week against Ospreys. It was simply an opportunity for Chris Boyd and his team to give a range of players a bit of a competitive run out.
For Bedford, on the other hand, our full squad was on view and playing for their places (some of whom were playing for you!).
What should concern you is how little value the RFU place in their second tier of rugby. Most of the teams are semi pro and part time. One team has a sugar daddy pouring a seemingly endless sum of money into buying his way into the premiership whilst the rest of us are just hoping to survive another season - hence Bedford’s tie up with Saints.
It was just great to back at Goldington Road, pint in hand, watching a good game of rugger with some chums. Let’s be grateful for small mercies.

We had a similar conversation on the way home Yaffle, the Championship really is in a strange place and with it the rest of the tiered system. It really is a bit of a mess with as you say most just playing for survival which is a sad state of affairs. Conversely the ProD2 in France looks competitive, good quality with a real hunger to get into the top division.

Quote:

Yaffle
Started again as a new post......
Great to see so many Saints fans at Goldington Road last night - I hope many of you will come again once the season starts.
You shouldn’t be too critical about the Saints performance nor read too much into it. Last night’s squad won’t resemble your full match day squad or even what you will put out next week against Ospreys. It was simply an opportunity for Chris Boyd and his team to give a range of players a bit of a competitive run out.
For Bedford, on the other hand, our full squad was on view and playing for their places (some of whom were playing for you!).
What should concern you is how little value the RFU place in their second tier of rugby. Most of the teams are semi pro and part time. One team has a sugar daddy pouring a seemingly endless sum of money into buying his way into the premiership whilst the rest of us are just hoping to survive another season - hence Bedford’s tie up with Saints.
It was just great to back at Goldington Road, pint in hand, watching a good game of rugger with some chums. Let’s be grateful for small mercies.

My first visit to Goldington Road last evening. Lovely venue, friendly people, and good to see bar service to rival a premiership club 🙃.

Joking aside, ….I enjoyed the visit and will be back when the Saints are not playing at home.

Good luck to Bedford for the new season.

Augustus looked very decent, excited about him. Thought Tupai for the Blues looked energetic and sharp too.

Quote:

Walks11
A good blow out nothing more nothing less., don’t read too much into it, lots of Academy guys playing that won’t be anywhere near the first team this season. 3rd choice hooker all game with limited jumpers so lineout was never going to be brilliant. Scrum decidedly better towards the end although was pretty solid all game. Some nice passing in the backs. All the main players looked eager to get hands on ball and tackle so all good I think. Backs look good generally apart from being naive defensively now and again.
Listing all those not involved for whatever reason should give some crumb of comfort if we are being picky and getting concerned one pre season game in. Matevesi, Hill, Heywood, Cole’s, Lawes, Ribbans, Api, Nansen, Wilkins, James, Lomani, Biggar, Francis, Freeman, Skosan (apologies to any I’ve missed). Love to know why we only took one hooker and one second row, injuries maybe, thin on the ground so spreading the load elsewhere.

Commentators said Lomani and Skosan are still to arrive and Skosan will need to go through COVID protocols. I think they also mentioned injury crisis at 2 and as for lock there would only be Coles and possibly Wilkins and either or both may not be 100% - training niggles always a possibility. Courts and Api are on enforced breaks and Ribeye is on the naughty step

Quote:

Walks11
Conversely the ProD2 in France looks competitive, good quality with a real hunger to get into the top division.

The funding and support models are so completely different though. Tbh Premiership rugby doesn't work as a financial going concern as it is there's lots of reasons for why that is but probably to many genies to put back in the bottle and run on a sensible basis. It certainly wouldn't leave lots of extra cash to fund the Championship.

I was sad to get to see so few of the Championship grounds in our season playing there. There are some great (and interesting) grounds, passionate support and brilliant clubs but having an amateur league where all bar two or maybe three have no interest or realistic expectation of promotion is beyond bonkers. The thing that was obvious to see is that there's a player base for that level and the set piece in particular was strong through most of the clubs. What they could do with resources and time to become professional who knows but the money wouldn't come out of thin air and would be a bet on "build it and they will come" rather than any business case. We lack the levels of support and sponsorship that is available in France and that's an unsurmountable difference between the two-league idea.

Personally I'm in favour of a two professional league system but I'd cut the number of teams in both leagues to ten and have the level below Championship as purely amateur. That's an impossible sell to the current clubs who have the security of their shares in the Premiership and the advanatges that hands them even if they go down and the understandable self-interest means it will never happen. I think it would make for much better rugby at both levels though.

Thoroughly enjoyed the game, was very much a chance to blow away the cobwebs and get some match fitness into our players and I don't think we should read too much into what we saw.

I thought the strength of our scrum showed some promise, considering Woody was filling in at lock. I also wouldn't read too much into our lineout issues, we were lacking in jumpers, our regular callers, and we had (IMO) our fourth choice hooker out there. Another factor that I don't think has been mentioned yet is that since Bedford lost Alex Rae, their head coach a few weeks ago, Saints have sent James Craig down to help with some of their coaching. The same James Craig who is in our coaching set up and I imagine had a lot of say in how our lineout functions... He may very well have let slip a few of our calls during the week.

Our game against Ospreys will be a better indicator of where we are I think. Can't wait to get back to the gardens for it!

Quote:

shendy

Quote:

TringSaint
If we play like this against any prem side then we will get stuffed.
Far to many unnecessary penalties and revolving door tackles.
No disrespect to Bedford, but they are a championship side and we are aiming for top 4! ( if you believe it!!)

For goodness sake, it's the first pre-season game!

Ok. It’s all going to be great then.
Seems that passing a ball from one player to another player and actually targeting their hands (or even the player and not the pitch of grass 6 feet behind them) is a challenging set of skills that we should seemingly aspire to.

I would expect handling skills like that from a bunch of U7’s not a professional rugby team, but hey, what do I know!

Prem final here we come! 😉

Ribbans is back for the Gloucester game isn't he? I don't know who was calling the lineout but having one actual lock and one fit hooker isn't likely to give a dominant lineout! The scrum did seem to go well although as pointed out we did have 4 props on at one point!

I'm not sure we can take away a huge amount other than on some individuals, it was a scratch team in the first hit out of pre-season. Trokkie did look good, with him, Ludlam and Teimana on together we won't lack for carrying. Big T did also look hungry for work which is promising.

Watched game back and thought young guys Litchfield played well and Gillespie played well prior to the injury. Watched him before at Bedford and ball in hand he is seriously quick and skillful. Back 3 played well in game.
Lots of improvements to be made around forwards before season starts.

Quote:

TringSaint

Quote:

shendy

Quote:

TringSaint
If we play like this against any prem side then we will get stuffed.
Far to many unnecessary penalties and revolving door tackles.
No disrespect to Bedford, but they are a championship side and we are aiming for top 4! ( if you believe it!!)

For goodness sake, it's the first pre-season game!

Ok. It’s all going to be great then.
Seems that passing a ball from one player to another player and actually targeting their hands (or even the player and not the pitch of grass 6 feet behind them) is a challenging set of skills that we should seemingly aspire to.

I would expect handling skills like that from a bunch of U7’s not a professional rugby team, but hey, what do I know!

Prem final here we come! 😉

No-one said it’s going to be great, but writing off a team after one warm up game is nonsense. Still peaking against Bedford and racking up 100 points rather than actually when it counts would be far better

Great? We couldn’t pass from one player to another.
That’s not peaking if you can pass between players, that’s the most basic of basics, and we couldn’t do it.
So apologies if I am setting the bar too high, but I would have felt that as a prerequisite of playing for a professional rugby team, that you could actually pass the ball to the player (not over, behind or way in front of).

One pre season practice game and here we go with the criticism.