Northampton Saints
News: AP SF: Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers - Preview
By St Dormouse
May 14 2014
All roads lead to Franklin's Gardens this Friday evening as Northampton Saints welcome Leicester Tigers to Piggy's Patch for the first of the weekend's Aviva Premiership semi-finals. Regular COYSDC contributor, St Dormouse, takes a look ahead as to what to expect under the FG floodlights...
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS vs LEICESTER TIGERS
AP (SF): Friday, 16th May 2014 - 7.45pm (BT)
FRANKLIN'S GARDENS, NORTHAMPTON
MATCH PREVIEW
In 1688 Colonel Solomon Richards was commissioned to raise a Regiment of foot to help protect the then King James from the imminent invasion of William of Orange. The Royal protection bit didn’t really work out as planned and soon after they joined the Dutch Prince, now William 3rd in Ireland to help quell the Catholic rebellion.
Over the following century the Regiment served with distinction in France, Flanders, Spain and North America before being posted to India in 1804. This was around the time that an Angry French chap with serious little man Syndrome was waltzing around Europe picking up all the headlines so India gets little mention in the glorious history section, however the regiment, having by then become The 17th Regiment of Foot and given recruiting rights in the county of Leicestershire, saw action continuously against the various tribes and factions not too disposed to being told what to do by a bunch of tea merchants in London.
So great was the contribution of the 17th to the expanding influence of Britain on the Sub continent that on their return to the homeland in 1825, they were awarded the Royal Tiger badge as the regimental badge, an award worn with pride until their eventual amalgamation into the Royal Anglians 140 years later. It was common in those days to award badges symbolic of campaigns to regiments.
Our own Northamptonshire regiment had the Castle and Key representing the siege of Gibraltar and regiments such as The Lincolns has a Sphinx representing time spent in Egypt. Indian Regiments were awarded the Elephant or the Tiger. It is to the eternal gratitude of the good peasant folk of the Crumble stand (Only £63.00 for family tickets in the terrace don’t you know?) that it was not the former that was awarded. Can you imagine the poor souls having to chant 3 syllables at a time?
From then onwards The ‘Tigers’ were to be found wherever the fighting was savage and often futile, from the attack on Sevastopol during the Crimea War to the Defence of Ladysmith in South Africa, from the savage engagements in the Afghan wars to the blood soaked trenches of the Somme. It was during the First World War that the battle cry “Come on the Tigers” became famous as battalions of Leicester men trudged doggedly towards the German lines. The Regiment served in all Theatres during the Second War and in one curious incident of note, a group of Leicestershire prisoners of war escaped and stowed away on board a Swedish tramp steamer. The Captain, by the name of Bjarni Waynesson, spotted them but refused to hand them over to the German authorities .To this day the people of Hamburg refer to a theoretically neutral person who has a habit of showing favour to one particular side as a Barney.
The Regiment spent more time in India, the Far East and Korea before their eventual sad amalgamation, fittingly spending much of their final years in their 2nd spiritual home. (The amount of time spent in the Far East and India is often quoted as one of the reasons that Leicester chaps have a liking for oriental ladies, as a previous poster once alluded to.) The reputation that the Men of The Leicester Regiment gained above all else is that of a tough, never say die attitude, whatever the odds and whatever the situation. A reputation which transfers effortlessly onto the sports field.
So that’s one theory anyway. The other is that some unimaginative Journalist was once quoted as suggesting the then brown and yellow strip looked like Tiger stripes. If that’s the case then I might as well metaphorically rip this lot up and get me coat. Mine is far more romantic, don’t you think?
We find ourselves once again lining up to do battle with the striped ones from across the border and while it is always a good day out, I for one am getting fed up of coming second. There are various reasons and theories behind our continued humbling. Often, the officials are blamed, occasionally the Tigers are actually a better team than Saints, but as often as not our boys just do not turn up for the full 80 minutes. On the last occasion blame was laid squarely on Wayne’s dodgy Singapore Rolex but the fact of the matter was that we were 2nd best for a lot of the game. Despite this it was actually only the fact that Owen Williams played a blinder and poor Will Hooley had bought his boots from the same Arthur Daley character as Wayne bought his watch that gave Leicester the Victory. The same thing happened the following week away at Saracens where, despite being poor for most of the match, the boys damn nearly pinched it. So if they can get so close by playing badly, what would happen if they could regain some of the early season form?
Interestingly, what have the good folk of the Shire been discussing this week, apart from the ‘how to get a drink at the gardens’ debacle? Is it the fitness of Tom Croft or Anthony Allen? Is it the form of Ben Youngs or what position Goneva will play? No. The biggest talking point so far has been.... ”Is Wayne Barnes the Ref?” That says it all to me. Saints fans know full well that we have the team to beat Tigers. Nobody is scared of them as a team. People are more concerned that the game is not influenced or indeed swayed by a man who seems to want to be the centre of attention at every match. He is more of a threat inside the Saints’ fans’ heads than Manu Tuilagi. Well our wish has been granted and JP Doyle is blowing the whistle, so now there is absolutely no excuse. 22 players have to go out there on Friday and put some of these gremlins to rest. At the moment Tigers are not better than Saints. Saints are at home and will have a packed Gardens to roar them on. They need to get their heads on straight, come out all guns blazing and not kick the bloody ball away all the time.
Which 23 will be picked? One wonders. Well on the whole I think the bulk of the team will be pretty much as expected from Jim. I think possibly Pisi K will get the nod over Jamie, not that the youngster has done anything wrong mind you. I am certain Pisi G and Luther will start despite being a huge fan of James Wilson. I am hoping Khan will start as I get incredibly angry with Dicko’s constant kicking to nothing and giving free ball to Goneva and Manu will be asking for trouble. Alex and Ma’afu to start and I really hope (but doubt) that Ross gets the nod if Dylan is not fully fit. The bloke has been faultless covering for his theoretical betters over the past months, reminding me of the gallant Andy Long in his last season. Lawes and Day in the 2nd row and pick your own back row. The choices are endless.
I am concerned with rumours that Samu may have hurt himself against Wasps. Are they true? How bad is it? If I was religious I would be praying as he is possibly our most devastating player. The bench will be strong, that can be assured as whoever gets pushed to the bench could just as easily be starters. Wilson’s power, skill and boot, Stephenson’s running lines and Samu’s brute force would all add a different dimension to Luther’s power, Pisi’s cunning or Dickenson’s carrying in my mind.
Who’s going to win? Well, Saints are of course.
There are numerous reasons why Tigers cannot possibly triumph on Friday. Here are 10...
1) Saints will come good right on schedule and at last play to their potential.
2) It’s our ground
3) Tigers don’t like Friday night games
4) It’s our turn, the laws of probability do not allow 11 matches on the trot without a win. Even Professor Hawking couldn’t get his head round that one.
5) The last I looked, unlike some of my neighbours in dear old Artleknock, Toby Flood only has 5 digits on each paw. Therefore without taking his boots off he is unable to count to 11. He will be unable to again prove how humble he can be in victory with his multi finger salute. Instead the massed fans in the Burrda stand can see how gracious he can be in defeat by all giving him a one finger salute to celebrate our single victory.
6) Leicester don’t have their pet referee or his glove puppet to ensure they win
7) I will phone Gary Lineker and tell him to shove his crisps.
8) SMyler will rise to the title of player of the year and knock over the points for fun.
9) Saints players will learn (at last) quickly which laws Mr Doyle can’t be bothered with and this time compete at the breakdown.
10) I want to see Cockerill explode.
So that’s all folks, long, meandering and eventually giving away no useful information on the match whatsoever. But there you go. I leave it up to you to get yourselves worked up and exited and hopefully see you at a full, noisy and passionate Gardens on Friday.
COME ON YOU SAINTS!
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i also hope that memories of Flood's less than gracious celebration (point 5) will be etched in the memory to influence our boys.
Er, this would not be 11 defeats on the trot, as we didn't lose at Welford Road this season.
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As for me, since when did i ever let simple things like facts get in the way of a good dit. 
Article duly amended...
Top of the League 2014-2015 Season
"Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it."
-- Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161-180 A.D.
Quote:Squawker2
An interesting review (a Sarries fan, hopping between your and Tigs' boards to see what the views are) - it is interesting that we were extremely grateful to get WB and not JP - so that's at least two teams happy, wonder who we'll (whoever is "we") get in the final?
Rumour has it that Wigglesworth has got the nod (the ref not your number 9)
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If it's possible, it made me want it to be Friday even more!
What a great time to be a Saints fan. Bring on those Thai girls. I hope they play well so when we win there are no excuses.
David L
What if there were no hypothetical questions?
- Live wrong and preposterously
In case anyone on this board gives a monkeys, I can offer a small addition to the whole 'Tigers' nickname thing. The ceremonial colours of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment (the original 'tigers') were red, green and white, which are also the ceremonial heraldic colours of the county of Leicestershire. Leicester FC played for a while in chocolate and amber hoops, as the OP states, hence the 'tiger stripes holding well together' newspaper quote. At some point around the turn of the 20th century LFC changed the club colours to red, green and white, which is often interpreted as a dedication to the Royal Leicestershires, with whom a number of the first team served (and I think also died in action). So I think I'm right in saying that it's not entirely clear whether i) the club changed their colours so as to fit the nickname they already had; ii) the club changed their colours in dedication/memorial to players who had served with the RLR, which in turn brought with it the regiment's nickname; or iii) the two are a coincidence (unlikely IMO). I think the truth is lost in the mists of time, although there are Thai Girls fans out there better informed than me who will, I'm sure, set me straight.
Congratulations if you're still reading.
I would wish all you lot all the best for Friday but it would be completely false! So I'll wish you an enjoyable evening, but I hope that you all go home completely and utterly frustrated by the result/referee/timekeeper/whatever!
May the best team win.
Cheers,
Rucky.
edited for a typo
Rucky knows it ain't over 'til it's over.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014:05:14:21:34:02 by Rucky.
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