GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP PREVIEW

NEC HARLEQUINS vs. NORTHAMPTON SAINTS

The Stoop – Saturday, 4^th November 2006. 3pm

All dreams of European glory are put on the back burner for a month as Saints return to domestic duties this weekend and visit The Stoop to play NEC Harlequins. It is the first of four Guinness Premiership matches in November and Saints’ performances in the coming weeks may be pivotal to where they end up come season end.

As well as facing Quins, Saints are on the road to Worcester and London Irish and sandwiched in-between welcome Saracens to Franklin’s Gardens. Looking at the fixture list, these are all matches in which Saints must fancy their chances of coming out on top and it all starts in the shadow of Twickenham on Saturday.

Harlequins carried all before them in National League One last season but their return to the Premiership has proved a much sterner test to date. Dean Richards’ men are yet to register a tick in the win box this term having only collected two bonus points for their efforts thus far. They sit 11^th in the table and must be desperate to get their campaign moving in the right direction. They do come into this game on the back of two wins in the Challenge Cup, a tight success against Connacht followed last weekend by a comprehensive thumping of Montpellier and this can only have given confidence to the squad. In fact, Richards has made only two changes to XV which saw off the French and has announced the following team:

15. Mike Brown, 14. Tom Williams, 13. Gavin Duffy, 12. Jordan Turner-Hall, 11. Simon Keogh, 10. Adrian Jarvis, 9. Andy Gomarsall; 1. Ceri Jones, 2. Tani Fuga, 3. Mike Ross, 4. Ollie Kohn, 5. Nicolas Spanghero, 6. Andre Vos, 7. Paul Volley (Capt.), 8. Nick Easter

Replacements:
16. Jimmy Richards, 17. Lorne Ward, 18. Jim Evans, 19. Chris Hala'Ufia, 20. Danny Care, 21. Craig McMullen, 22. George Harder

A blend of youth and experience then to take on Northampton. Quins will be expecting big games from the likes of Gomarsall, Volley and Vos and will be hoping the likes of 18 year-old Academy player Jordan Turner-Hall can make the step up to the Premiership.

Saints travel to London looking to tick a box of their own this weekend – an away win. They too will have been buoyed by their performance in their last game, an ultimately comfortable victory over Border Reivers and must be relishing the prospect of taking on a struggling team. Head coach Paul Grayson has resisted the temptation to chop and change (not that he has the players available for selection if he wanted to!) and his team also shows two differences to the side that overcame the Scots. The team in full:

15 Ian Vass
14 SEAN LAMONT
13 Rhodri Davies
12 Luke Myring
11 Chris Wyles
10 CARLOS SPENCER
9 MARK ROBINSON
1 TOM SMITH
2 STEVE THOMPSON
3 Chris Budgen
4 Damien Browne
5 Christian Short
6 PAUL TUPAI
7 Darren Fox (capt)
8 Daniel Browne

16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Pat Barnard, 18 DAVID GERARD, 19 Mark Easter, 20 Johnny Howard, 21 VAUGHAN GOING, 22 Paul Diggin

In the backs Chris Wyles replaces Ben Cohen who is off to wear the Red Rose. It’s an interesting choice this one as Wyles is used to playing at centre and one wonders what Paul Diggin has got to do to get a game. However, with Sean Lamont unavailable after this week, it makes sense to try out a new option. In the forwards, Christian Short returns to the first XV having recovered from an ankle knock – David Gerard makes way and takes a spot on the bench.

So, what to expect? On paper it looks as though Saints boast a pack which should be able to boss the game. Expect them to keep the ball in tight and attempt to grind down the home side. It may not be pretty but it should be good enough to get the right result. A word of caution, however. Almost exactly twelve months ago, Saints travelled up to Leeds and were expected to turn over a Tykes team who, like Harlequins now, had yet to record a Premiership victory. Ten minutes of mayhem in the first half later and Leeds had the platform which would see them take the spoils. We do not want to see a repeat of that come Saturday.

One final thought. The last time Northampton played at the Stoop was back in September 2004. On that day, Corne Krige’s side completely dominated the game and put six tries on the home side. Following the game, head coach Alan Solomons downplayed the sides success and stressed that the league was a marathon and rather than a sprint. Whatever happened to him?

Saints by ten.

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