I had been reading the papers and they seemed to be full of injury news and fitness doubts. It was no use; I would just have to ask the captain. Good news at last. Apart from the long term injuries, everyone that has been nursing a knock or a tweak was training this morning. Everyone and everything is looking sharp and that includes Chris Ashton. [Pause for cheers and general rejoicing].

Preparations have not been anything out of the ordinary. The video analysis has not shown an awful lot of difference from the two games we have already played against them. The obvious dangers are the fact that they are very physical and have some powerful ball-carriers. Number 8 Richie Baxter is seen as a major threat and the locks are pretty useful, too.

Bruce is not worried by the prospect of 30+ stones of Fatialofa on the hoof against 13 stones of Joe Ansbro. No, he will be alright. It is all about the ticker and he has plenty of heart. After revealing their board nicknames, Bruce put his smile away and replaced it with his professional face. It is not that they can't, it is that in the system they play there is a belief that pummelling the defence and recycling quickly is what works best.

Last month we scored three tries against them by moving the ball quickly. Perhaps we should have had more in the second half. Bruce thinks that not having finished the job, as it were, means that Saints are determined to do it properly this time. A combination of knocking their big men over and moving the ball away quickly - especially from turnovers - is seen as a recipe for success.

The team is travelling down to west London on Friday and is staying in a hotel handy for the ground. Bruce will be pleased to be there and not worrying about getting through the traffic. No, Bruce, that is what we will be doing.

Twickenham is not a ground that holds many happy memories for Bruce. Called into the New Zealand squad in 1999 as a replacement for Carlos Spencer, he did not manage to get into the match day squad. He watched from the stands as Christophe Lamaison inspired France to a come-back worthy of Lazarus. He was on the field in 2003 when another Frenchman, Ludovic Mercier, ruined what had been a pulsating Powergen Cup Final by making us spend the entire second half with our backs to our own try-line. In two Barbarians appearances he has won one and lost one.

Remember the Middlesex Sevens, Bruce! Remember the Sevens!

Looking back on the season as it enters its final phase; Bruce predicts no tears after the Cornish All Blacks game. Everything is so different now. The team, the whole squad, is together. All of the bad things that were making life so difficult last season have gone. The new coaching team has been spot on and the signings announced for next season are all players of proven quality. Neil Best, it seems, has already made a bit of an impression. Saints' future looks good.

Although Bruce has been with us for more than five years, he still marvels at the lengths our supporters will go to follow the Saints. He and the team are aware that at any number of away venues this season, Saints fans have outnumbered the home support. If not, they always make themselves heard. Having that support is not taken for granted. The rehabilitation and renaissance of this team is, in no short measure, dedicated to those loyal followers.

Bruce is not sure that he will be dunking a biscuit into his Friday night cocoa - in fact he says he definitely will not. However, a digestive biscuit will be standing by just in case he changes his mind.

arw

10.04.2008