Guinness Premiership Round 22

Sale Sharks vs. Northampton Saints

25th April 2009 Sedgeley Park

In the event they put up a good show and despite resting seven senior players for this match, still managed a losing bonus point.

For Saints (or at least their supporters), the season has probably fulfilled most hopes and expectations.  There was a mathematical chance of Heineken Cup qualification if Saints could pull off a 5-pointer and we could order or copies of the 2010 Michelin Guide.  But that seemed to be a tall order, and so it transpired.

Saints started with a much-changed team from last week, as Bruce Reihana, Dylan Hartley, Euan Murray, James Downey, the Amazing Wilson and Lee Dickson were rested (perhaps to recover from all those off-the-ball shots from the NotNots last week?).  So Chris Ashton came in at full back with Ben Foden moving to scrum half (nice sense of humour there from Jim Mallinder...), Brett Sharman and Joe Gray took the hooking duties and big Sean Lamont came in at wing for Bruce.  

Sale, by contrast, put a strong team out with Cueto returning from the naughty step, and soon-to-be-ex-Sharks JM Lobbe, Bruno, White and Chabal perhaps wanting to prove a point in their last game.   One hoped that they would take it easy to avoid upsetting their new clubs by getting injured, but that was unlikely!   The Sale bench was a strong one, including "Powder-puff" Sheridan (would he be exercising his knuckles today?) Dwayne Peel and Jason White.

The majority of the Saints' support had been placed in the top of the Printerland stand, so we had almost a bird's eye view of the (rather threadbare) pitch.  The far end was really far, so it was hard to see exactly what was going on down there...

Chris White blew his whistle and Stephen Myler kicked off.  It was apparent that there was a strong lateral breeze blowing when a couple of Saints' touch finders on the left didn't, and a huge cross field kick from Charlie Hodgson made touch 60 yards away with one bounce.  The pitch was quite hard and dusty (the goalmouth areas were quite bare), which looked to be encouraging fast running rugby and a few scabbed knees by the end.
 
After 5 minutes Saints were awarded a kickable penalty, 40 yards out on the right.  Stephen Myler kicked it just wide to the right of the post.  At this point it was clear that both sides were up for this game, with a lot of endeavour on both sides of the ball.  The first couple of scrums saw the Saints being pushed backwards, but they managed to stabilise as time went on and for the rest of the half they were equal partners in some admittedly scrappy set pieces.

After 15 minutes or so, with both teams trading penalties, it was clear that Sale were going all out for the 5 points.  They had put two kickable penalties into the corner and their intent was clear:  only tries would do.  One of these was preceded by an advantage to Sale, during which drop kick king Charlie had a pot at the posts but bisected the left post and the corner flag.  Not his best attempt but it did give the Saints a warning.

The first 20 minutes or so had been entertaining but neither side had really got into the other's 22.  However the Saints line out was misfiring slightly, and from a Sale steal the ball travelled into the Saints 22 where Sale were awarded a scrum 15m out in front of the posts.  From there the ball went wide to the left, where Joe Ansbro was penalised for a "lifting" tackle (the Sale supporters seemed to think this was a spear tackle but C White didn't.  Phew).  However, the resulting Sale penalty as kicked to the corner and Sale had an attacking line out.  A big old ruck then formed on the Saints line which was repulsed four or five times before Corcho (that's Lobbe Junior to you) dived over in the corner from short range.  Charlie missed the conversion from wide out (wind-hindered, rather than assisted) so the score remained at 5-0. 

After the kick off the Saints began to assert themselves with a fast break down the right being stopped by good Sale defence 20 yards out.  At this point there was another of those "Nacho Lobbe through the legs" dummies that fooled no one but gave us all a good laugh.  However a Sale misdemeanour gave the Saints a penalty advantage, which prompted Myler to try a drop goal what was partially charged down.   He did bang the 45-yard penalty over though, which would have settled his nerves a bit.  5-3 to Sale.

Charlie Hodgson showed what a dangerous player he is by body-swerving his way past several Saints defenders before being brought down and knocking on just outside the penalty area (sorry, but all the lines on the pitch were a bit confusing).  Saints cleared their lines and there followed what seemed like half an hour of ping-pong before Digger found touch.  Courtney Lawes pinched the Sale line out ball; Sean Lamont held it up before passing to Neil Best who had a clear run to the posts.   Stephen Myler converted, 5-10.

With just a few minutes to go in the half, Chris Ashton obstructed a quick Sale throw and received a yellow card for his troubles.  Can't that man White take a joke?  Charlie kicked the penalty to the corner (see - there's a pattern here) and in the ruck following the lineout Sale were penalised for naughty hands.  Myler then kicked a very short clearance to help set up another Sale attack in their 22...  fortunately this comedy of errors finally ended by Sale throwing the ball into touch.

To finish up the half, Joe Ansbro picked up a loose ball and made a fast break, passing the ball to Tiny who was brought down by several Sale defenders.  After less than one nanosecond Chris White blew his whistle for holding on, and Charlie kicked the resulting penalty wide on the left.  Half time, 10-5 to the Saints.

The second half was heralded by some of that moody classical music much favoured by advertising executives, you know, the one with all the kettledrums.  What was it now?  Romeo and Juliet?  Carmen Biriani?  Gillette?  I shall have to consult my "Your 100 Most Favourite Classics in 20 Minutes Without the Boring Bits" CD.

Charlie Hodgson kicked off, the ball did a pinball impersonation between several players and Saints got the resulting line out throw.  However, Stephen Myler then contrived to kick the ball fully 80 yards and dead at the other end...  unlucky, but a scrum against the Saints in their 22.  Saints had the upper hand (or shoulder) in this one, but were penalised for a binding offence.  As a result a little while later, just 5 minutes into the half, everyone's favourite prop Andrew "Sherry" Sheridan strode onto the field to sort things out.

Chris Ashton also returned to the field at this point (so the Saints were back to 15), and another three substitutions were made by Sale including one of the many Tuilagis.

The new legs allowed a period of Sale pressure causing some desperate Saints defending of their goal line, but after three or four assaults their line was finally breached by Sale prop Roberts who lunged over for a try.  Charlie Hodgson converted and the score was all square at 10-10.

Following the kick off play seemed to stay in the centre of the field for a long time, the players kicking up clouds of dust from the parched pitch.  After a misdemeanour by Nacho Lobbe, Sale kicked to the corner, won the lineout and resumed rucking on the Saints line.  This time the Saints line was even more porous and Sale lock Schofield pushed over in the same place as the previous try.  Charlie converted, 17-10.  This seemed fair, given the amount of Sale pressure in the last 10 or 15 minutes.

On the hour mark, Chris White finally penalised a Sale player for holding on and Stephen Myler landed a huge 52 metre kick from his own half.   17-13.

Ashton went off, Alan Dickens came on and Ben Foden moved to full back.  Cries of "I told you so" could be heard from the Directors' box (not really, but you know what I mean).

At this point the substitutions started flowing from both sides.  The next Saint to go was Nacho Lobbe, who touchingly embraced with his brother Juan Martin before leaving the field.  Then the benches emptied as everyone else came on for the last push.

The game evened out with all this new blood until the 72nd minute when a short break from Kuadey caused the Saints defence to open up like the Red Sea with just Ben Foden between Matthew Tait and the line.  Ben did force Tait wide, but a try was inevitable.  Charlie converted, 24-13 and a try bonus point for the Sharks.

The match accelerated for the last few minutes, with frantic breaking and defending from both sides.  Finally, when it looked though Saints would get nothing from the game, Sean Lamont broke clear, made a huge arcing run around the outside of several Sale defenders to touch down reasonably close to the posts.   Unfortunately Barry Everitt missed the conversion but Saints were in for a losing bonus point.  24-18.

The last minute and a half were gripping, but after Sale fly-hacked the ball deep into the Saints 22 it was too much of a task to move it back to the other end with the clock counted down to zero.  Chris White called time and the Guinness Premiership season was over for another year.

Attendance:  9,782

The Stadium: 
The journey to Stockport was a nostalgic one for me, having lived in the area in the 1970s.  It helped that it was a glorious sunny day, making for a most enjoyable drive across the moors of the Peak District (yes, we took the scenic route).   After making a quick stop in Bollington for some of Ken Belfield's meat and potato pies (the finest in the land), we arrived in Stockport in a good mood.

Edgeley Park is a small place; clean, tidy and friendly for a football ground (sounds like a backhanded compliment, but think Vicarage Road or the Jetski).  The public address system was fine at ground level, but from where we sat in our eyrie in the top corner of the stand the sound was so distorted as to sound like (and to have the same effect as) some Vogon poetry.  So most of the announcements just passed us by.  But it's a nice ground as I said, enjoyably filled with friendly, fair minded and quite loud supporters.

Pre-Match: 
We had a singer to entertain us before the match started, but we didn't catch his name because of the muddy sound quality from the loudspeakers.  He started off with a short rendition of Arthur Scargill's favourite anthem, "World in Union", followed by some Italian classics.  I don't know about a Cornetto, but it did put me in the mood for a Mivvi...    But as pre-match entertainment, it wasn't bad at all.

Mid-Match:
There were some kids playing the obligatory tag rugby match at half time, followed by a presentation of a trophy to Macclesfield juniors for winning a competition (sorry, can't be more specific because of the speakers, etc.).  I mention it because I played for the Macc "old and unfit" veterans side many years ago.  Ah, nostalgia.

Post-Match:
The teams came out to applaud the faithful in the Printerland Stand at the end.  Barry "the Bear" Stewart is still a favourite around these parts and he got a huge cheer from both sets of supporters as several of his Saints colleagues managed to lift him shoulder high and parade him around the pitch.  Of course there were a lot of other leavers saying their Guinness farewells today, mostly from Sale but of course the Saints had theirs as well - most notably the shy and retiring (geddit?) Tom Smith and the (just shy) Matt Lord.

Other Results
A bonus point home win for the Waspies against an imploding Gloucester saw them swap places with the Saints and finish 7th in the table.  I am sure I will be corrected if I am wrong, but I believe that this means that if Bourgoin win the ECC thingy, then Wasps will get HC qualification by dint of their "elevated" finishing position in the Premiership.  

Elsewhere a win for Harlequins netted them a home draw in the pay-offs, with Oirish and Barf taking the away slots.  In old money, Leicester have already won the league by the old-fashioned method of actually finishing at the top, so congratulations to them.   Sale missed out on the pay-offs, but will be competing in the Heineken next season so good luck to them.

And Saints?  Well, winning the ECC is the last of our chances to get HC qualification for next season, after we failed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup and came 8th in the Premiership.  Third time lucky?

Teams:

Northampton
15    Ashton
14    Diggin
13    Ansbro
12    Clarke
11    Lamont
10    Myler
9    Foden
1    Tonga'uiha
2    Sharman
3    Stewart
4    Fernandez Lobbe (Capt.)
5    Lawes
6    Best
7    S Gray
8    Easter

Replacements
Dickens
Mayor
Hopley
Everitt
J Gray
Smith
Day


Sale
15    Macleod
14    Cueto
13    M Tait
12    Tuilagi
11    Ripol
10    Hodgson
9    Wigglesworth
1    Faure
2    Bruno
3    Roberts
4    Chabal
5    Schofield
6    Jones
7    Briggs
8    Fernandez Lobbe (Capt.)

Replacements
Keil
Kuadey
Peel
Sheridan
Turner
D Tait
White

Referee:  Chris White

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