Thoughts from the Chron 30th April 2008

They got their first wish but sadly the second eluded them meaning the end of the season for them. At game end they said goodbye in the sunshine to a raft of stars and look like they start on that long road called rebuild.
 
As for the Saints well Saturday's performance convinced me that we are already a long way down that road. A few of our leading lights were missing for various reasons from the starting line up but those who stepped in, stepped up and you got to appreciate what strength we have in depth now and the standard to which those these replacements can play. As Eric Morecombe used to say, you can't even see the join! Up until Chris White adjudged we had passed forward at the final whistle the Saints were still in hunt for the win. It was not to be but there was so much good from the Saints perspective to take out of the game.
 
So perhaps with an eye on the next few days especially it was probably we who got more out of Saturdays game than the single losing bonus point that the record books will show. Several players through their performances threw their proverbial hats into the ring for a start or bench spot for Friday's big game at the Gardens and looking further ahead into next season real competition across the board in all positions. Exciting times ahead I think.
 
END OF GP TERM REPORT
 
So with the Guinness Premiership season over for Saints I think as returnees to the division the team have exceeded what most of us had secretly thought would happen when the season started.
 
Whilst the glass half full brigade had us as a top six side - and the glass half empty doom mongers as relegation candidates once more - I think most of us realists, noticing the step up in class, hoped that we would win around half a dozen games, enough to survive in the first season and consolidate our status and improve going forward next season.
 
With a final tally of ten wins, just one less than the eleven we lost, on reflection I have to say I am pleasantly surprised. Home form was of course the key with just that single blip against an inform Falcons side that caught us cold early in the game. And yes maybe only the single victory away from home at Worcester but the momentum has been building and if the form of the last few weeks can be bottled and carried forward into the next campaign then who knows? When you consider that London Irish finished third and made the Championship playoffs with just two more victories than Saints (albeit with a bucketload of bonus points) then you realise how close we might be to that next step up on our journey back to being a top club.
 
EUROPE
 
And those exciting times mentioned earlier are not just limited to the future. On Friday night the Saints play probably the biggest game in the last couple of seasons when Saracens visit for the European Challenge Cup semi final.
Certainly Saints are the favourites to progress, as indeed they are to win the whole competition, but I have an uneasy felling about this game.
 
Saracens travel here as that dangerous beast the underdog and with it being a one off game nothing to lose by throwing everything at us. Quite simply the victors get a tilt not only at the silverware but the Heineken Cup qualifying spot that goes with it and no team will lie down with that on offer.
 
Within their ranks they have some canny big game performers in the likes of Chris Jack, Justin Marshall and current England captain Steve Borthwick who know how to edge out these type of games and in a winner takes all, loser gets nowt, clash they will be putting all their experience to win by hook or by crook.
 
However the coaches and team will be well aware of this and will be anything but taking Sarries lightly. Though I am sure they will be paying them all due respects and will be wary of their strengths I cannot see us adjusting our game to suit as what we have been doing lately, especially at home, we have been doing well so carry on regardless.
 
If we avoid being dragged down into a war of attrition I can see us edging this one but I think it is going to be a tough, very tough.
 
The Saracens support look like they are going to put in a good show on Friday night too. The club hope to sell around 2,000 and plan to have the Fezheads arrive en masse in town in the afternoon where free beer will be provided for them at an off site venue before they all march on Franklins Gardens to greet their teams arrival to the ground.
 
To me it sounds like a bit of a logistical nightmare but fair play to them in making the effort and I have no doubt during the game they will be trying to make themselves heard too. For the home support I think we have to take that as a bit of a challenge and therefore we have redouble our efforts to spur the lads on. By the time you leave you should have left your voices in the stands and who knows you might have just done that extra bit to put the Saints in that final.
 
THE WANDERERS
 
If there are still any doubting Thomas's out there who thought the club were not heading in the right direction then a trip to last Mondays Guinness A League Final would have dispelled all fears.  Going into the game with a 16 point advantage from the first leg the Wanderers put Wasps second string to the sword 37-0 giving an overall tally of 63-10 and the title for the first time.
 
Due to other commitments I have not been to the Wanderers for a while but after friends were waxing lyrical about the first leg, and indeed some performances earlier this year, I made the effort. I'm glad I did because what we saw was real quality. What I noticed most was the difference there has been at this level from the club since my last visit. Taking nothing away from the efforts of those in the past the performances were often disjointed affairs with players knowing little of each others play, with teams seemingly thrown together with what was available. What I saw on Monday was a team playing as a unit off each other, for each other and enjoying it to the max. Yes the opposition might have been lacking in certain areas but I think it was the most complete performance, in attack and defence, I have seen from a Saints side at any level for the last few years.
 
If you believe there is such a thing as total fifteen man rugby then the Wanderers on Monday were not far off it. As some of those players gravitate upwards to the 1st XV I hope that enterprise and enthusiasm goes with them, if it does something big might just be around the corner. So a big well done not only to the team but to Rob Hunter, Ali Hepher and the other coaches who have moulded the Wanderers in to this efficient and very entertaining unit. I'll be back next season for a few more games. 

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