Northampton Saints v Harlequins

Saturday, 21^st November 2009 – 1pm

Franklin’s Gardens

MatchPreview

I am in a somewhat “academic” state of mind as I write this to forgive me if I tend to waffle and digress. We return to the Guinness Premiership after the distractions of the LV= cup. It was a sensible change to run the Anglo Welsh cup competition alongside the international matches to minimise the impact of international call ups on the clubs. Though in England’s case I’m not sure it’s really helped them with a seemingly muddled selection policy and a sense of confusion and uncertainty pervading their last two outings. However England’s woes and how to fix them are beyond both this preview and this humble author. Curiously Saints have benefited being able to retain the services of one of the Premiership’s most able full backs in Ben Foden when he might’ve been doing good service wearing England’s 15 jersey. Equally they have had to do without the rising star Courtney Lawes who has spent much of the last two weeks cooling his heels on the England bench. Fortunately as England’s compass spins wildly he has now been released and we may seem him returning to the Green Black and Gold this weekend.

For this round of the Premiership we entertain Harlequins a club whose fortunes often mirror ours. We both, on our day, have recorded some famous wins but as yet are unable to fulfil our potential and deliver the string of trophies of a Wasps or a Leicester. I am often reminded of that fateful game at the Stoop that saw Saints field 3 scrum halves (two out of position!) and the resulting horror show (from a Saintly perspective) gave Quins their first win back since promotion. For me that marked the point that, for Saints, relegation was a case of not if, but when. The rest, as they say is history. As we regrouped and rebuilt, Quins progressed up through the Premiership, qualifying for the Heineken cup and culminating in a top four finish last season and those historic home and away victories against Stade Francais in the Heineken Cup.

Unfortunately for Harlequins, events during the off season and a stuttering start to the Premiership saw them languishing near the bottom of the table while Saints strung together a number of victories including a valuable away win a Gloucester that carried them into the top four of the table. Quins’ ship has steadied of late and recent wins against Worcester and a draw against London Irish has them moving up the table while our failure to pick up even a losing bonus point at Welford Road meant Saints slipped out to the top four before the break for the LV= Cup.

The gulf between the two sides is not that big at all and on the day either is capable of taking the points. Complacency isn’t a word I’d associate with Saints but if they needed reminding how quickly successes can evaporate and plans can unravel then they only need to look at Quins’ somewhat shaky start to the season that failed to build on last season successes. Equally if Harlequins harbour any thoughts of doom and gloom, then Saints flying start to the season would give them every encouragement that things can be turned around. I am sure they will travel to Fortress Franklins with every intention of building momentum and moving up the table. It won’t be an easy game for Saints and recent encounters have been full blooded affairs. I anticipate the winning margin will be less than seven points.

There is, at the time of writing no news of either team but we can expect some familiar names on the team sheet. The Saints come into this game off two wins out of two in the LV= cup. A hard fought away win against the Ospreys and a slightly easier home win against an under strength Saracens side who possibly had more of an eye on their mid-week match against the Springboks, have allowed Saints to build a winning momentum after the loss away at Welford Road.

It does point to a degree of strength in depth in the Saints Squad that we have not been unduly hampered by injury and international call ups. Day and Myler have readily occupied the places of Lawes and Geraghty while Ashton’s recent return to form not only sees him getting back to his try scoring best, but has earned him call ups to the England training squad (I’m not sure if that’s a reward!). Lawes’ return from England duty will probably see him start alongside Kruger, though Day really does merit retaining his place in the side. It maybe that Lobbe will be rested to preserve his experience for the long season ahead and Day will remain in the match day 23.

If there is one player I simply cannot wait to see back on the team sheet it is Euan Murray and there is every possibility that my wish will be granted this Saturday. My heart sank when he limped out of the Lions tour and while he was out recovering it was always going to make our start to the season just that little bit harder. This was further compounded with the loss of Bonorino and Mujati to injury and suspension and resulted in Saints having to field a pack at Leicester that simply couldn’t live with the Tigers front row.

It’s probably still perceived as an area of weakness for Saints that the opposition will target. The return of Murray will go a long way to address that and allow Saints to make better use of Tiny's skills at loosehead rather than a makeshift tighthead. The problems up front are doubly frustrating as a struggling pack limits  the potential in the backs  to create opportunities to cut loose the Saintly back three of Bruce, Bruce, Bruce!, Ashton and Foden.

Harlequins have a similar playing style to Saints and possess a quick set of backs that can punish a defence that goes to sleep. They are good at moving the ball away from the breakdown and looking for space but in this case they may suffer the consequence of Care keeping Geraghty company on England bench more. I gather Mike Brown is injured as is David Strettle while Moyne is away on England duty (on the wing this time so at least England have got something right!).  That still leaves the likes of Jordan Turner Hall and Josh Drauninui whom we may recall playing for Exeter Chiefs during our ND1 campaign. Another familiar name will be Nils Mordt who left us to join Quins this season. Like Saints, Quins also benefited from the Falcons clear out and picked up the talented Rory Clegg as an understudy to Nick Evans. They also have an excellent set of back rowers that, despite missing Nick Easter through injury, still include some of the most underrated back row players in the premiership in Tom Guest, Will Skinner and Chris Robshaw. The break down and ruck will be an interesting place to be on Saturday – not that I’m volunteering to go anywhere near it! The lineout is possibly one area where Saints may edge Harlequins especially if Lawes is starting.

Sadly the weather forecast isn’t looking good with heavy rain forecast and this will handicap both sides to some extent and it could end up a scrappy affair with the ball behaving like a bar of soap.  Saints will definitely need to keep the ball in hand, be patient and not try to force the pace too much. Any loose passes or spilt ball will be snapped up by Quins and they have the players with pace to exploit any Saintly generosity. Sir is Peter Allen from Scotland and I suspect he will be kept busy if the weather forces a more cautious game. One plus might be to discourage some of the aimless kicking which is creeping into the game of late but I doubt we will see the open free flowing game both sides aspire to if the weather gods have anything to say on the matter. That’s the one big variable and would encourage our visitors. Apart from that I think Saints have the strength in depth, the form and the home advantage to take the win but it will be close. Saints by 5 or possibly only 3!

Finally, I shall hijack this preview and say a big thank you to the Harlequins supporters for their donations for Saints With Heart 8. This was the second time they let me adopt them as the club for the walk and as before they responded generously. It’s much appreciated and is something that should be saluted. Safe travelling to you all and whatever the result I hope everyone is entertained.

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