By hoddros
August 16 2007

At last! The windows have been painted, the guttering cleared and the ivy trimmed. The dismal summer continues to disappoint but good days lie ahead. Our favourite time of year returns: the rugby is back and once again the weekends have a proper purpose and a sense of anticipation.

 

An exciting season lies ahead as we anticipate the thrill of visiting new grounds and meeting new friends. Before all that fun and debauchery the players get their first opportunity to forget all they learned over the last year or so and start afresh. They must hone their rusty skills, stretch their muscles and bruise them in combat once again. Only two pre-season games this year, so much needs to be achieved in so little a time.

First up are Samoa, what a start! Surely they will present the toughest opponents we are likely to encounter this season?  They will be looking to fine tune their warm-up for the Rugby World Cup, which is second only in importance to National Division 1 this season.

Samoa will arrive at FG only two days after their first warm up game against Harlequins and only five days before they go north for another game at Sale. They will presumably be looking to use their whole squad for these three games but will no doubt be trying to blend the team and build confidence at the same time. 

It is hard to know what to make of Samoa, I see so little of them. The last time was a couple of years ago when I ended up hospitalized with a giggling complaint after Lewis Moody and Alesana Tuilagi slapped each other in public and got themselves banned for a few games. That game against England demonstrated that Samoa are awkward and never less so than when they line up against sides from the Northern hemisphere. It is also awkward to pronounce some of their names and awkward to define their style of play. This style seems to be a kind of clumsy aggression that borders on the insane and dangerous, but is effective and can certainly unsettle the opposition, even if this is based on intimidation and fear. The latest rankings have placed them in 11^th place only 4 behind England and only just behind Scotland who jumped above them at the weekend after beating Ireland’s experimental team.

PG Wodehouse would probably have mused that you cannot throw a brick in Samoa without hitting a Tuilagi. This may actually have been true if Leicester hadn’t acquired one and then three of them as a job lot by persuading them to swap the sun and palm trees of the South Pacific for the equally exotic Welford Road. (cough).  They used to play run around and play their sport on sandy beaches but now they run with hyenas. That is probably not a bad thing for the GP because watching the Tigers now is almost good fun. (No, that was wrong, I withdraw that.) The Tuilagi’s are good players and make for good viewing, but they are not alone in the Samoan squad as Lemi has blinding pace and they all play with an enthusiasm that is contagious.

At the time of writing Samoa have not announced their starting 15, and so it remains unclear on how they might approach this game. Here is the squad they will be taking to France.

Forwards: Justin Vaa, Census Johnston, Kasiano Lealamanua, Mahonri Schwalger, Donald Kerslake, Muliufi Salanoa, Silao Vaisola Sefo, Filipo Levi, Kane Thompson, Daniel Leo, Iosefa Tekori, Ulia Ulia, Henry Tuilagi, Siuleo Lafaialii, Justin Purdie, Semo Sititi (C ),

Backs: Steve Sooialo, Junior Poluleuligaga, Loki Crichton, Lolo Lui, Eliota Sapolu Fuimaono, Jerry Meafou, Anitelea Tuilagi, David Lemi, Seilala Maposua, Elvis Sevealii, Brian Pala Lima, Lome Faatau, Alesana Tuilagi, Gavin Willams

Probably only 10 or so will be confident of their starting place and the rest will be looking to impress Michael Jones in the warm up games. Such is their desire to cement their places and their fearless approach that I can only envisage them charging full pelt into the Saints and offering top notch entertainment at the same time.

Special mention should be allotted to Brian Lima who is, amazingly, about to play in his fifth World Cup tournament. He first played for Samoa in 1990 and it is a significant achievement to be still playing international rugby today. Any thoughts that he may have managed to preserve his career by hiding in the backs should take a look at how he earned his nickname of ‘The Chiropractor’ by searching his name on Youtube. He has played against Saints a few times for Bristol but this is almost certainly our last chance to see him play.

To get a flavour of Samoan rugby, take a look at this. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKJR4pUC-88&mode=related&search=)

And this.  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvJcyWOmegA&mode=related&search=)

So what can we expect from Saints? I have no idea, but a look at the squad list shows that amazingly little has changed in those who might be considered regular choices. Maybe that has been the problem; from now on maybe no-one will feel confident of their selection. Maybe players will be picked on merit and not reputation. It is the ethos and the game plan that needed shaking up and we have new leaders to oversee this.

Overall the new management team has been warmly received and they have repaid this by saying the right things, (very little) and doing the right things. The squad came back early for 4 weeks conditioning training and played no rugby. That came later. We expect them to be in peak condition.

Every supporter will have their own views and hopes for next season and maybe some questions may start to be answered on Sunday? Have we finally got ourselves a reliable kicker in Barry Everritt? Will Carlos finally be allowed to play the game the way he likes to? Are those two questions mutually incompatible?

Jim and Doreen have told us to expect an expansive tight game. Now that has been cleared up (?) we must look at how they intend to bring this style onto the pitch. Their first team selection is yet to be announced, maybe they were waiting for this preview for some guidance.

Well, if so, here is the Hoddros selection:

15 Bruce Reihana (capt)
14 Robbie Kydd
13 Jon Clarke
12 Stephen Myler
11 Ben Cohen
10 Carlos Spencer
9 Mark Robinson

1 Barry Stewart
2 Paul Shields
3 Simon Emms
4 Damien Browne
5 Christian Short
6 Paul Tupai
7 Ben Lewitt
8 Mark Easter

Not too many youngsters in there, especially in the pack, but Samoa are a tough bunch and I think some experience will be necessary, especially at the start. I expect us to play a tight game, if only to save the bones in the Backs from the Chiropractor and his mates. I also expect Toops to give it his all, he will want to show Samoa what they have been missing.

Defeated coaches tend to claim that victory is secondary in pre-season games. I disagree, a morale boosting win over Samoa may seem unlikely but Saints must go flat out to achieve this. Even a narrow defeat could be seen as progress and help to set the tone for our upcoming season.

It has been too long, just bring it on!!

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS SQUAD TO PLAY SAMOA
Backs: Grant Anderson, John Brake, Paul Diggin, James Downey, Barry Everitt, Will Harries, Johnny Howard, Stephen Myler, Bruce Reihana, Mark Robinson, David Smith, Ian Vass.

Forwards: Damien Browne, Mark Easter, Simon Emms, Darren Fox, Phil Hoy, Ben Lewitt, Alex Rae, Karl Rudzki, Paul Shields, Christian Short, Terry Sigley, Barry Stewart, Paul Tupai, Jon Vickers, Dave Ward.

SAMOA: 15. Lolo Lui, 14. David Lemi, 13. Seilala Mapusua, 12. Jerry Meafou, 11. Anitelea Tuilagi, 10. Loki Crichton, 9. Steve So’oialo;  1. Donald Kerslake, 2. Mohonri Schwalger, 3. Lealalemanu Kas, 4. Leo Lefaialii, 5. Iosefa Tekori, 6. Daniel Leo/Filipo Levi, 7. Justin Purdie, 8. Henry Tuilagi

Replacements: 16. Muliufi Salanoa, 17. Justin Va’a, 18. Daniel Leo/Filipo Levi, 19. Ulia Ulia, 20. Junior Polu, 21. Gavin Williams, 22. Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu