By Abbers
March 27 2003

I've come to the conclusion that the British public in general are a fickle bunch, and very hard to please. The most obvious manifestation of this national trait is in the sporting arena.Just look at the attitude of the press and public to the recent World Cups in both football and cricket. When England lose, the national reaction is "We're rubbish! Send them home! Disgraceful!" As soon as they win, surely the benchmark by which any team should be judged, the public still isn't happy. "But we only beat Argentina 1-0, and didn't score a goal in open play" or "But weren't Pakistan poor? And we had the advantage of bowling under lights".

Play well but lose, and the public turn on you. Play badly but win, and the public turn on you. Even play well and win, and the focus will be on how badly the opposition played.

The same negativity is currently being brandished in the direction of the England Grand Slam hunting rugby team. Having played extravagant running rugby for four years, breaking points records galore but falling at the final hurdle in fours consecutive seasons, the public have demanded success at all costs. So England start winning ugly, grinding out results without the panache of running in dozens of tries, but winning none the less. And the response? "Aren't Ireland playing well? So much better than England. We really aren't on form at all – a better side would punish us."

But all you can ever do in sport is beat the opponent put in front of you on the day, and the result is all that counts. That is what separates winners from losers, champions from also rans. Just ask that lot up the road.

So how about the Saints? Under Ian McGeechan, we played fast, attacking rugby but finished mid-table and were dismissed as being too brittle. So a hard edge was acquired and the European Cup, the biggest prize in club rugby, secured as our first piece of silverware. Still publicly marginalised, won by luck, forward dominated, O'Gara's missed kick, blah, blah, blah. So we re-build under Smudger and the jury is out. Capable of brilliance, equally capable of capitulation if the pundits are to be believed.

But how should the cynics be silenced? I sense that a win in the Powergen Cup would not be sufficient, pundits pointing to the absence of Vickery, the wrong colour strip or what the players had for breakfast as mitigating circumstances to explain away why the Saints lifted the cup, if indeed it comes to pass.

I just hope that we, the Saints fans, don't descend to the same level. If we win, I for one won't care how we achieve it. By a single point with penalties from the half way line or with a flood of tries, as long as the name of Northampton is on the cup, surely that is all that matters, a win is a win, as the saying goes.

So let's dismiss the usual round of public expectation. Whatever happens will never satisfy everyone. Concentrate on the game, secure the result, and celebrate the victory. Focus on the positives and enjoy the occasion. But never think that the perfect game will come, because it won't, and if you keep waiting for it, your supporting life will become a very frustrating experience.


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