By Simon Hendy (a.k.a. Shendy)
January 8 2006

Simon Hendy for ComeOnYouSaints.com at Sixways, Worcester. Phew! That was close. Is this the kind of crucial decision that can have a major impact on their season? Could this be the sort of break that the team needed? People are starting to come back from injuries at long last, and maybe our luck is turning.

It’s what everyone will be interested in, so I’ll start with the end. Shane Drahm released Aisea Havili down the right wing with a long pass out, and Havili sprinted for the line and slid over for what would be the match-winning try. Or it would have been if referee Chris White hadn’t called it back for a forward pass from a not impressed Drahm.

I had no view of the incident as I was sat in the North Stand – 60-70 metres away and immediately behind the play. However, I did look at it when I got home. Yes, I think the ball went forward – Havili did have to reach for it and he was reasonably flat – but no, I don’t think a pass like that would have been called back every time. Chris White is one of the best referees there is and I think he got it right, but I don’t think many Saints fans would have had too much of a gripe if he’d let it go. In White’s favour, he called it quickly so he must have been certain – you can hear the whistle on the TV coverage before Havili crossed the line.

 

Anyway, back to the start. It was a pretty filthy day at Sixways – cold and damp with sleet, but with no wind to speak of. The atmosphere was convivial as the Saints revisited the scene of that nerve-shredding day in April last year. The Worcester fans are a good bunch, and I really enjoy visiting.

 

The Saints had sprung one major surprise in announcing Robbie Kydd in the starting XV following his knee injury last season. It was good to see him play at last, and if he turns out to be as good as they say, he will give us some useful options. I did notice him kicking at goal a couple of times before the game and noticed the injury had been to his kicking leg. I suspect he won’t be taking on kicking duties just yet as he continues with his rehabilitation. He lasted an hour and while I can’t say I noticed anything remarkable from him, he took a huge hit on probably his first carry for the club, and played solidly. He is not eligible for the two European Challenge Cup games, so that will give him some more time to train. Welcome, and good luck.

 

Other returnees were Sean Lamont and bench-sitters Ben Cohen (we’ll come to him later) and Simon Emms coming back much earlier than initially expected from his torn bicep.

 

The game didn’t start well, with Mark Robinson being pinged for holding on after the Worcester pack disrupted our scrum. As the pile of bodies began to break up, Paul Tupai (two minutes into his first start for the club) appeared to elbow one of the Worcester halfbacks in the face. Chris White spoke to both touch judges before taking no further action. I’m not quite sure what happened but we may not have heard the last of this.

 

By the way, I have deliberately not watched the TV coverage before writing this – apart from the forward pass – and I didn’t see the incident because I was making a note of the penalty we had just conceded!

 

James Brown probably didn’t feel so good as he proved not to be a kicking machine, missing the relatively straightforward penalty.

 

Saints didn’t seem to have much of the ball for the first 20 minutes, Worcester playing most of the game in Northampton territory. Saints missed a tackle on Havili, and he was held up just short after Worcester had turned down a second kick at goal and went for the corner instead. Northampton eventually conceded a penalty for hands in the ruck on their own 5m line and Brown kicked a pretty simple penalty.

3-0 Worcester, 10 minutes gone.

 

Saints had one or two reasonable possessions during the opening quarter of the match, and it was noticeable that they were keeping the ball tight in the pack. There was the odd problem against the Worcester mauls, but Saints were able to make slow progress against their pack with repeated short drives from the rucks.

 

Northampton didn’t get their first penalty until something like 22 minutes in, and Carlos Spencer assumed kicking duties for what looked like a long kick out to the left. He dropped it a bit short and a bit wide to the left, but it seems that Reihana has relinquished the long kicks.

 

Despite the Saints keeping the ball fairly tight, they did also make use of the backs with Spencer showing his deft touches. Eventually they did manage to put together some sustained possession and spent quite some time trundling towards, and camped near, the Worcester line. Even when awarded a penalty close to the line, the Saints opted for the attacking scrum. Unfortunately, they eventually lost the ball, regained it and had to start all over again further back up the pitch. Further progress was made thanks to a Reihana jink, and Northampton were awarded another penalty after about half an hour. This one was closer than the one Spencer missed, and nearer the middle of the pitch, so Reihana stepped up and put the kick over.

3-3, 32 minutes gone.

 

A significant event after 34 minutes – John Rudd was replaced by Ben Cohen. There was no sign that Rudd was injured, and it didn’t look like he was expecting it. He hadn’t had the greatest of games thus far, allowing a couple of kicks to bounce unnecessarily which put pressure on him and the side. Is this an ominous step – is Rudd now officially out of favour? With Lamont and Cohen in the side, and Vilk & Diggin (when fit) in the squad, is he the 5^th choice winger?

 

Worcester made decent inroads a couple of times late in the half – one kick through on the right was covered by the Saints and grounded for a 22m drop out, and another break down the left wing was called back for a forward pass. Worcester also chose to kick a late penalty towards the corner, but crucially missed touch. A lineout for them 5-10 metres from the Northampton line could have been bad news with the proficiency of their lineout and pack.

 

It was a bit frantic from the Saints at the end of the half, with Lamont being a bit slow in covering a deep kick and only just flipping the ball out to Reihana. Too frantic, too close to their own line, and too close to half-time to give up a silly score.

 

With no time left in the half, Worcester were awarded a penalty after a player was held back, and Brown missed again.

 

Half-time – 3-3.

 

It was a bit different in the second half, as the Saints had much more possession, keeping the ball for prolonged periods, and spending quite some time camped on the Worcester line. However, progress was slow, using the repeated short drives by the forwards, and no use was being made of the stellar backfield. Worcester drifted offside after a good break – Clarke released after Spencer drifted right – but Reihana hooked a pretty simple penalty. At this point, both sides had only kicked 1 from 3.

 

Ten minutes into the half, Worcester replaced fly-half James Brown with one of our favourite ex-Saints, Shane Drahm (one of 4 in the Worcester squad – Drahm, Mark Tucker, Ed O’Donoghue and Tevita Taumoepeau). Presumably Worcester realised that this was not going to be a high-scoring game, and making their kicks was going to be crucial.

 

Daniel Brown had to be helped from the pitch after 60 minutes, being replaced by Grant Seely. Brown had taken a knock earlier in the half and didn’t look in a good state when he went off. Simon Emms and David Gerard also replaced Tom Smith and Matt Lord at this point.

 

Again the Saints had a good period of possession, moving along with mauls and short drives. This time however, the ball was eventually taken out a bit wider, and found Steve Thompson who took the ball over from 5 metres out. Reihana missed a straightforward conversion, which did not bode well with Drahm on the pitch.

3-8, 62 minutes gone.

 

 

 

Worcester completed a total change of halfbacks, with Andy Gomarsall replacing Matt Powell, and for the Saints, Robbie Kydd made way for Andy Vilk.

 

Worcester had thus far seen very little of the ball in the second half, with the Saints possessions taking up huge chunks of time, and very little action took place in the Saints half. However, in one of the rare Worcester incursions, Shane Drahm proved the value of a good kicker as he put over a far from easy penalty.

6-8, 64 minutes gone.

 

And then my visionary moment. Before the game, I had said to Chris Hoddle that Ben Cohen scoring the winning try just in front of us would do very nicely. The ever-dangerous Bruce Reihana broke clear, fed on to Jon Clarke who made good ground through a mass of Worcester tacklers. A bit of a drive from the forwards and then Carlos Spencer tapped out a superbly weighted cross kick. It wasn’t far as they were close to the Worcester line, but Ben Cohen out-jumped the shorter Havili and reached out to touch the ball down over the line. Just in front of where we were sat. Carlos Spencer finished off by kicking the conversion from wider out than Reihana’s miss.

6-15, 67 minutes gone.

 

Worcester seemed galvanised into action at this point, getting far more possession and making far more use of it than previously in the half. In fact, they started to look fairly dangerous with the ball in hand. A couple of missed tackles by the Saints didn’t help as Kai Horstmann scored for Worcester. Shane Drahm missed the conversion, which had massive implications as it left Worcester needing a try rather than just a kick to win.

11-15, 75 minutes gone.

 

When the Saints got the ball, they were trying to wind down the clock, keeping the ball tight and driving short again. But, Worcester were awarded a penalty with 2 minutes left. It wasn’t kickable, but Drahm’s touch-finder missed. This was the second time Worcester had done that – one for each fly-half. Both were just before the end of a half, and both cost them a serious chance of points.

 

With so little time left and needing a try, Worcester were throwing everything at the Saints, and they were making ground. Eventually Drahm released Havili and the Worcester fans went bananas (somewhere in the middle of all the noise was a cry of “noooooooo!” from me), only for Chris White to dash their hopes.

 

Still Worcester came. They turned a Saints scrum to nick possession, and continued to surge forwards. But the Saints managed to pilfer the ball with the countdown clock having been sat on 00:00 for some time, and booted the ball into the misty sky to close out the game.

 

I can’t think of many other occasions when I’ve been so nervous at the end of a game – it was really tense – and the swing from despair to joy as the realisation dawned that the try had been disallowed isn’t something I want to repeat too often, thank you very much.

 

The noise from the Worcester crowd must have helped inspire their comeback, and the fans can be proud of themselves with their good nature and hospitality. They’ve even got a decent song since last season – limited lyrics make it easy to learn (“Come on you Warriors”), but the addition of a tune really helps. It’s a darn site better than mono-syllabic chants of “Wasps” and “Bath”.

 

It wasn’t a day for dazzling running rugby, and maybe showed that the Saints are starting to learn when to keep it tight and when to flip it wide – the “balance” that Paul Grayson mentioned on Sky’s Rugby Club this week. Worcester have a good pack and their lineout certainly showed us how to do it, with some excellent quick ball off the top, but our pack showed that they were able to make ground (albeit slowly) against them. Special mention for Chris Budgeon who was quite noticeable with ball in hand. Spencer and Reihana showed their skills again, and I was impressed by Jon Clarke in the centre – remember that this is only the second Saints game I’ve been to this season so I haven’t seen much of him.

 

One final point – my brother, saintsdave, is now officially banned from going to Saints matches. He chose not to go to this game on the basis that it would give the team a chance of actually winning – he seems to be some kind of losing talisman, having last seen them win a couple of seasons ago.

As we won, he’s barred. Anyone want his ticket for the Bristol game next week?