By Bleach
February 24 2008

There is something about March 1st that, as a Welshman, remains a little special (some might argue that with a line of ancestors stretching back to 1674 all living in Gloucestershire I can hardly label myself as a Welsh person). March the first heralds the arrival of spring, fresh hopes, and dreams of the finer days that are now even closer

ESHER vs. NORTHAMPTON SAINTS

NL1 - SATURDAY 16^th FEBRUARY, 2008 - 3pm

I suppose, that as Saintsmen and Saintswomen we share the same emotions - there is no guilt if your thoughts are already firmly fixed on better days with visits to Welford Road, Kingsholm and Adams Park. Of course, we have to get ourselves promoted which surely by now is not in doubt.

We have all at one stage or another found ourselves guilty of putting ourselves forward for tasks which exceed our capability. When the call went out for Match Preview authors I felt obliged to put pen to paper and as the Rotherham game was vacant I duly volunteered. It was at the point of my right finger hitting the ‘ENTER' key that I realised I knew nothing about Rotherham and can hardly comment about the finer points of the Saints game plan or progress to date. So what can I say about Rotherham? What I can say is, put yourself in the shoes of the average Rotherham fan and consider the roller coaster of a ride they have had in the past 15 years or so. Back in 1993, this team were playing in National League 5. By 2000, they were proudly promoted to the Zurich premiership. The roller coaster of a ride must have been something special if you were that Roth fan. I suppose we have endured a similar Roller Coaster ride but in total reverse - European Cup Winners to National Division One in the same number of years.

1987 - 1988 North East 1

1988 - 1989 North East 1

1989 - 1990  North 2

1990 - 1992  North 1

1992 - 1993  National 4 North

1993 - 1994 National 5 North

1994 - 1995  National 4

1995 - 1996  National 3

1996 - 1997  National 2

1997 - 2000  Allied Dunbar 2

2000 -2001 Zurich Premiership

2001 - 2003  National 1

2003 - 2004  Zurich Premiership

2004 - Present National 1

The Views of the Rotherham Fans

It's always interesting to read the views of the true fans which are summarised below. Whilst the sentiment of the last message is to be admired it is hardly likely. Mind you, continuing the theme of Spring bringing forth new hopes of warmer times how many of us would have backed the Saints to go to Biarritz in the Quarter final of the European cup and win - Roth fans take note, miracles can and do happen. It would have been easy to get carried away with the Renaissance. The Rotherham fans should be applauded for their continued faith and belief - this author was guilty of losing his last year.

Fans Forum

"I think if we can put 2 good halves together then we can give the rest of the teams at the top a game at the moment (maybe not beat them but compete) but I think that the Saints are in a different league to us."                                    Steve.bott

"We haven't a hope of getting ANY points out of the Northampton match - I can't imagine anybody wanting to go and watch our players take part in an exhibition match for the Northampton fans to gloat about?!
Wouldn't it make more sense for everyone to donate their £30's to RRUFC for the benefit of OUR club and not Northampton plc ?!!" jonathan.wild

Leah reminded me of that glorious day when we saw the return of Titan blood and thunder at the Pirates and a dozen of us out roared their mass thousands.

Let those who don't want to go moan and bitch on here, those of us who'll back the lads thru thick n thin will be at Saints shouting them on and forever telling tales of when Jamie Lennard won the game with an 81st minute penalty!    Mick.Sylvester

And so, whilst gazing out with despair, I began the task of finding something I could write about that would be worthy of publication. Perhaps I could compare and contrast the opposing packs and offer an opinion as to why I expect the Roth backs are expected to cut loose and leave the Saints defense in shreds. Of course, this will not happen. This isn't Saintly arrogance it's the reality of the situation and whilst I long to watch a  highly competitive encounter with a nail biting conclusion I can honestly report that my nails this year are beautifully manicured and my blood pressure mains at 130/80 ( in my dreams). I do not expect this to change.

The absence of a Sportsnetwork site, or an unofficial Fans Web Site made my task even harder. Who are the up and coming stars in the Roth side? Who will cause us any problems? I perused the Roth Official Site and nothing hit me between the eyes apart from learning

"Rotherham stalwart Dave Scully will be named amongst the replacements for Saturday's home game against Moseley at Clifton Lane after joining on-loan from Doncaster Knights."

Dave Scully is now 42 which obviously says something about the man's health and fitness. So with no current players standing out, I looked at former players and of course was instantly reminded of messrs Jorgensen, Johnson and Ripoll.

Peter Jorgensen

Played   41

Starts    37

Points    50

Tries      10

                                                         Peter Jorgensen

Chris Johnson

Played    81

Starts    65

Points    105

Tries      21

                                                                                                                              Chris Johnson

    Oriol Ripol

Played    19

Start      15

Points     70

Tries       14

                                                                                                                                                                                     Oriol Ripol

Rotherham Away  Stats

Largest away win        75-7 v Moseley (2002-03)

Largest away defeat    75-13 v Leicester Tigers (2003-04)(ZP)

Rotherham  Top Appearances 2007-2008

Previous Encounters

Without wishing to sound like Mystic Meg, this author clearly sees a Saintly score of 40 something if previous encounters are to go by. The last five meetings have resulted in :-

 "Four-try Ashton tipped for the very top"

27-Oct-07   Roth 0                 v        Saints  41

Chron Report

 "Ripol denies old club first win"

07-Feb-04    Saints        18      v        Rotherham 8

Telegraph report

 "Northampton underline the class divide"

04-Oct-03   Roth  13    v        Saints 42

Telegraph Report

 "Ben Cohen gets a brace"

10-Feb-01    Saints  42  v        Roth 0

Sporting Life Report

"Rotherham sunk by Saints"

16-Sep-00    Roth 19     v        Saints  32

From the BBC

And Finally

Just remembered that I'm supposed to be writing some sort of preview. The one thing that will be interesting ahead of this game is the actual selection of the squad. With the CAB game on the horizon team selection goes beyond simply announcing a 23 man squad. Will Jim select a Wanderers side with power on the bench? Will he play the first team and rest key individuals in the second half?. I guess only Jim knows but it will be interesting to see.  It goes without saying that I can only envisage a Saintly win by a score dictated by Jim's team selection.

So, with the arrival of the March Hare, Daffodils swaying in the breeze and with the distant sound of the cuckoo heralding a new beginning...... umm.... Umm.. just cannot find the words, this authoring stuff is harder than you imagine. . Enjoy the game and  welcome back to Franklins Gardens , it's been a while.

Match Day Weather

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Pitsford