By Saint Tim
September 22 2010

This is one of my favourite away grounds where I have seen big wins but more recently poor performances and an L in the result column. The natives are friendly, the round is developing really well, the bar is excellent and the band in the bar is well worth staying back and watching over a couple of not so quiet pints. So the big question is why did I not go this year?

Attendances are becoming a big topic of discussion and this has caused me to ponder why I did not make the relatively easy trip down to West London.  As said above it is one of my favourite trips.

Well the answer, like most, is not easy to define.  Yes I had been away the week before hand and was exceedingly tired, yes I was due to play cricket on the Sunday so would have been away for both days that I am supposedly at home BUT in the end it was a case of – it is on the TV and I can go down the vaults, have a couple of beers and have the full benefit of Stuart Barnes commentary to keep me amused.  I suppose what would have swung it so I was going would have been, no cricket and there was nothing Quins could do to change that.  I was however extremely surprised at the vast expanses of empty seats.  This is potentially a worrying trend as I see little Quins can do on the so called match day experience to provide better fare.

Anyway enough of that navel gazing – what was the game like?

Who was your MoTM as Saints won at the Stoop?

Well to be honest although starved of possession for long periods of the first half I though Saints always looked quite comfortable.  They tackled like demons and one of the tries came from such a tackle when the ball was dislodged, James Downey cleverly hacked through for the flash to run on and score.  Now was Chris Ashton ahead of the kicker, well maybe just slightly but that is not to take away from the game.

The Saints pack again looked dominant and had the Quins scrum diving for protection on a number of occasions.  Despite warning nothing came of this and I thought Quins a little lucky to have a full complement for the full 40 minutes.  Every time Saints got in the 22 (the so called red zone) Quins infringed and gave away the penalty.  Half time saw Saints with a 13 – 3 lead.

The second half, unfortunately, didn’t follow the pattern of the first half.  I am not sure what was in the Quins half time oranges but suddenly they were finding gaps in the Saints defence and making good yards on almost every carry.  Saints continued to tackle like demons but now they were giving away penalties far too often and in the danger zone.  Fortunately the ref was even handed and no cards were produced, there were however too many opportunities for a kicker of Evans quality and he dragged the score back to 13 – 9 after only 10 minutes of the half.  Then Quins scored a try from what was New Zealand like flat passes (ie distinctly forward) and you get the feeling that if Saints had been at home with several thousand hollering for the forward pass they would have been called back.  That is, however, how the cookie crumbles and with the conversion Saints were now behind for the first time.

In days of yore against a good side with their tails up you would have seen the men in Green Black and Gold press the self destruct button.  This season does seem to be running to a slightly different script as Saints drove up field and Hartley spotted and opportunity and went over for a try which when converted completed the scoring for the day.

So Saints headed north with 4 points from what is always a tricky match and I am sure they were very pleased with how the season is going to date.  Played 2 – won 2.  You cannot get much better than that.  Ok so a few years ago we had 2 wins from 2 and with 2 bonus points, only to flirt at the end of the season with relegation.  This season though I do not have that worry as we seem to have a real hard edge to the team.

So, who caught the eye?

Now I told David (St Marlowe) that there were only two names in the frame for this week and it is true two players did stand head and shoulders above the rest.  That is not to say however that we should not have honourable mentions for both Lee Dickson (10.6%) and Christian Day (12.1%).  Both players were in the mix on the opening day and have followed up again on the second match.

There were however the two stand out players.

James Downey received 21.2% with his organisation of the defence and the hard tackling, hard carries that we have come to expect from him over the last few seasons.  As mentioned above it was James whose cleverly weighted hack forward from the spilt Quins ball that led to the first half try for Chris Ashton.  It is nice to see James getting the recognition he deserves.  So often what he does goes unnoticed.

The winner however was Ben Foden with 36.4% of the votes.  Ben was not necessarily at his attacking best BUT he showed a side of his game for which he is often derided.  That is his defence.  Few will forget the last gasp tackles he put in and as Quines were battering away at the Saints line in the last minutes, seeking that win, the last of the Mohicans (a prop whose name escapes me) drove to the line with only little Ben in his way.  Surely this was the game for the fancy dans from London.  But no!  Ben took the tackle, turning the prop onto his back and wrapping up the ball such that the Quins player could not get it to ground.  That was effectively game over and I am sure Ben has sent a clip of that tackle to the England defensive coach – just to remind him of what he can do.

Finally thanks to the 66 people who voted.

To see the full results and analysis please click through to the following page.

Harlequins V Saints MoTM - Full Result Details

Discussion started by ComeOnYouSaints.com , 22/09/2010 08:51

ComeOnYouSaints.com
22/09/2010 08:51

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Saint Tim
22/09/2010 18:00

Does no one out there have any comments? Am I talking to myself? Are there any suggestions for other aspects you would like me to report on?

Just asking loike



“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

Benjamin Franklin

Tetleys Block F E143

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propajob
22/09/2010 19:45

A very enjoyable read, thank you very much.

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Christy
23/09/2010 01:12

there's far too many posts on here to comment on them all Tim & unfortunately your writing about two matches ago - maybe we are all optimists looking forward (or we cant even remember last week??!!)

I do however vote & enjoy deciding who was outstanding so please keep up the good work.

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ClaireJ
23/09/2010 21:36

Keep going Tim - I love reading these, I always find it interesting to know what my fellow supporters appreciated and your editorial is very insightful.

ClaireJ
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Phil.
23/09/2010 23:15

What Claire said!

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Saint Tim
24/09/2010 07:38

Thanks guys - I wasn't just fishing for compliments - it is just great to get any feedback :-)



“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

Benjamin Franklin

Tetleys Block F E143

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