By Saint Tim
April 9 2011

This is one of the great games of the season.  Wasps are one of those clubs (Tigers and Bath are the others) who have been at the top of the English game for so long they look like permanent fixtures.  Ok so Bath now look a little jaded but the Tigers still perform right at the top of their game.  Waps have been traditional slow starters who improve as the season progresses such that they are there at the death.  This year however they haven’t picked up.  Was this the chance for Saints to do the double?

Who was your MoTM as Saints swatted Wasps at the Gardens?

First an admission – I could not make this game either.  This weekend I was instead on a company conference in South Beach Miami.  It was the end of spring break and the weather and scenery was just stunning.  It did mean however that I followed the game via my phone rather than listen to some dry lecture.  I cannot remember what it was about now but I do remember being astounded at the scores I was seeing.  For info here is the Miami sunrise J

It would be fair to say that to put Wasps to the sword in this manner is almost unheard of so either we were truly brilliant, or they didn’t turn up.  The truth I was to later learn was that we played well but Wasps were a pale shadow of the teams of yesteryear.  Three first half tries and two second half ones meant that the bonus point was also gained.  Given the upcoming match against Ulster it is good to see Saints starting to turn in some good performances with both forwards and backs scoring.

So, who caught the eye?

Four players caught the eye in this game.  In fourth place with 12% was Lee Dickson.  I am sure that Lee is instrumental in the upturn in form we are seeing.  Hopefully this won’t be noticed by MJ or we could lose another.

In third place with almost 16% was Roger Wilson.  Roger has started in 19 games this season and I cannot recall him having a bad game.  Lets hope he has a point to prove against Ulster – but that is getting ahead of myself!

In second place with 22% was one of the England returnees and one of the discoveries of the six nations - for those outside the Saints that is.  Tom Wood got his chance with England due to back row injuries.  Once he had his hands on the shirt though he never relinquished it.  Well done Tom – I am sure you will be on the top step soon.

The winner and his first of the season was Dylan Hartley.  Dylan always leads from the front and he is the sort of player that divides opinions.  If he is on your side he is a great player.  If he isn’t he can be seen as a pantomime villain in the mould of MJ or DillydallyO.  I for one am really glad he is one of ours.  He plays with such controlled aggression and is really growing into a great captain.  Not many of us were that confident when Jim first appointed him.  Well done Dylan – here is to many more.

With Dylans win we now have 15 different players who have one at least one MoTM.  It is almost possible to make a team from those that have won but it is interesting to see that despite a dominant front row so far this season Dylan’s is the first win by a hooker and to date Soane hasn’t yet won one.  It is also interesting to see that neither of the first choice centres have won so far.  Indeed I notice that they rarely attract much attention from the voters.

My thanks to the 83 people who voted this week.

Full Result

Previous Winners

Vote History

Who wins?

Leaderboard

Players Used

So far this season we have used 36 different players.  I do notice however that after 27 games we still have 2 players who have only missed two starts.  There are six players who have played twenty one matches or more.  This isn’t really rotation and could mean a very tired squad reaching the business end of the season.

MoTM: Saints swat Wasps

Discussion started by ComeOnYouSaints.com , 09/04/2011 14:17

ComeOnYouSaints.com
09/04/2011 14:17

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Saint Tim
09/04/2011 14:20

Caught up now

Enjoy folks.



“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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St.Rich Joe, Niamh and Sam's Dad
09/04/2011 15:51

Great work tim

No alcohol for January. I'm a dryathlete in aid of cancer research.

Dryathlon

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