By OddShapedBalls
August 7 2003

With the onset of the World Cup Saints could well lose five players down under for the first ten games of the new Zurich season in Cohen, Thompson, Dawson, Garayson and Smith. OSB looks at the prospects of those who are asked to step up to the plate during this period. Front Row

Renaud Peillard, Dan Richmond and Robbie Morris backed up by BrettSturgess, Matt Miles and Chris Budgen. This front row may not look sufficiently gnarled and grizzled to win a championship and does not have a genuine ball carrier in it (though Renaud may prove me wrong here) but it won't be embarrassed very often especially if most of the tight-heads we see are neutralised. Richmond, Miles and Sturgess are all mobile; Peillard and Budgie have a certain amount of go forward about them; so step up Mr Morris. You have strength and size so summon technique to become your ally and, I hope, develop the aerobic capacity necessary to make you a contributor round the park. Don't wait until Phil Vickery retires, set your sites on him now. Become him, become better than him.

Second Row

Matt Lord and Steve Williams backed up by Jon Phillips, Rob Hunter and Mark Connors. To be honest, this is not much of an engine room and is, once again, short of a hard yards ball carrier. It is a reasonable line-out unit but it must preserve itself with sufficient variety. Too often we come under pressure because our line-out is challenged. Why does the opposition challenge? Because they think they know where the ball's going. The hooker's margin for error is minute when he's trying to throw a ball nearly 20 metres at about 4 metres in height when the guy to whom he's throwing has someone jumping against him. If the goal is to get attacking ball from off the top at the tail, mix it up more. They soon stop challenging once you've demonstrated that you can ring the changes. Then you can have your long ball. Lordy, Lordy stepped up last year. Big Swill is a master technician. Let's wish them well because they really are the best we can offer at the moment.

Back Row

Last season's first choice back row will be there in it's entirety - Mark Connors, Budge Pountney and Andy Blowers with Grant Seely, Mark Soden and Darren Fox in reserve. Veritable riches compared with those that'll lose two or three to RWC. Our strength here may well mean that we are just as good without the ball as we are with it. The sort if pressure these guys can exert on playmakers means that we will probably have one of the meanest defences in the ZP again in the coming season. I look forward to seeing Foxy continuing his apprenticeship and putting pressure on the first choices in a similar way to that with which he cruised past Mark Soden in the pecking order.

Half-backs

Mark Robinson and Shane Drahm backed up by Johhny Howard, Archie Brooks and Ben Russell. Plus, it is by no means certain that Larry (Paul Grayson) will go to RWC. It depends on Woodward's view of his kicking back-up; Larry is superior to King in that department so Woodward must decide whether England can punish other teams' indiscretions in tight games without him. And, what about the likes of Walder and Barkley? Will Hodgson be fit? As I say, Larry is far from on the plane.

If Robinson's performance in the England Baa-Baas game is a guide, the best scrum half in England is not certain of his club shirt when he returns from international duty. Oh, joy! Two top practitioners vying for the shirt - what a nightmare for opposing defences - especially if Woodward intimates to Matt Dawson that he won't necessarily get the England shirt back if he's not playing regularly for his club.

We seem to be expecting Drahm to start at outside half. He is not a youngster coming through the ranks, he's a pretty experienced player. While he may not have had the happiest of introduction to the ZP as part of the try sieve, he's joining a team with a bit of a track record of being nearly there instead of one that is nowhere near. Were Larry to go to Australia and this man steps up to the mark we may well be witness to the sun setting on Larry's illustrious career.

Among the things we could expect to see is more variety of play in the 10 channel. A friend of mine is determined to seek out John Leslie at the Open Day and wish him the very best of luck. He is a severe critic of Larry's passing. To him it seems as though it is designed to put the 12 in trouble. He went so far as to suggest Wally (Steve Thompson) for inside centre as the only one of the squad with the physique to stand up to the battering taken by JL, Hyndman (in Toulouse) and, before them, Matt Allen. Yes, it was a joke but you can see the point he was making.

We sit together in the south stand and can count on the fingers of one hand the times that a piece of play from Larry stopped the oppo's drift defence. Nor does it come to very many more when you add to it the occasions JL had time and space to do it either.

So step up Shane Drahm and give our outside backs some space in which to play.

Centres

John Leslie and Chris Hyndman with Mark Tucker, Bruce Reihana and the academy providing the other options. I don't suppose that very many of our opponents are tearing out their hair with the threat that we normally pose in this area and I can see why. However, if I allow my mind to wander back to the tail end of last year, I can see the multi-coloured skins of the Harlequin side being hung out to dry by Handyman; I can see him skip home unopposed at Welford Road. Well, Chris, if you keep it up, they'll know all about you by Christmas - then the fun'll begin.

Back Three

Nick Beal, Reihana and OriolRipol plus Jon Sleightholme. Once again, further support has to be provided by the academy. There's class a-plenty in this little group even if neither Bealer or Sleights are as quick as they once were. If the wee Drahm can set the back line in motion, here's our scoring potential .

Conclusions

There are plenty of players in the pack from whom we know what to expect. For us to be really effective we need to see wholesale improvement from Robbie Morris. We can do with Matt Lord continuing to strive to give the 110% he did last year. We want to see the Fantastic Mr Fox to continue the outstanding progress he made last year and Mark Soden taking on the challenge by not accepting that Fox will be picked before him.

In the backs we need Sharky Robinson to show us that Twickenham was not a one game wonder and that that really is his standard and for Shane Drahm to demonstrate to us all what's needed to become a top quality fly-half. We need Chris Hyndman to show the form he showed last autumn in more than a few games - the first ten would be a good start.

We are not a team of world-beaters but, then, we are not being asked to take on the world. Of all the teams affected by RWC we are one of those that will give five but with shrewd recruitment have covered most of that loss. I know you get nothing for being top at Christmas (and you don't necessarily get anything for being top at the end of the league season) but with reasonable form and good luck with injuries, we can look forward to being close to last season's finishing position by the time the world cup ends. That should set things up nicely for the second half of the season. Or is it half of the second half of the season as we now appear to have scheduled league matches on six nations weekends.

Come on you Saints!