By Mark H
May 7 2004

Dependent on the events of the 80 minutes on Saturday against Harlequins (or as we have Roy Maybank refereeing, make that nearer 90), it’s either the end of an era at the Gardens, or the end of an error. The era ending, with possibly the last game at FG for (and take a deep breath) Wayne Smith, Brendon Ratcliffe, Mark Connors, John Leslie, Nick Beal, Jon Phillips, and James Brooks, with Steve Williams, Oriol Ripol and Matt Miles all missing out on a final farewell. Their task? Get the four points needed to make it an emotional farewell.

It could become the end of an error if Saints fail to get that win, as Gloucester attempt to win at the Rec for the first time in the league and snatch third place away on the final weekend. Fourth place will bring the Wildcard, another game at FG, and more than likely the visit of the pantomime villains from Welford Road. No disrespect to the Tiggers, but I’m sure we’d all like to say our home goodbyes at least with a win over Harlequins.

It is not going to be easy though, for one simple reason. Until the game at the Causeway five weeks ago, only one team had truly battered us in the Premiership this season. Cast your mind back to November 8th, in the wind tunnel that happened to be the Stoop that day. Saints played against the wind in the first half, and went into the break deservedly 28-7 down as a Paul Burke-inspired display effectively won the game early. Indeed, the seven points gained only came after Tony Diprose was binned right at the end of the half, with Saints crossing the line shortly afterwards. It’ll change after the break, we all thought, and it did. The team playing against the wind came into it more. 43-7 at one point, and it didn’t do Quins a disservice either, they were very good value for it. Two late tries made the score look semi-respectable (ok, it didn’t, but we can hope), and the team that had fought tooth and nail for the victory against Gloucester the previous Saturday looked a bedraggled mess by 4.45.

Add to that the demolition jobs that the Quins A team did to the Wandies in both legs of the A cup final, playing with pace and imagination, and you can see why it’s not exactly a bye into the championship semi-final.

And yet, strangely, despite the majority of the sell out crowd being firmly behind the Saintly types, most if not all will be hoping that one certain Quin makes it onto the field. The legend that is Jason Leonard announced his retirement at the end of the season on Wednesday, after 19 appearances for Saracens, 284 (to date) for Quins, 5 Lions tests, and those 114 record breaking games in an England shirt. If he does manage to make it onto the field, it’ll be yet another goodbye to someone who epitomises the fact that you can play the game, be the most honoured individual of them all, and still be refreshingly normal. Hopefully his farewell game will be a victory - but then that’s not for another two weeks. If he does appear though, please be upstanding for a true rugby great.

No news (to Thursday night) on a Quins line up yet, but buoyed by the two legged triumph over Connacht in the Parker Pen Challenge Cup and with a final against a Montferrand team specialising in dismissing English clubs this season to come (Newcastle, Saracens, Bath), they went and put yet more smiles on Saintly faces on Sunday afternoon in pulling back a 13 point half time deficit to end the premature celebrations of the Bath supporters. There was enough evidence in that game to suggest that the Connacht games had been put out of their minds, although it was noticeable that Bath did, to a certain extent, decide to hold on to what they’d got later in the second half and paid for sitting back.

Mark Evans has got the Quins class of 2004 playing with pace and guile, and cannot - must not - be underestimated, but on a day that means so much to so many, surely we’re looking at a home victory. Smithy’s last Gardens selection (hopefully) is:-

15 Nick Beal
14 John Clarke
13 Andy Vilk
12 John Leslie
11 Ben Cohen
10 Shane Drahm
9 Matt Dawson
1 Tom Smith
2 Steve Thompson
3 Tevita Taumoepeau
4 Matt Lord
5 Mark Connors
6 Andrew Blowers
7 Darren Fox
8 Grant Seely

Replacements:
16 Dan Richmond
17 Robbie Morris
18 Jon Phillips
19 Mark Soden
20 Mark Robinson
21 Mark Tucker
22 James Brooks

So a bit of a shake up from Sunday, some of it enforced (Reihana and Grayson being the main absentees), and others by choice (Sharky dropping to the bench). All told, there are returns to the starting line up for Shine and Daws, plus a first start for Andy Vilk, with the aforementioned Sharky dropping to the bench, and returns to action for Mark Tucker and James Brooks.

So, in a break from what I normally do in these things, let’s forget the match. We all know what’s needed for both sides. We all know the consequences of failure. Whatever happens, there are more important matches to come next weekend (and that’s not inferring in the slightest that this isn’t important). Sometimes though, you just have to step back and say thank you.

Thank you to Matt Miles, a more than able back up to Wally and Dan, and who is undoubtedly suffering by having the world’s best hooker and one of England’s best at the same club.

Thank you to Oriol Ripol, who made a try scoring start in his first ZP game at Sale, skinned Joe Shaw as part of a superb run at home to Newcastle the following Saturday, and promised much. Unfortunately a perceived lack of strength meant that he was in and out of the side, and he’ll depart with the faithful not having seen the best of him.

Thank you to James Brooks, another suffering as a result of those in front of him, and who never really found his best position. Another try scoring debut, this time at Bath, and a virtuoso performance at scrum half against Cardiff and some bloke called Howley would be his highlights of his time here.

Thank you to Steve Williams, who turned his back on Irish’s Powergen Cup winners to come here, but his gammy knee eventually proved too much for him. If you’d told him that he’d have got a try on his return against Sale in February though, I’m sure he’d have taken it. Take care big man, and we all hope that there’s no lasting damage in later life.

Thank you to Mark Connors, the lesser-mentioned World Cup winner at the club, and someone who’s given it his all in another type of gold shirt, this time with green and black added in. His tussles with Danny Grewcock will be remembered for a long time (and hopefully there’s still one more to come).

Thank you to John Leslie, 86 games and 14 tries so far, and who has shown a largely unappreciated intelligence in that most difficult of positions at inside centre, If he’s passed on just half of his knowledge to Messrs Tucker, Hyndman and Vilk, then his legacy will be felt at the Gardens for years to come. He may have gone to look at Welford Road, but he came to perform here.

Thank you to JP, a man whose dictionary doesn’t contain the words “backward step”, and who in over 300 games for the club, has put both his body on the line and opponents bodies on the floor. A new life at Bedford beckons, which will hopefully mean more trips back to the Gardens for Wandies matches. A deserved testimonial, let’s hope that there’s as much cash in the pot as possible for a great club man.

Thank you to Nick Beal, our own version of the bionic man. Long striding, flowing, poetry in motion, with the ability to star both at full back and on the wing. He should have been the owner of more England caps, being ignored after the 1999 World Cup and suffering that horrific broken leg at Saracens just before the Heineken Cup final just seven months later. It’s a massive credit to him that he came back, and an even bigger one that you don’t actually think of the injury now. My greatest memory of him? The enormous grin on his face as he brought the Middlesex Sevens trophy over to the East Stand back in August, a grin that said “a winner’s medal at last”. And of course a drop goal from just over the county border at Welford Road in October. Fully deserved.

Thank you to Brendon Ratcliffe, the quiet man of the coaching duo. Unlucky not to be kept on at the club, but it will hopefully give him a chance to get involved with the All Blacks in some capacity.

And finally, thank you to Wayne Smith. The man who came, saw, and without apparently doing anything, turned a team that lost abjectly at home to Bristol into four try winners at Newcastle in just five days in late November 2001. The man who took us to two cup finals. The man who brought the word Saintsman to the fore and made it something to be proud of. The man who took us all to Leicester and won. And then did it again. And then did it in Agen. A man who loves this town, this club, we supporters. A man fully conversant (as I found out in Agen) with the club’s history, both triumphs and failures. He deserves just one more triumph, in three weeks time, on a field in Middlesex. One piece of silverware that will say “job done”. If it does turn out to be unfinished business, then he’ll just have to come back after he’s done what’s needed with the All Blacks…

To them all, thank you, and fare ye well. Just remember, a Saint is for life…

Prediction - no tears for points lost, some tears for friends lost.



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