By Louisa Loveluck
September 15 2005

And so we come to it at last – the moment for which Saints supporters have been waiting and longing for five months now: the moment the men in the Green, Black and Gold run out onto the hallowed turf at the Gardens with the voices of the Franklin's faithful ringing in their ears.

Forget big screen action, this is the real thing, a chance to see Carlos Spencer, Seamus Mallon and Sean Lamont strut their stuff in Northampton for the first time, and an opportunity to welcome Bruce Reihana, Ben Cohen, Mark Robinson and many other old favourites.

 

 

On Saturday afternoon we welcome to Franklins Gardens a Newcastle side, smarting on the back of two consecutive losses to Sale and Bristol respectively. And who can forget the last time that the Falcons travelled to the East Midlands? A cold and blustery night saw the Saints edge out Newcastle in a nerve shredding 23-22 thriller after a missed penalty from Jonny Wilkinson in the dying minutes that most probably sent Northampton sales of beta-blockers through the roof.

 

Although Rob Andrew’s side will be without the services of Jonny Wilkinson this time (on Friday he was admitted to a Newcastle hospital to have his appendix removed), we cannot expect to rely on missed kicks again – even without Wilkinson, Newcastle still have two kickers with a formidable boot. In weeks gone by, Saints gave given away more penalties than Stuart Barnes has eaten hot dinners, and we have been extremely lucky to consistently come up against flyhalves who were having difficulty locating the posts. Should we start giving away silly penalties within our own half this weekend, Australian fullback, Matt Burke, or flyhalf Dave Walder will punish us accordingly

 

Following a humiliating 32-0 defeat to local rivals Leicester on the opening day of the season, there seemed to be much cause for negativity in the Saints camp, but last weekend their confidences received a huge boost by way of a skilful 6-17 victory over Bath in appalling conditions at the Rec. With a huge improvement in just about every facet of the Saints game (with the exception of the excessive penalty count), they can go into this Saturday’s fixture in a positive state of mind, knowing that although Newcastle will be no pushover, they are capable of a win as long as they reproduce last week’s fine effort.

 

Director of Rugby, Budge Pountney this afternoon announced a largely unchanged side from the team that won at the Rec last weekend:

 

15 BRUCE REIHANA (capt)

14 SEAN LAMONT

13 Jon Clarke

12 Seamus Mallon

11 BEN COHEN

10 CARLOS SPENCER

9 MARK ROBINSON

1 TOM SMITH

2 Dylan Hartley

3 Brett Sturgess

4 Matt Lord

5 Damien Browne

6 Mark Soden

7 Darren Fox

8 Mark Easter

 

16 STEVE THOMPSON

17 Chris Budgen

18 Alex Rae

19 Ben Lewitt

20 Johnny Howard

21 Rhodri Davies

22 Luke Myring

 

There are two notable omissions from the team, the first being no. 8 Daniel Browne who will miss the weekend’s action through a knee strain. Academy debutant Mark Easter will take his place in the starting 15 with Mark Soden covering at no. 8 after a fine performance against Bath. The second surprise is that hooker Danny Richmond has once again found himself without a place in the 22. With the academy’s Dylan Hartley favoured to start and returning Lion Steve Thompson on the bench, many Saints supporters have found themselves wondering what Richmond has to do to regain his place in the team. Hartley’s throwing has been steady so far this season but one cannot help but wonder whether Richmond would be a better choice for his activity around the park.

John Rudd has also been ruled out of Saturday’s action as he is suffering from a foot strain and Luke Myring, who will most probably make his first team home debut on Saturday, takes his place on the bench. 

 

Rob Andrew has made 5 changes from losing side who put in a miserable performance against Bristol last weekend:

 

15 Matthew Burke
14 Tom May
13 Jamie Noon
12 Mark Mayerhofler
11 Mathew Tait
10 Dave Walder
9 Hall Charlton

1 Micky Ward
2 Andy Long
3 Robbie Morris
4 Andy Perry
5 Geoff Parling
6 Owen Finegan
7 Ben Woods
8 Colin Charvis (capt)

David Wilson
Stuart Mackie
Tino Paoletti
Mike McCarthy
Stuart Grimes
James Grindal
Toby Flood

 

In the frontrow we see a return to the Gardens for ex-Saint and speediest prop on the planet, Robbie Morris, who had his first start for the Falcons against Bristol last weekend. Packing down behind him in the scrum will be a relatively inexperienced second row in the form of Andy Perry and Geoff Parling after Stuart Grimes finds himself dropped from the starting 15.

In the backrow, captain Colin Charvis has switched to no. 8 following a neck injury to Phil Dowson, and Owen Finnegan will make his first start for the Falcons, playing at blindside flanker alongside the returning Ben Woods.

The backs have remained relatively unchanged all season and this weekend is no exception with the only change being young winger Mathew Tait replacing the injured Anthony Elliot.

 

So, my prediction? Being an ever cheery soul (apart from when faced with a plate of curry), I’ll go for a win for the Saints. We’ve been waiting for this weekend for nearly five months now and I don't believe that the team will disappoint – Saints by 15. Enjoy it!