Northampton Saints - Thoughts from the Chron

By Chris Gleadell
January 19 2007

So after Sundays four try bonus point win at Netherdale, sorry Murrayfield, it is almost job done for Saints in the race for a quarter final place in this seasons Heineken Cup.

Whilst a spot in the last eight is still by no means certain the Saints do have the advantage of being the last game to kick off on Sunday and should be fully aware by then what is exactly needed for qualification. Of course a win would go down very nicely but its always good to have the facts to hand should that clock be ticking down and knowing its either all out attack or all out defence to save the day should it be needed to secure a best runners up spot. Up to that point I guess it is another weekend for the slide rule and calculators for Saints supporters working out the many permutations that could see us through.

Of course this prior knowledge also works in Biarritz ’s favour and it could come down to a frantic last few minutes should the game be close but I’ve a feeling that it may well not be the last time we play the Basque side this season. Weekend in San Sebastian anyone?

THE TREK (OR NOT) NORTH

The talking point for a lot of the supporters over the weekend was not so much the welcome victory over Borders but the confusion surrounding the game itself, its final location and the huge question over organisation (or the lack of it) in getting the game moved.

For some supporters who spent their hard earned cash getting to Galashiels the last minute move to Edinburgh meant them missing the game completely having to return home for work and school whilst others missed some part of the game after confusion over parking and directions.

Some supporters were not to beaten though. Dave Lowrence, due to business commitments in London early on Monday morning went to the expense of flights to Edinburgh from Luton and hiring a car to get to Galashiels. However he found that his return plane home meant he would miss the game at its new time. But determined not to miss out Dave did some quick thinking, forgot the flight and extended his car hire (at further expense) then after the victory drove south to pick his own car up at Luton before getting home to bed in Northampton at around three in the morning. After just a couple of hours sleep and still dog tired he was just leaving his house to hit the road again at six when he got a phone call to say his meeting had been cancelled. Like he said himself, you could not even make that up.

**The paper were trying to get hold of Dave for a pic to go alongside the story, for those that don't know him I should point out it was not Dave that appeared in print**

The whole debacle does raise some serious questions. Surely if the game was in doubt, and it had been all week, why wasn’t a decision made earlier than midday and why were the match officials, the only people with a say on the matter, so late in arriving at the ground. And why, knowing that there was a chance it may be moved, were the wheels not in motion getting a second pitch prepared as a fallback so with plenty of warning the game could still kick off at the appropriate time? With some rather disgruntled supporters losing both time and money over this heads should roll and changes put in place to stop a repetition, but as ever I somehow doubt it.

ITS DIVORCE FROM THE LUNATIC AND THE FRENCH PULL OUT

Whilst we all look forward to this weekends game against Biarritz there are dark clouds on the horizon where French teams future participation in the Heineken Cup are concerned. President of the French clubs, Serge Blanco, has announced that despite it being a ‘heartbreaking decision’ French clubs will not be taking part in the HC in the 2007/2008 season.

Blanco’s main bugbear is the gradual squeezing out of domestic competition by the international game and the effect this years Rugby World Cup, held in France , will have on the Top14 season. However he also cites the English clubs current wrangles with the RFU as part of the decision as the controlling body in this country reneged on an agreement giving the Guinness Premiesrship sides 50% of its votes for European competition decisions a move which the French Federation has already carried out.

It could just be another round of sabre rattling and jockeying for positions in power but if the French do withdraw I can well see, given the current climate, the English clubs following suit. I half heartedly mentioned some kind of Anglo/Franco competition in this column a few weeks back, now I’m not so sure I would bet against it happening.

As Mr Blanco is chairman of Biarritz and will no doubt be at the Gardens on Sunday, I guess the subject of the future of the game both domestically and in Europe will be brought up over lunch with Keith Barwell. Let’s face it, it will be hard to avoid the issue.

Never one to beat about the bush Keith went straight for the jugular this week when a ‘leaked’ RFU document declared that all the major clubs, including Saints, were to be replaced by ten RFU appointed and controlled franchises.

Stating that the clubs relationship with the RFU was like being chained to a lunatic who the clubs needed to divorce the Saints chairman, just like about everyone else involved with the game thought the plan ludicrous at best.

Of course ludicrous quite aptly describes the plan and there was very quick backtracking at the RFU denying all knowledge and association with it but you do have to ask exactly how this story came to light. It is not as if it appeared in the nether regions of The Sun, this story was written by Stephen Jones the respected rugby writer in the Sunday Times, a guy who would not put his head above the parapet on such a volatile matter without checking his sources first

The RFU have made no secret that they do indeed have consultants looking at the structure of the professional game (though it is rumoured they have not talked to the top professional clubs yet). It is said they are spending in the region of £1million on the consultants fees but it looks like someone somewhere has spent £2.50 on a second hand book ‘Commercial Psychology for Dummies’. The franchise leak looks like some classic wage negotiation ploy from the 1970’s where the workforce were leaked warnings of redundancies before being offered 10% of their original wage claim. You have to ask judt in whose interest that would be?

Another one that’s sure to run and run.