(F) Northampton Saints 17 Argentina 40

This was a second-ish string club team from the eleventh team in the premiership against the team that had beaten the world champions only a few months ago. Why did we even bother to turn up? What was the point? Surely it’d only serve to get a few more injuries, and have confidence lowered even more than it already is?

Well, no, actually. This game was really quite enjoyable. There were really no high skills on display – perhaps the hands were just too cold to be able to hold the ball for more than two passes – but both teams tried to play a flowing game on many occasions. If it had been a high-stakes premiership fixture, I’d have described the first half as ‘nervy’, for although both sides had their attacking moments, neither were able to finish.

Although the Saints began brightly enough, after a couple of minutes, they found themselves camped on their own line for several minutes and phases. A succession of penalties for Argentina were kicked to touch, but despite almost crossing the whitewash, the defence held firm, although, according to the referee, continually on an illegal basis. Finally, they decided to take the points on offer, and promptly missed the posts.

We saw several exchanges of possession, and the Saints tried to make something of what they had, driving through the forwards, and running with the backs, but they were unable to get out of the Argentinean half. The best attack of the first period came after Stephen Myler – who I thought, looked really sharp, and has fantastic distributional skills – spotted the defence out of position, and kicked into the empty space, resulting in a line out, 15 metres from the try line. The ball was stolen and spun wide through the backs, and it was only a last ditch tackle that saw Vaughan Going driven into touch just 2 metres out.

The Argentinean line out went horribly wrong, and it looked as though skipper Matt Lord was going to fall over the line; only furious defence saw him repelled. Once again the ball was recycled, and it was Dan Richmond who nearly broke the defence under the posts. However, the referee decided there had been some infringement at the breakdown, and awarded the penalty to Argentina.

In the ruck, Richmond took a blow, and needed patching up, so, a little quirkily, our forth choice hooker, Matias Cortese, made his Saints’ debut. So it was that an Argentinean international played against his own country. This was the first time I had had the opportunity to see him play. First impressions – well, needs a haircut, but so did his illustrious predecessor, Freddie Mendez! His work in the loose and at the scrum was impressive, but his throwing was less so. Either that, or he misunderstood the calls, and found it easier to hit the Argentinean jumpers, rather than the Saintly ones!

In the tight, for much of the game, the Saints had the better of it, and were able to drive the opposition pack backwards in both scrums and mauls, which is surely testimony to the work Slugga has done with all the forwards in the squad. It was this strength that led to the first score, as the Argentinean front row popped up under pressure in the scrum, and allowed Mattieu Bourret to slot the ball through the uprights, for 3-0 after 26 minutes.

The lead was not long lasting, for from the kick off, the ground and possession held by the visitors allowed the magnificently named Juan de la Cruz Fernandez Miranda to drop for goal, and so the scoring balance was maintained.

The first of the Argentinean substitutes was then made, with Juan Martin Hernandez replacing inside centre Hernan Senillosa. With hindsight, this was a telling moment.

I’m not sure what happened to the game at this point, for suddenly, the referee was the most noticeable man on the pitch. It seemed that every time the play broke down, the whistle went, with penalties being awarded almost arbitrarily. Bourret missed a chance to retake the lead, but still the Saints looked the most likely to break the try-scoring deadlock, as Myler, with a heavily strapped right knee, orchestrated the back line beautifully.

However, it was the visitors that managed to take the lead, with a penalty from substitute Hernandez from in front, and so it looked as though the half was to end at 3-6. However, the indiscipline of the saints, the whistle of the referee, and the boot of Hernandez had other ideas. From well inside his own half, albeit right in front, Hernandez launched a kick that flew through the posts with plenty of legs to spare, and a minute later, a much easier chance was also taken to leave the Saints looking down the barrel of a 3 – 12 half-time score.

Whaddya know? The second half began as the first had ended, with the Saints giving away a penalty at the breakdown, and Hernandez making no mistake with his Wilkinsonesque boot. The crowd, disappointed with both the penalty decision of the referee, and the kicking decision of the Argentineans, were pleased to see a kicker of such quality at the gardens, and many made the suggestion to whomever ends up as our Director of Recruitment, that he should be the first target!

Yet again, another penalty at the breakdown saw the mistake cost the home side not only three points, but also saw Mark Hopley, having a good game at Number 8, take a ten-minute breather. It has to be said that if the game was a premiership fixture, perhaps four yellow cards might have already been issued, such was the whistle-happy nature of the referee.

There were ironic cheers moments later when again the whistle went, but this time the arm came up in favour of the home team. Alas, Bourret could not be as accurate as his opposite number, and so the score remained at 3 – 18.

But even with only seven men in the pack, the Saints still had the upper hand, and a series of penalties led to a catch-and-drive score from the forwards, but credited to Damien Browne. A successful conversion gave respectability to the score, and you could see the home team standing a little taller.

Taller they may have been, but despite being restored to 15 men, they still could not read what came next, although it wasn’t particularly clever rugby – just simple. A standard scrum to Argentina in midfield saw their back row break off and go down the very wide blind side. I don’t know what happened to the defence, but there was a three-on-one overlap from nowhere, and the score could not have been simpler for full back Federico Serra.

Buoyed by this, the visitors started to put some more handling moves together, and minutes later, it wasn’t a three-on-one they found, but a five-on-one, and despite the impressive tackling efforts of Bourret, the referee and touch judge somehow managed to award the try. Perhaps most amazingly, Hernandez actually missed the conversion.

The Home team were unwilling to lie down, and pressed hard to come back into the match, despite being 20 points behind. A prolonged period of pressure saw the visitors conceding first penalties, and finally the yellow card, with the captain, Patricio Albacete, sent for a rest. The lack of numbers immediately told, and it was our own yellow card sinner, Mark Hopley, who was awarded the try as the pack yet again drove over. The conversion brought the scores to 17 – 30.

It could be considered to be end-to-end stuff, as the Argentineans once again attacked. Unfortunately, Going failed to secure high ball, knocking into the waiting arms of the opposition hooker, who found his number 8, who very calmly fed winger Rafael Carballo for an easy score.

The final play of the match once again saw the Saints’ defence taking a 15-man breather. A simple scrum saw the ball moved left, through the hands, and despite a decidedly forward-looking pass, the replacement winger, Horacio Agulla was awarded a try. The final score was 17 – 40.

So what can we take from this? Are there any positives? Was it a worthwhile exercise? Well, it saw four players making their senior debuts: John Brooks in the front row looked a solid competitor; Matias Cortese is very much in the traditional Argentinian hooker mould; Dan Lavery has a lot to learn; and Adam Barnard didn’t have enough game time to show himself, but at least he can say he’s worn the Saint’s jersey. The Saints’ barber should also be commended, as Johnny Howard sported a Mike Tindall style, only shorter, while even Wookie no longer looked like a wookie!

The forwards looked very together, while the back row seemed to operate as a unit well. Stephen Myler needs to be locked into a life-long contract, for he has real talent and vision. Considering he’s played so little union, he looks like a veteran. But, we still need to find ourselves a kicker! The centre pairing of Mallon and Wyles always looked alert, and were they to be given time to gel into a partnership, there could be good potential. However, especially towards the end of the game, the entire team was guilty of defensive howlers.

And what of the Argentineans? I don’t know enough of them to really express a verdict, but in that guise they didn’t look a team that England should be worried about, although Johnny Wilkinson may have a rival in the best kicker stakes!

Overall, it was a good evening out, but whether it achieved anything in the season-long bigger picture, I’m not sure.

Richard Slater

8^th Feb 2007