News: Ospreys v Saints - Match Preview

By Jon in Alaska
October 19 2011

Over in the US the baseball season is coming to a close with the Fall Classic, known to everyone else as the World Series. I’m not a baseball fan – I fail to see how a game gets exciting when you get “swing, miss, swing, miss, swing, hit, catch, out. Repeat 27 times per side”. However, it’s a national pastime, and everyone uses baseball terms in every day speak. There may be a few phrases that sneak in here… Try to catch them all!

LV= Cup Round 2 Ospreys vs Northampton Saints

Brewery Field Bridgend

22nd October KO 18:00

This week sees the Saints rewarded by Jim etc. with a two week bird of prey spotting vacation (sorry, holiday. Too much time in the USA!). First in the double header, they go spotting Ospreys in Bridgend, then come back to their Garden to watch Falcons. We’ve got Ospreys in the LV= cup, which is a whole new ball game compared to the league.

Ospreys have had a much better start to the season than the Saints, even with a similar number of players down in Aotearoa. They had a mixed preseason, with a 38-10 loss away to Lyon and a 46-19 win at home to Russia. They’ve also been doing well in the Magners, um Robotic, thingy. RDP12. That one. They are, at the moment, batting 1000. In plain English, they are P6 W6, and have already grabbed such notable scalps as Leinster at home (27-3) and Munster at Thomond Park (a close 17-13). And all that comes with seven players in the Wales RWC squad. Good news for Ospreys is that their two Samoans and Canadian are back in training, having returned from NZ. The bad news for the Ospreys is that their captain, flanker Justin Tipuric, was in line to be called up to replace Sam Warburton for the RWC third place playoff. Then he got cited for a spear tackle against Munster. The hearing was on the 18th, and he subsequently got banned for 3 weeks.

Last week, the Ospreys were thrown another curveball, going down to Exeter away from home. The Chiefs were able to get a bonus point victory, but what may be most appealing to the Saints pack is the fact that one of the four tries was awarded under the sticks. The Ospreys scrum seemed to be taken apart pretty quickly by the Chiefs, the PT coming after only 25 minutes. Reading the match report, the Ospreys scrum was dominated by a stronger Chiefs pack. Before we start putting our ducks in a row, only 2 of the Chiefs front 8 were the same players that started against the Saints the previous week. Still a tasty proposition for the Saints pack, who now have a full complement of scrummagers to pick from and can bring in a few pinch hitters. It could be time for Mooj to take a break, and maybe we’ll start with Tiny, PDJ and Dylan, with Mooj and Mercey on the bench. That should cover the bases.

As we know, Saints have been struggling in the league, losing games that many thought we should have won. In the league, we’re 2 from 6 as the Americans would say. Played 6, won 2. BUT - the last time we started like that was in 2008/09, Jim’s first season in the Premiership. We lost games that people thought we should win, but turned our season around by winning the European Challenge Cup. A bad start to the season doesn’t mean a bad end! Back in this season, and keeping on the up side, Saints haven’t shipped a try in three games, and even better, we’ve won two on the bounce!

Now that both England and Wales are out of the major league, Saints and Ospreys may use the little cup to get some players back in the team for their respective leagues. The Saints players have had an extra week to get over the jet lag. I would expect Jim to pick a mix of the younger players, heavy hitters, and returning players, like he did last week. The players need to step up to the plate and keep up the momentum. In the team, who plays fullback is a bit hit or miss, but I think Foden shouldn’t be there right off the bat. Neither should Ash, but one or both should be on the bench. Vasily should start. No question there!

My prediction – an open running game, if the weather and Sir allows it. We shouldn’t just hit singles, but go out and play hard ball. Another shut out would be nice, but still – Saints to win with a bonus point, but Ospreys to be within 10.

News: Ospreys v Saints - Match Preview

Posted by: ComeOnYouSaints.com (IP Logged)

Date: 19/10/2011 23:50

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