This was never in the script or nothing to play for?
Had it not been for the very poor early season form of two teams, namely Worcester and Northampton, we at London Irish may very well be looking at the last game of our season from a very different viewpoint right now. It may well have been us fighting for survival along with a few others. Take away the points that we have gained against these two teams, give them back to them and then you will see what I mean; quite a little melting pot at the bottom there.Well, it’s not been a great season and although Mr. Smith seems to be happy enough having “accomplished his mission”, I can’t help feeling a little bit under-whelmed with some of the rugby I have witnessed. Okay, we did have some very pleasing and entertaining moments like Ulster, Leicester, Bath and Wasps at home, but those oh so dour moments such as Sarries, Quins and that awful trip to Ulster, took the gloss off for me. It’s not so much the defeats but more the manner of the defeats and the fact that, at times, we just looked so poor. The effect is I cannot go to any London Irish game filled with confidence as I have seen so many good performances followed by absolute cock-ups. This may provide some stark comfort to Saints fans just knowing that we are prone to what sometimes appears to be laziness, but I wonder, has the team got one last performance - a grand finale - or will they simply fizzle out just as Master Scribe appears to have done?
I really cannot see Smith fielding a second string team for this one as it would only lead to derisive calls of “foul play, sir” and “orf with his bally well head!” from the Worcester boo boy brigade. That must be avoided at all costs, if not for the sake of the traveling public then at least for the sake of their own pride. To totally break with tradition and put a bit of positive spin on things, the fact that we have nothing to play for could mean we are in for an absolute peach of a match here!
The last match of our season will see us travel to Franklin Gardens after a two-week lay off, having secured a sixth place finish, premiership survival and a previous home win of 40-5 against our opponents, Northampton. No pressure then. But the question is does the team see it like that?
There is no doubt that the Saints will be looking on this match as the most important of their season and will be well drilled in all aspects of play. They will be looking to win maximum ball at set pieces (oh yeah, let them even dream about winning our line-outs and they just better wake up and apologise), they will be looking to dominate our under strength pack and they will be looking to nullify the threat from our running backs. As rumour has it, they will also have the added bonus of additional time to deliver the goods courtesy of Mr. C White. That ruse certainly worked for them before when the Franklin Garden scoreboard was showing a re-run of War and Peace whilst the announcer was heard to say: “in your own time, Ben!”
Irish on the other hand will be fresh out of the travel agents, holiday brochures tucked under their arms, they will take to the field kitted out in shades and leather thongs, their bodies still dripping from a fresh oiling. The mindset will be such that not even the Germans throwing their towels onto the team’s sun beds will spoil their afternoon. There is a view, from a certain West Midlands team, that Irish will not be taking this one seriously! Well you try telling that to Riki Flutey who would most certainly like to see Carlos Spencer out of his face come next season.
No, this Irish team is a team of seasoned professionals and I would expect them to be coming out of the blocks with all guns firing just as they did against Worcester. On that same day, Saints closed the gap on their relegation rivals to one point with an impressive display that saw them lose 35 – 29 at Adams park, the home of the Pesky pest ones. Ironically, if they had played like that all season they would not be in the position they are now! Seven days later and the fixture was to be repeated in the Heineken cup semi-final, only this time Saints had nothing to lose, were playing on neutral territory and could enter the match with a Devil may care attitude. Here they could experiment, here they could rehearse, here is where the likes of Sean Lamont and Ben Cohen could cut loose and run the opposing back line ragged, here they could formulate a game plan to counter the free flowing, chuck it about rugby that they will face when they take on Irish six days later on their home turf.
Well, no one can deny that the Saints did not give it their best shot and after opening the scoring with an excellent try by Bruce Reihana coming from a break by the sweaty Lamont, they quickly took a 13 – 0 lead following a brace of penalties, again, successfully struck by the Forsyth look-a-like, Riehana. It was unfortunate that Saints could not capitalize on this and add to their total; instead it was Wasps that took the initiative and effectively shut Saints out from this moment on, putting 30 points past them on the way.
The inability to maintain momentum having established an early lead must be worrying for Saints, but as their coach, Larry Grayson, rightfully pointed out: “They are big, strong and fast and keep coming. You can’t defend for 75 minutes of the game and expect to win against them.” Hmmm, that does not bode too well for them then, as I’m sure that Irish will be looking to penetrate their defence from all angles. (Insert Master Scribe type strap line here.)
As to how the play will go against Irish is anyone’s guess, but I think the expectancy will be for a very open and high scoring game. Irish can beat anyone on their day if they are firing on all cylinders, while on the other hand, Saints certainly look to have upped the ante and will be no push over’s. This could actually turn out to be the game of the season if both teams gel and one that will certainly be worth the gate price.
Saints will be aware that a draw is the minimum they can accept in order to be in contention for premiership survival and that will also be dependent on the Wuss/Sarries result going in their favour.
On paper, you have to hand the advantage to Saints, but they will have to throw caution to the wind, play shit or bust, high risk rugby and go for a maximum points haul against a team who will also be looking to end the season on a winning high and will surely play a not overly cautious running game. Cash in on that lack of caution and the game is there for the taking. Tread gently, kill the ball and rely too heavily on the forwards and the Saints will surely go marching into ND1.
--Upandunder