Bristol Rugby Vs Northampton Saints

Sunday, 16^th November 2008

Match Preview

By Robby Richmond

Here we go again, yet another thrilling installment of the seemingly endless saga of Bristol and Northampton. As the gods above demand the titans of the game come together once more to battle for the hearts and minds of their townsfolk, fight the evil that stands before their door, embrace the battle and summon the mighty warrior spirit within. The epic battle re-ignites with two of the greatest and world-renowned purveyors of only the very finest Ru…. Ru… erm…

Sorry that’s not right at all is it?

Yeah, it’s them again, the Brizzlers, the beloved boot-boys of the ball-bags from Bath. Bristol, poor old souls at the tail of the table. No money, no players, no chance. Don’t you dare believe it! While the table tells us one tale only a fool would call this a ‘gimme’. Far from it, in a two horse race such as this even I get a vibe that this one is far from said and done.

Bristol still calls on the core of men who ooze strength of character, faithfulness, self-belief passion and desire. We know them well fore they have frequently handed us our own rectums in the past years since they returned to the premiership. Yet now as the old dogs seem to be tiring, the shoe may well be on the other foot.

Much like Sarries and Irish, if you can come away from Bristol with a win, you know that you’re a side who not only stand up to bullies but also have met them and matched them in the character stakes. Salter, master of the covert ball slowing still tackles himself to a stand still and looks to carry and carry and carry. While Skipper Joe El Abd must be commended for his loyalty to Bristol and looks to lead by example week in and week out. Like many open sides playing in the premiership he is big, powerful and crazy-brave.

While old grudges die hard with the elder statesmen of the Bristol front row yet this would not be a COYS match preview or report with taking time to gush like a little schoolgirl with a crush about Andrew Blowers…

Ok lets do this together, take a moment to recall your own favourite moment of AB in a Saints shirt. Got it? 

Ready? And…Gush…

Right that’s over with shall we talk about the Saints for a bit eh?

The rise and rise of Stephen Myler’s metronomic boot has meant for once the Green Black and Gold aren’t having any trouble in keeping the scoreboard ticking over. This has meant fewer tight scrapes for the Saints and given Jim and Nobby the opportunity to blood some of the youngsters from the bench thanks to being relatively out of reach.

Yet the ideas of playing Los and Myler together have fallen on deaf ears as James Downey frequently shows he is ‘Peter’ to their ‘Jesus’. He’s the rock, the hard place. Mr. Consistent who works hard and hits even harder. Like Big Q and Big John Leslie before him he is metaphorically the Saints back line’s security blanket. He is solid and reliable, like a big brother’s love. If people wonder who is the first name on the team sheet, rest assured as far as this writer is concerned no one even comes close to JD.

Yet we need him now more than ever, as we aren’t blessed with a great deal of fit centers or outside backs. Once more it appears that we may find Bruce or Los played out of their preferred positions or we may find Mayor or Starling given the somewhat cursed number 13 jersey. Unlucky for some? Darn tootin!!!

Whoever does fill the shirt over the next few weeks, it will take time for them to bond and form a defensive partnership with JD. The partnership of Downey alongside the now crocked Joey Ansbro had genuinely started to bear fruit, yet still these things do not and did not happen overnight.

Joining the Jimmies over the last fortnight have been two formidably big hosses from the Republic of South Africa. Yes after a recent heavy bout of homegrown recruitment the powers that be have seen fit to bless us with two new sons of Franklins Gardens. Regardt “Reggie” Dryer and Juandre “Freddy” Kruger do not match the cynical stereotypes of South African sportsmen coming to the UK to ply their trade.

Reggie seems a typically brutish prop forward. Standing 6ft 3 and possessing a huge chest and set of tree trunk arms he hails from a strong rugby pedigree with the Wildeklawer Griquas who are synonymous in South Africa for a side full of pride ability and ambition. While Freddy it would appear is quite a fine bit of poaching. Recognized as one of the young players marked for future international recognition it seems, if my Afrikaans is correct, which it very probably isn’t, that the Saints have something a little special on their hands. Able to play at blindside and at lock forward this would imply that 6ft 6 frame means he will be a very tidy operator at lineout time and tall and strong enough to offer the option of the offload out of the tackle to oncoming support runners.

So will they both go straight into the starting line up this weekend?

Well to be honest I would be surprised. Mark Hopley has done very little wrong to justify him losing his shirt. Indeed it’s his to lose as he has contributed wonderfully to the balance of the back row and in conjunction with the aforementioned Downey. As well as this Barry ‘the Bear’ Stewart still has a lot to offer and deserves one more pop at Regan.

Another interesting area is the battle for the number 9 shirt. Not for years have we seen such a genuine toss up over a position with two candidates playing tremendously well. While Foden offers the chance to break against the elder statesmen of the Bristol pack, Dickson is capable of some truly fizzing passes and is consistent with his precision and box kicking for position. Dickson is quicker of mind currently and more assured of his decisions, but Foden offers the unique X factor which quite frankly petrifies tired forwards gasping for air as they mark the side of a breakdown.

Honestly, flip a coin in the air. I can’t split them

My projected teams for the weekend…

SAINTS

1) Wee Tam

2) Sheildsy

3) The Bear

4) Nacho

5) Lawesy

6) Hoppers

7) Bluey

8) Big Bad Rog

9) Fodes / Dicko

10) Boom-Boom

11) Digger

12) J.D.

13) Mayor

14) Ash

15) Bruce

16) Joey Grey 17) Tiny 18) Reggie 19) Freddy 20) Eastey 21) Fodes / Dicko 22 Los

Bristol

1) Alex Clarke 

2) Mark Regan 

3) Jason Hobson 

4) Roy Winters 

5) Robert Sidoli 

6) Matt Salter 

7) Joe El Abd

8) Dan Ward-Smith 

9) Graeme Beveridge

10) Adrian Jarvis

11) David Lemi

12) Luke Eves

13) Junior Fatialofa

14) Tom Arscott

15) Vunga Lilo 

16) Scott Linklater 17) Darren Crompton 18) Andrew Blowers 19) Redford Pennycook 20) Haydn Thomas 21) Chris Ashwin 22) Mathew Turner

Don’t be surprised if the match is still in doubt with 20 minutes to go. As I said previously this game will go a long way in showing us just how we have come on the journey to becoming a consistent Heineken cup qualifier and potential premiership challengers over the next 3 or 4 years time. The memorial ground is and always will be a tough place to win.

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

Related Articles:

• Tales from the Members Bar Volume 2 no 5
• News: Another Second Opinion
• News: Northampton Saints Solid start in the EDF