Saints vs. Chiefs

[Adam_P]

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS v EXETER CHIEFS

15 Ahsee Tuala
14 Tom Collins
13 Piers Francis
12 Luther Burrell
11 Taqele Naiyaravoro
10 Dan Biggar
9 Cobus Reinach

1 Alex Waller (co-capt)
2 Dylan Hartley (co-capt)
3 Paul Hill
4 David Ribbans
5 Courtney Lawes
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Lewis Ludlam
8 Teimana Harrison

Replacements:
16 Reece Marshall
17 Francois van Wyk
18 Ben Franks
19 Api Ratuniyarawa
20 Tom Wood
21 Heinrich Brüssow
22 Alex Mitchell
23 Fraser Dingwall

Not available for selection:
Ken Pisi (shoulder), Nafi Tuitavake (neck), Andy Symons (knee), Harry Mallinder (knee), James Haskell (ankle), James Craig (concussion), Tom Emery (shoulder), and Mikey Haywood (knee).


15 Joe Simmonds
14 Santiago Cordero
13 Ian Whitten
12 Ollie Devoto
11 Tom O’Flaherty
10 Gareth Steenson (capt)
9 Jack Maunder
1 Ben Moon
2 Elvis Taione
3 Harry Williams
4 Mitch Lees
5 Sam Skinner
6 Sean Lonsdale
7 Don Armand
8 Matt Kvesic

16 Luke Cowan-Dickie
17 Alec Hepburn
18 Tomas Francis
19 Jonny Hill
20 Tom Lawday
21 Nic White
22 Henry Slade
23 Phil Dollman

[Adam_P]

Not overly optimistic for a Saints win here, but at least we seem to be on an upward trajectory. We need to focus on our own game and continue to play fast and open, as we are not going to beat Exeter at their physical, set piece orientated game. I think we are going to have a real tough time at the scrum, there's a lot of weight in that Cheifs front 5 compared to Saints. Think we might be looking to hit the breakdowns fast, having 2 replacement flankers on the bench.

Interesting to see Burrell and Francis swapped around - potentially using Francis at 13 to get the ball to the wingers in space after a crash ball from 12. As a big critic of Burrell over the last few seasons, last week he looked very good again so hopefully that continues.

[Mellsblue]

For me, Burrell always looks better at 13 than 12. Which is to say, average v poor.

[fivepointer]

Saints scrum was a real weakness last week. They got away with it against a very poor Worcester, but Exeter may exploit it far more ruthlessly. Would really like to see Paul Hill step up.
Should be a good tussle at lock. I rate the Saints pairing.
Might be a close game, though you would have to say the Exe bench looks the stronger and might be decisive. Hill back is a very nice boost.

[Adam_P]

Late withdrawal from Hartley so Marshall starts with Fish on the bench. Not ideal, although I do like Marshall - tackles hard

[Adam_P]

Great opening 10 mins from Saints with 2 converted tries

[Adam_P]

And since then the game has been killed with scrum after scrum and a penalty try to Exeter

[Scrumhead]

Yep. Exeter in anti-rugby mode again.

[Scrumhead]

Good step, but that defending was awful ...

[Mellsblue]

If Dingwall carries on like this I might get something correct on the prediction thread.

[Mellsblue]

That’s short for me. Dingwall again.

[Mellsblue]

Couldn’t they just turn Healey’s mic off unless he’s doing an analyse piece.

[Adam_P]

I used to like Exeter, but they now remind me of Saracens about 4 seasons ago. As scrumhead said, anti-rugby.

Pretty good atmosphere at the Gardens, most full it's been for a while. We badly need to sort our scrum out, if it wasn't for that Exeter would have nothing from that first half.

[Puja]

How has Maunder gone? As you all know, he is my favourite and my best because of his service, but I was disappointed in it last week for being uncharacteristically ropey. Has he improved?

Puja

[Mellsblue]

Only watched 10 mins either side of halftime........Service is good, bar a terrible - in thought and execution - floated miss pass in the red zone. He was also turned over in the red zone but was forced into a dead end by some lazy running. He does need to find a running/sniping game.

[Mellsblue]

Wtf was Gibson up to there?!?!?

[Mellsblue]

Uh oh. Yellow at least.

[Adam_P]

Can't say I anticipated a 5 point win, so very very happy with that! Thought Exeter were very negative and never really looked threatening outside of set piece

[Mellsblue]

Yep. I had Exeter by 6 on Superbru. Northampton were impressive.

[twitchy]

What a game.

[Adam_P]

If we had a set of decent scrummaging props on the field that would have been a resounding win I think. I want to see Franks at 1 and Painter 3.

[fivepointer]

Saints scrum was absolutely dire. They got bossed at every scrummage. Painful to see Paul Hill given a thorough towelling. That aside, they showed great resilience in defence and took their chances very well.
Exe did little in open play and hardly made a line break. Its an area of their game that does need to develope.
Of the players I thought both 8's were impressive. Harrison is a far better player than when he was capped by England, and Kvesic stood out again.
Maunder was so so. He has good basics but maybe not the confidence or freedom to dictate the play. Reinach is no great technician but is a smart player who reads the game so well.

[Scrumhead]

I used to like Exeter, but they now remind me of Saracens about 4 seasons ago. As scrumhead said, anti-rugby.

Pretty good atmosphere at the Gardens, most full it's been for a while. We badly need to sort our scrum out, if it wasn't for that Exeter would have nothing from that first half.

This. I liked them when they were underdogs and rated Baxter for finding a style that got the best out of what was (at that time) a fairly limited squad.

When they signed the likes of Campagnaro and Cordero, I thought it might be a sign of them evolving beyond that, but they haven’t really done so. As Ben Kay said last night, they’re deadly from 10m or less from the try line, but other than that, their attack is very average.

The tactics last night were the same limited fare with the occasional ‘give it to Cordero moment’.

This is also why I’m not sure Baxter is ready for England. He’s clearly a good motivator who can create an atmosphere the players really thrive in, but the evidence suggests that he’s tactically limited/unambitious.

[twitchy]

Don't worry he isn't taking the england job.

[Mikey Brown]

Hard to disagree. I wonder if there is a particular plan behind signing Hogg and getting the attack functionining in a different way to make use of him, or he will be a bit like Cordero and just making up for a lack of spark elsewhere.