Northampton 10

Just been having a browse through the squads. The first thing that struck me about Northamptons squad is how many quality players they have. They are building a mightily impressive squad. The second thing that struck me, was their lack of a back-up 10. Now that Lamb has moved on to the Saints bitter rivals Leicester, they don't seem to have a second choice 10. If Myler were to get injured, surely they would be pretty f***ed... Unless there is a young maestro coming through or I missed out that they signed another 10?

ahhh just read the name: Glenn Dickson. It all makes sense now.

Stephen Jones in the Sunday Times (yes him again) seemed to think that Fotuali'i may be appearing at 10!!!!!

And Myler is hardly a top class starting 10 either!!

Im amazed they havent really strengthened that position.

And there was me hoping that the second part of the post was Leinster 28.

For some reason Jim has a real blind spot when it comes to outside halves. For me it has been saints weakness over the latest few years. With a pack as dominant as it has been they ought to have done better but Myler and lamb are too inconsistent. Wouldn't be surprised to see priestland there before long though...

Mightily impressive squad? I don't think so. I think Saints have a very strong first XV but an injury or two and they look exposed in a few areas.

As you say no more so than 10.

It's also a small squad.

I expect the international windows to hit them very hard - they'll miss Corbisiero,North,Wood,Lawes,Hartley.Foden.

That's 6 of your first XV gone.

Who will fill in?

beshocked wrote:I expect the international windows to hit them very hard - they'll miss Corbisiero,North,Wood,Lawes,Hartley.Foden.

That's 6 of your first XV gone.

Who will fill in?

Alex Waller, Ken Pisi, Dowson, Craig, Heywood, Diggin.

Evan as an optimistic Saints fan I think you have a fair argument there beshocked!

Although I would love to see an international quality 10 for Saints (and no Myler doesn't count, even after the Argentina tour) I don't think it is a blind spot for JM, more his preference is for the 9 to be the game manager and main decision maker, so he invests greater resources in that position. Not saying that I necessarily agree but that's seems to be how he wants it.

Thank you B91212. I do respect Saints. They have been consistently a top 4 side for the last 4 seasons. I just feel like they too much emphasis on the first XV instead of strength in depth.

Case in point the signing of Corbisiero,North and Fotauli. They strengthen the first XV but don't answer the question of who fills in when injuries inevitably happen.

Perhaps guys like Waller, Craig and Heywood will be revelations for Saints but it's a big gamble.

Plus this frustating emphasis on not signing a proper 10 robshaw4england talks about. Instead of putting the money into signing North they should have looked to get a decent 10.

I feel like the North hype is just silly. A fly half is more key to a winger in my opinion. Just look how often a 10 has to kick/touch the ball compared to a winger.

A fly half controls the game, he kicks points etc,

I feel that Saints wanted North to replace Ashton.

I agree. Touch wood but Saints have done okay with injuries considering the size of squad that JM has gone with over the last 3 years. The problem is that although injuries haven't been too disruptive, out of form and knackered players ended up playing more than they should. Probably one of the main reasons we have been such an almost team over the last few years (HK final, prem final etc).

Interesting point about North being a replacement for Ashton. Probably why they went after him in the first place but I think North may end up in the centers as the season progresses as Saints will want to get him involved as much as possible, even if it is to open up space for the back 3 as he will be very closely marked.

B91212 wrote:Although I would love to see an international quality 10 for Saints (and no Myler doesn't count, even after the Argentina tour) I don't think it is a blind spot for JM, more his preference is for the 9 to be the game manager and main decision maker, so he invests greater resources in that position. Not saying that I necessarily agree but that's seems to be how he wants it.

Hiya boys.  Time to get revved up again.

Just got - slowly - back from the pub with me old man and his criminal mates.  

Saints have a small squad because Saints have strict budgets to meet.  These are the Barwell rules:  "Thou willst be self-supporting."  Saints are always some big injuries away from disaster.  But they train well and generally execute the fundamentals well.  And have been OK on the injury front.

On the Myler issue, I think he has been fine.  Inconsistent, yes. But generally fine.  We did get to a Heineken Cup final and a Premiership final.  How many clubs can say that?  Clearly, we need that extra element to take the next step.  Hopefully North is that missing piece.  Is Stevie the best in the business?  Of course not.  But I do think he takes a bunch of unnecessary stick.  If there are better options available, within the budget limitations, I would love to know who that is.  

Going forwards, there is no doubt that Fotuali'i will get time at 10.  The rediculous experiment with Lamb is over, and I am very glad he is at Leicester (no offense, Leicester mates, but I hope he plays against us).  With Fotuali'i Saints have a player who is pretty creative and can go-forwards.  We will see how he gets on.

Jimmy Wilson too. I heard even Mallinder's son got time pre season but not seen him. But yeah Wilson/Fotuali'i.

Last night was very interesting, I only saw the second half, but Saints had Manoa at 8, with Clarke at 7 and Wood at 6, that is an enormous back row, perfectly suited to the Conditions, with Day and Lawes/Dickinson in at lock, they had 5 tackling machines in the back 5.

Manoa did not look out of place at all, not in Easters class when it came to control, he is possibly the best in the NH at control going backwards at a rate of knots as Quins were yesterday, but made few errors.

The really interesting thing was Luther Burrell at 12, since last year he has learned how to distribute, on a filthy night, his passing was the best on the park as well as his ability to hit the gain line hard and make that important yard or two.

Mercy looked good as well, had both the Quins THs in all sorts of bother, Doran Jones included.

Wilson played at 13 and looked comfortable, Fotuali’i can play 10, Foden can play wing at AP level at least very well

It looks to me that Saints are developing a lot of players with all round skill sets, this may offset their small squad problems.

Well, here we are, 4 matches into the season and Stevie is looking pretty good.  Saints attack looks to have a bit more flash, threat and excitement to it.  They are actually scoring tries.  Stevie is at the heart of it.  

Where is this coming from?  
Well there is that North lad who creates space even without the ball, as he seems to always be marked.  He is clearly a game changer, as we saw (or should have seen) at Gloucester.
There is even faster service from the scrum-half position.  Dickson, who seems so slow when playing for England has always provided very quick ball for Saints.  And he has upped that.  Kahn Fotuali'i provides a very educated Rugby brain and great service, too.
Alex King.  What has he done?  All we can see are results.  And he has delivered.

And Stevie is at the heart of it. Hopefully he can keep it going. And he will have to if Saints are to threaten for the Premiership title again and if they can get out of their group in Europe. Good start.