Tom Wood burns with desire to reimpose Northampton mastery against Saracens

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/apr/24/tom-wood-northampton-saracens-bitter-rivals

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Only last week Tom Wood was cheering on Saracens during their European Champions Cup semi-final. He counts their sizeable England contingent among his friends and, as a fervent patriot, the flanker felt naturally inclined to support the men in black. This Saturday, however, will be very different. While Northampton’s desire to beat Saracens is always intense, recent wobbles have left the league leaders desperate for a win to boost their title defence.

As anyone who saw them thrashed by Clermont Auvergne and unbuttoned by Exeter Chiefs will know, the champions have not looked remotely as dominant lately as they were before Christmas. “I don’t think we’ve played well for a long time,” Wood says. “Winning papers over a lot of problems and masks a lot of issues. We had a good win away at Bath during the Six Nations but, aside from that, we haven’t played well. There are a number of games where we’ve scraped by but we haven’t fought or been anywhere like our best.”

The not inconsiderable consolation is that Northampton also had similar problems this time last year and still won a ton of silverware, including their momentous extra-time defeat of Saracens in the Premiership final. They also saw off second-placed Saracens on their own Allianz Park artificial surface in November and, perhaps crucially, players such as Courtney Lawes and Salesi Ma’afu are back to reinforce the tight five who creaked in Exeter.

Moreover, their whole pack sound as if they have stared deep into the mirror and pledged it will never happen again. “We did what Dorian West called scrum fitness last week,” Wood says. “It consisted of 50 live scrums on the bounce, with not many numbers to swap in and out. It was very difficult for some of the front-row boys. I’m a back row and I felt it. It’s what we needed.”

An old-school “beasting” may not seem the best way to rekindle a tired team’s energy but a powerful set piece lies at the heart of Saints’ entire self-image. If that power base is eroded, Wood knows they run the risk of being labelled flat-track bullies and of losing the aura they have spent years building up. “It’s something we’ve always prided ourselves on and the way it suffered against Exeter was tough. We’ve spoken a few hard truths and had a good look at ourselves. Teams have smelt blood a little bit. All of a sudden the fear factor is gone and that reputation can dwindle. We’ve got to plug that hole pretty quickly if we really want to be title challengers. You don’t win a Premiership without a strong scrum and set piece.”

It may well be the Six Nations, with players striving to cement World Cup places, has also exacted a toll. Wood, Dylan Hartley and Luther Burrell could never be accused of giving anything less than total commitment but none has quite sustained the consistently top-level form they would have liked. “I don’t think anyone intentionally switches off but the intensity of a [Six Nations] camp like that is very difficult to manage,” says the 28-year-old Wood, who spent his tournament vying with James Haskell for the No6 jersey.

“Some people think you’re away at a five-star holiday resort but the pressure is real. You might win it and be partying or you might have lost and have a lack of confidence. Guys like Calum Clark, who were disappointed not to play with England, have been in the trenches for Saints and perhaps feel the cavalry were arriving to give them a bit of a reprieve. In actual fact, the guys coming back are equally tired, or even more so. It’s very difficult to maintain a peak performance.”

The loss of George North – expected to make another trip to the specialist next week to determine if it is advisable for him to play again this season following a series of well-publicised concussions – has not helped either but the pounding Saracens absorbed against Clermont last week will take some overcoming. The visitors’ resolve will certainly be tested if a fired-up Saints succeed in putting the keen into Milton Keynes before a potential record crowd at stadium:mk.

The two clubs have had a somewhat spiky relationship but, at least from Wood’s perspective, suggestions that the players hate each other are false. Despite finding it painful to watch a European semi-final which Northampton had failed to make, he firmly believes English rugby should not be overly parochial. “I’ve got mates within their setup and I think you lose a bit of credibility if you claim to be close mates in an England format and then forget all of that when you return to your club.

“A lot of people within Northampton and Leicester – and everywhere else – have been reluctant to support one another because the rivalries are too deep. I’ve seen it in some of our players and coaches who, although patriotic, can’t bring themselves to support Saracens. I’m English and I want England to do well. If I wasn’t playing for Northampton, I would support any English club over the French or the Celts. I want them to do well – from a selfish point of view, too, the harder they’re fighting on more fronts, the easier it is for us in the domestic league!”

It will be instructive, either way, to see what happens when Wood, Lawes and Burrell run into Billy Vunipola, Maro Itoje and Brad Barritt, watched by England’s assistant coach Andy Farrell. Chris Ashton is on the bench against his former club with Owen Farrell alongside him but, between them, the clubs have at least 16 players hopeful of making the national side’s 45-strong pre-World Cup training squad.

Northampton will effectively guarantee themselves a home semi-final if they win and their dismissal from Europe has clearly focused minds, Wood’s included. “Things have been simplified somewhat and now it’s about trying to peak for the run-in. You can see light at the end of the tunnel and can also look back to the winter months and the weeks in the trenches. This is what it’s all been for.” Friends reunited? Only after the latest grudge match between England’s two leading clubs has concluded.