Six and out for Saints?
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Before the start of the Six Nations, Northampton Saints were sitting clear at the top of the Aviva Premiership and even had a game in hand on 2nd placed Leicester Tigers. But then, Ben Foden, Chris Ashton, Tom Wood, Dylan Hartley and Courtney Lawes were taken out of the Saints side to join up with the England squad and Joe Ansbro in a similar situation with Scotland.
To say that taking out six of the Saints main players decimated the side was an understatement, especially when considering that Hartley is the captain. Northampton, who had dominated the Aviva Premiership until that point, were suddenly on the ropes, missing leaders and flair players who were leading them to glory. They quickly crashed to home defeats against rivals Saracens and Gloucester and shocking performances away at Bath and Exeter culminated in losses by over twenty points in both.
The heart of the Saints side had been ripped out; visiting teams were now looking forward to playing at Franklins' Gardens, which had previously been a fortress. Northampton supporters were forced to watch on with a bittersweet taste in the mouth as their heroes led England to Six Nations victory, whilst at the same time, their side was sliding rapidly down the table. That taste was no stronger than on the 26th February when England beat France at Twickenham and as Ashton, Foden, Wood and Hartley received the adulation of the home crowd, the Saints quietly slumped to a the aforementioned home defeat to Gloucester.
So all this leaves a particularly important question. Is it advantageous to clubs to bring through home-grown talent, if all that is going to happen is that they are taken away for international duty and their club is left to play important matches with what is effectively a reserve side? Is it fair that all the hard work of a side like Northampton is completely undone just so that the Six Nations can be played mid-season? It would perhaps be much easier for the Saints to not bring through home-grown players but to employ a few South Africans, Australians or New Zealanders to give them a better chance on the domestic front during the Six Nations. But that does not exactly send out a positive message to young English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish players who look to play well for their club in order to gain an international place.
It is an interesting argument and one that everyone will have a different opinion on and it will probably be raised year after year if no solution is found. But, for Northampton Saints, if their season picks up when the international players return, they will surely be left wondering what could have been during those crucial weeks in February and March.
