I’ll take victory over entertainment all day

AS a lifelong Northampton Saints supporter, I was intrigued by the media/supporter views on England’s win over France last Sunday…or to be more accurate the manner in which we won.

In a nutshell, there is the “win is a win” view or there is the “England must entertain” view. If I am correct, Saints have played to entertain rather than win as their first priority.

If that is not the case then how does one explain their recent run of defeats? Surely their results speak for themselves?

As David Flatman opined on television last week, teams have worked out how to counter Saints’ philosophy and, more painfully, are simply not frightened of playing them. An accusation you could not direct at England.

Saints have an underwhelming pack that scares nobody, a backline that lacks the skills and precision of when and where to execute with clean, fast ball let alone that which is served up to them most of the time.

There are probably a myriad of reasons as to why but that is not the point of this letter. As that Saints supporter I know which side I would like to see take the field and it is not that which currently lies ominously at the foot of the Premiership table.

So let’s keep a sense of proportion of what getting a result really means please.