Bokke Captain to Warm Saracens Bench?

“International legend seeks post-swansong pension, finds black slimming.” There was a time when these words (or some of them) would pitch fear into the heart of a Saracens fan. Or rather, that was the perception of Saracens’ recruitment policy, the cause of our perennial underachiever tag and evidence of good old Nigel’s soft-heartedness.

As often as not, star turns have been central to what Saracens have achieved. From Michael Lynagh and Phillipe Sella (who gave the club our only taste of silverware before last season) to Tim Horan, who gamely filled in at fly half when we had no one else to turn to, the problem has rarely been with star players, but with inexperienced coaches or journeymen who were mistaken for stars. The problem was never Abdel Benazzi, but rather his younger brother, Khalid.

Fair enough, a star can hardly cover for the lack of a team behind them. Since the appointment of Brendan Venter as Director of Rugby back in 2009, the appointments policy has been spot on (if you care to overlook a certain sequined Welshman). Young talent has grown in stature just as the big signings have gritted their teeth and got down to business.

Precisely because there is now a successful team in place, the arrival of John Smit will be welcome. Liberated from playing out of position, as captain and in front of the South African press, all he will have to do is keep up with Schalk Brits. Maybe Saracens’ generosity really has come to an end.

Charlie, Echo, Foxtrot

The signing of Charlie Hodgson from Sale Sharks says a number of interesting things about Saracens, which I will try to distill as they come off the top of my head.

The first thought that occurs to me is that Saracens have made a very ambitious move. At thirty years old, Hodgson is the oldest player that Brendan Venter, or rather, the current management, has signed (Steve Borthwick, the club captain, was 29 when he signed in January 2008). Thirty is an almost perfect age for a rugby player, when the very best replace their youthful exuberance with a wise head. It is a great age for a fly-half, in particular, who should be able to marshal his team with authority, and with his experience judge the way the game is going.

Brendan Venter has said that Saracens are ‘eighteen months into a five year programme’ and Hodgson, with perhaps three or four years of Premiership rugby left in him will see that programme to its logical conclusion. But in signing a player who may go to the World Cup later this year, and who is in some of the best form of his life, Saracens have effectively announced that their time is now – they expect Premiership or European success in the next year or so, and they are prepared to pay for the best to get it.

Bringing in an experienced fly half says something also about the current options at the club. When Glen Jackson’s departed to referee New Zealand club matches at the end of last year, Sarries had Derrick Hougaard – a big-kicking, hard-tackling and physical South African, and the unproven talent of Alex Goode, who although a regular in his England age-group at ten had been learning all about the Premiership from a vantage-point at fifteen.

Goode has been in blistering form at full back over the last eighteen months – so much so that when he came back from a short injury in mid-December, it was as if he never missed a game. His opportunities to learn the fly half’s trade have been limited, however, by an injury to Chris Wyles, who is the other great full back at the club, and the emergence of Owen Farrell – son of Andy, product of the Saracens Academy and generally thought of as a twelve until making his first start in an away win at Bath that surprised many.

Farrell has had an extended run in the team and has more wins than losses to his name, as well as heaps of adulation. To say that his game management is like that of an experience pro would be pushing the truth, but his kicking from hand has been superb and he has made crucial interventions, like the run that set up Brad Barritt’s match-winner in Paris just before Christmas. Further, his goal-kicking, while often nervy to start with, has shown signs of being good-enough for the Premiership. A slightly greater range wouldn’t hurt (it is probably around thirty-five to forty metres), but he will have to work on his consistency.

Alex Goode has become the man on whom Sarries call when the need a flash of inspiration. Whenever a little bit of space opens up, he seems to be there. When a long kick from the opposition puts Sarries under pressure, he as often as not makes yards and builds a solid foundation. But will his development be sacrificed to that of young Farrell?

Three fly halves ought to be enough competition for any squad, and on balance, it appears likely that Hougaard, seriously injured in October and unlikely to return before May, will be the one to make way. If he did not, Farrell would be unlikely to get the game time he needs to develop as a player (which ought to be at least ten games a season and preferably across all competitions). In that respect, Saracens may be helped out by Hodgson spending time with the national side – probably during the autumn World Cup, and possibly during the Six Nations. A call up for Goode is not beyond the realms of possibility, though 2012 would be more likely than 2011.

I am not a great believe in great players imparting their knowledge to young prospects. It seems to me that Goode and Farrell both have their particular styles largely formed. Nonetheless, some of the burden will be lifted, rotation will come into play and the accumulation of game time will make both youngsters look less rusty. Saracens will also have a player who knows a thing or two about unlocking defences, which seems not to have come easily in the last few weeks (indeed, Venter has specifically referred to the gap left by Glen Jackson’s retirement), and perhaps allow Brad Barritt to develop a more sophisticated game at inside centre.

One further question mark will be Gavin Henson’s future at Saracens. The time he has spend off the pitch and Brendan Venter’s most recent comments appear significant;

“Gavin is only beginning to know what Saracens is about,” said Venter. “We are about intensity and are 18 months into that process, whereas Gavin’s only been here a few weeks. Once he’s settled in, it will emerge whether he has adjusted to this to everyone’s satisfaction, including his own.”

The suggestion is that Henson’s professions of enthusiasm have not quite been mirrorred in his effort and his commitment to the club. That will come before any new deal certainly, and probably before any fireworks on the pitch. Henson has the potential to be one of the greats, and if Saracens can keep him within the bounds of his ego and the salary cap, they will have a fearsome squad for 2011/2012. However, that seems more unlikely by the day.

Leeds 19 Saracens 12

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It now seems just as well that Saracens were on such a roll at the beginning of this season, because if they continue the run of form that has seen them lose five of the last six games they may soon find need to apply to a certain Michael Ashcroft for support in the ‘marginals’. Defeat by Leeds was all the more sickening because the second half was a complete reversal of the first, and the performance worrying because both the scrum and the lineout flailed horribly – leading to a penalty count unfortunately all too-high.

The opening exchanges were not without promise, and there seemed to be a greater commitment to running the ball than we have seen this year. One nice move saw Neil de Kock burst through on a short ball from Brits at the lineout, but he was forced into touch. The first half-hour was confident, if not spell-binding, and it only seemed to matter that Derick Hougaard kept the scoreboard ticking over meticulously.

Leeds were not without adventure, and a break by the wing Fa’afili appeared ominous, but Saracens defence seemed to be equal to it. The momentum began to shift going into the break when Leeds’ formidable front-row began to exert pressure and pick up penalties as a result. Replacement fly-half Joe Ford missed as many as he kicked, meaning Saracens still went in six points up.

After half time the teams traded a couple of early penalties, before the complete disintegration of the Saracens scrum saw them increasingly pinged back. A triple substitution on fifty-three minutes brought little stability (with Rhys Gill penalised in Leeds’ half) before a huge effort from Leeds in front of the Saracens’ posts saw the ball turned over.

Leeds’ confidence grew as Ford began to eat away at the gap and Leigh Hinton counter-attacked. Their swashbuckling forwards finally made room just before the hour for wing Lee Blackett to scoot over from close range, giving them the lead for the first time.

Events began to get farcical when the two hookers were binned for handbags just five minutes later after another collapsed scrum. Saracens were not able to bring on Reynecke and Justin Marshall proved surprisingly underwhelming throwing-in.

The ‘Yorkshire’ fans (a proud race, not as well-know for their even-handedness or respect for authority as for their bitter) delighted at what they saw as an overturning of the referee’s conspiratorial favouritism towards the Londoners in the last quarter, and though not quite satisfied by the man in the middle, they were able to see Ford boot them seven points clear with a Hougaard-esque drop goal.

Saracens attempts to regain the initiative simply faded away in a series of turnovers and knock-ons, not least because of the passionate competitiveness of the Leeds forwards. The visitors had been given a real lesson in both the set-piece and the loose, which was ultimately where the game was won.

Having been a Leeds season ticket holder the last time they were in the premiership – consolation for academic exile from London – it is fair to say that they are a better team than when they were relegated. There is the same old application of the rolling maul, the support of breakthroughs and the determined clearing out of rucks. More accuracy with the boot would have made the margin more like twenty points than the bonus-point saving seven that the game ended with.

There is quality spread more broadly across the pitch, more experience of premiership rugby and today, the opportunity to get off the bottom of the table provided a much stronger motivation to win than in seasons past. Venter’s prediction that they will stay up would not be bad for the league.

But Saracens, with five games of the regular season remaining, seem worried at the prospect of disintegration. Next week’s semi-final could prove cathartic – a chance to rediscover some of the pride and hunger of 2009 and hopefully not a miserable 2010.

Saracens 15 Sale Sharks 13

Sale have learnt a thing or two about cancelled matches in the past week, after the rather ungracious visit of Wasps to Edgeley Park. Saracens didn’t go so far as to give up on the performance, but they did rein it in to the point where very little spectacle was involved. The weather made that inevitable, and in the end Saracens’ kicking game was vindicated by the win.  Though the margin was tight, Saracens might have been another sixteen points in the lead.

From the first, Saracens looked to be the stronger team. After four minutes, a driving maul hurtled through the Sale line like a freight train. So fast, in fact, that it practically collapsed itself. Nonetheless, the penalty went against the defenders and Derick Hougaard got the home side off the mark.

That wasn’t the last of Saracens’ chances, either. From a scrum, a set piece Saracens dominated, Hougaard threw the ball out with such speed that Alex Goode couldn’t collect with the line begging.

Minutes later, Hougaard having missed the opportunity to double the lead, another striking maul crossed the line but the unfortunate mass of bodies left the television match official unable to award the try, much to Carlos Nieto’s disappointment.

The game turned soon after. Given a sniff of the try line, Sale were a different team but the definitive point came when Alex Goode, unalterably solid under the high ball in spite of the rain, went off injured after one of several Sale tackles that just happened to catch players in the air.

Lacking his generalship at the back, Noah Cato was caught embarrassingly out of position as a Charlie Hodgson chip sailed over his head. Ben Cohen was quickly onto the chance, but seemed to hesitate with the tryline beckoning. The ball was quickly re-worked, and despite two ferocious tackles first by Schalk Brits, and then Rhys Gill, Sale were perfectly positioned for Sale number eight Sisa Koyamaibole to twist over the line.

Saracens were good enough to come back with a further two penalties, including one from the restart. But Hodgson also struck, giving Saracens a second half chase.

And chase they did, although the kick always came first. With puddles starting to form even on the Stadio Vicario’s specially planted pitch, the footing became looser and the potential for knock ons greater. Although the effect on the crowd was dispiriting, and while it seems counter intuitive, Saracens’ reliance on kicking meant that they didn’t knock on once in their own half. In the whole of the second half, Sale managed only three points, and that when Saracens had taken the lead.

Saracens showed some moments of brightness. Chris Wyles, who having taken on full back duties was faultless, carved up the Sale defence returning yet another kick. But Cato was again found wanting and static when Cohen ran onto a Hodgson cross-field kick.

The continuing inclement weather made lineouts and scrums more unpredictable but with ten minutes to go Hougaard put Sarries in front and extended the lead. Sale came back, but lacked the power to make inroads.

Brendan Venter, with characteristic enthusiasm for blunt and contrary opinions, declared that Hougaard ‘was outstanding.’ I think he was broadly right, that his fly-half’s kicking controlled the game. More important perhaps was his prediction that as Saracens approach half way in the league unbeaten, they ‘are good enough as a squad’ to win. The evidence is strongly in his favour.