The Great, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Saracens 19 Gloucester 16

How fitting it was that on the day the new regime sought to mark so many novelties, they dedicated today the first ever Heritage Day.  Griffiths and co were hoping for new fans and a continuation of Saracens’ new winning habit, while laying on a new Sarries Town – something like a village fete with camel rodeo.  Perhaps they were hoping to merge the new with Sarries’ illustrious past – inducting twelve new names into the Hall of Fame at half time, but the adverse effect was to bring some of Saracens’ more recent demons to the fore.

Where do you find a Bucking Bronco in the shape of a camel anyway?

The first two minutes accurately set the tone for most of the day.  After fielding the restart, the ball went to Jackson, who punted downfield but without finding touch.  Nicky Robinson, Gloucester’s highly qualified fly-half swivelled to exploit a gap on Sarries’ right-wing and kicked neatly into the corner.  A solid lineout so far this season prepared few people for the nightmare opener today.  Ongaro threw slightly short, the ball was stolen and knocked down into the hands of Gloucester’s scrum-half Rory Lawson, who scythed through the lineout and dived over in spite of desperate tackles.  Robinson converted.

Sarries did not lack possession in the first half, but built few solid phases of play, preferring to kick on most occasions.  There were moments – Gloucester’s came when centres Mike Tindall and Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu made half breaks in the Saracens half.  The latter was almost clear in the 22, but was pulled down by Brad Barrit.  Saracens’ efforts were not unrewarded – one saw a penalty and the sin-binning of Lawson for killing the ball in the 22 – but they were few and far between.  Instead, the extent of Saracens’ ambition seemed to be to test Vanikolo under the high-ball.  Gloucester were similarly risk-averse and the most exciting events of the half were the three penalties Jackson kicked to Gloucester’s two.

There were worries too.  Steve Borthwick went off after only thirteen minutes, and while many will be concerned about his ribcage, it was an eye-injury apparently inflicted by Oliver Azam that curtailed his game.  Hugh Vyvyan was a sufficiently capable replacement, but the lineout was consistently inconsistent – with Ongaro (making his first start of the season) the weak link.  Saracens were not only unimaginative in choosing to kick so regularly, but executed their plan poorly and derived few rewards.  Alex Goode, it must be said, was particularly wayward with the boot.

“Schalk Brits, rugby player”

The second half started well for Saracens, still at an advantage from Lawson’s sin-binning.  After moving the ball left and right several times, through forwards and backs, Jackson dropped back to knock over a drop goal, making up for an earlier long-range miss.

Not long after, Gloucester came back with their own three-pointer.  Thereafter, the game reached its nadir.  Long, drawn out kicking duels – or rather, scraps – brought forth slow handclaps from those who still had the will to hope for better.  The lineout was still a problem, which led head coach Mark McCall (Brendan Venter is in South Africa, apparently) to replace the entire front row on fifty minutes.

The difference was immediate and palpable.  Given clean lineout ball by Schalk Brits’ rocket-propelled throw-ins, Saracens were a different prospect in attack.  In between the ten minutes of aimless kicking that roused the South Stand at least, Sarries’s forwards found their momentum and were able to breach the otherwise resolute Gloucester defence when, after several phases, van Heerden drove forward and offloaded for the irrepressible Brits to dive over and win the lead.

Indeed, Brits was a standout performer in a match short on individual flair, holding off several defenders when isolated, but the introduction of Justin Marshall also deserved mention.  Marshall is proving to be something of a supersub, providing crisp ball, defending it in the tackle and motivating the pack.  The try owed a good deal to his speed and efficiency.

“We put a huge amount in but didn’t get a huge amount out of it.” Bryan Redpath

Sarries had snatched victory, but still had fifteen minutes to snatch back defeat, much as their ‘heritage’ and one-in-nine record against Gloucester suggested they might.  The Cherry and Whites had already had their best chance before Saracens had gone ahead.  Quick ball had given them a three-on-one and a try looked certain, only for Goode to cover half the width of the pitch and make the tackle – a terrific one at that.

Several times it appeared that Gloucester might do it, but their uninspiring kicking game was apparently hiding no other form of firepower.  Their famous three-quarters of Voyce, Simpson-Daniel and Vanikolo was singularly ill-served by an atypically lacklustre forwards display.  Nonetheless, there was time enough for a nerve-wracking drop goal attempt, which Robinson missed.  Sarries’ newfound defensive resilience stood up to further scrutiny, with some of Richard Haughton’s man-and-ball tackles notable for their parity with other, bigger hitters.  Gloucester couldn’t do enough to secure their own possession, the ball was turned over and Jackson kicked the ball into touch to put Saracens top of the table.  Oh what a feeling!

The crowd of just under eight thousand will not impress the management, however philosophical Griffiths might be.  The CEO, who made an appearance at Sarries Town before the game said that “Rome was not built in one day and Watford will not be built in a fortnight.”  He is right, but it will become a question of what Saracens can rely on over the course of the season, especially when the weather begins to effect the sense of occasion.  On the rugby side, success will surely help, but as Head Coach Mark McCall admitted, “We are under no illusions that we are playing the best rugby in the league but this is a brand new squad and we are building from the bottom.”  In the mean time, the distinctly novel feeling of being top of the Guinness Premiership might be more attractive to long-suffering supporters than Saracens’ recent heritage.  Then again, perhaps Michael Lynagh could stick around and make himself useful.

A Sensational Tackle

The Try

Victory

Man of the half-hour

Saracens @ Wembley

Saracens 19   Northampton Saints 16

For days the anticipation for this day had been building, far surpassing and more akin to a cup final.  It was, after all, Wembley.  But Saracens’ victory, welcome though it was, didn’t seem as satisfying as it might have been if it had meant lifting a cup.  

In truth, there were two further demands made on Sarries.  The first was the commercial imperative – the very reason for renting out Wembley for a normal league match.  Saracens are one of the ten clubs in this years Guinness Premiership who made a loss last year (Gloucester and Northampton were the luckier ones, and the former are in less rude health this year), and the explicit aim was to attract a more diverse crowd to rugby and increase the regular gate at Vicarage Road.  Whether that succeeds only time will tell.  The turnout, just under 45,000 was good, although there were an awful lot of green shirts and not all could have been South African ones.

Secondly and less explicitly, Wembley offered a second opportunity after last week’s Twickenham match to display the effects of the Venter revolution.  Had Sarries gelled as a team?  Were they capable of dominating a game and could they play attractive rugby?  For both these reasons, as well as sheer rugby ambition, a win was crucial, and an attractive one preferable.

By this strict standard, the performance was disappointing.  But Saracens weren’t bad.  Anyone who has seen much South African rugby over the summer will be familiar with the game that Saracens have imported this year.  Kick the ball, set the forwards on the receiver and take as many points with the boot as possible before letting the opposition back into the game to ensure a tense finish, dependent on resolute defence.  It was the exact style in which South Africa claimed the Tri-Nations over New Zealand yesterday morning, and Saracens saw off Northampton in the afternoon.

The lineout was again excellent, banishing memories of past seasons, and the scrum a vast improvement on last week, despite no changes in personnel.  Indeed, the Venter rotation system has yet to kick in.  Glen Jackson was once more on form with the boot – fortunately, for the game only saw a try apiece.  

If Saracens expect to become title contenders, they had better change their tactics, however.  If the backs outside Jackson looked fairly comfortable with his distribution, it was still a rare sight to see them in full flow.  Indeed, even the forwards were only allowed a few phases before the ball was kicked downfield, often to little result.  Part of the reason was that Jackson’s kicking from hand was poor, as was Alex Goode’s when he switched to centre for Kameli Ratavou’s blood injury, and Derick Hougaard when he replaced Jackson late in the game.  Such tactics ensure that contact is avoided, and puts pressure on the opposition to perform within their half of the pitch, but can hardly provide the platform to command the game from.  In rugby, possession is at least 3/4 of the victory.

The difference between Saracens and Northampton was not only the way the front row carried the ball or the incisiveness of their three-quarters, but most importantly the confidence with which Shane Geraghty ran the game.  He looks an excellent acquisition, intelligently and determinedly bringing both backs and forwards into the game, holding his pass to allow centre Jon Clarke to dive over for his side’s try.  It was only an unnecessarily high error-count that denied Saints.  Indeed, in the last minute they were denied a try by the video referee when the ball was shown to have been lost in a ruck on the Saracens line.

Saracens showed glimpses, but nothing more, as if it were only a brief advertisement for their next home game.  Their try came early in the second half when Noah Cato (who has a lovely singing voice in the all new club song), poked the ball out of the grasp of Saint’s captain Dylan Hartley, out on the wing on the Saracens 22, picked up and ran the length of the field.  It was a dubious try, but one that will no doubt make it onto many a highlights package.  Cato, it might be said, was outstanding in defence as well as attack, wrapping up his man to prevent an overlap in one instance and seeming hungry throughout.  Perhaps he scents an England call, although that will be some jump.

Northampton dominated the second half from their try, scored soon after Cato’s but the game entered its decisive phase twelve minutes from time when referee Andrew Small sent Saracens hooker Schalk Brits to the bin (in the second successive game) for a ‘deliberate obstruction’.  Offside as he might have been, Brits was jogging back, and Lee Dickson earned the ire of Brendan Venter for so blatantly seeking the penalty.

Surprisingly perhaps, Northamton struggled to translate their possession into points, although they nearly did with that tense last recall to the television match official - so much drama it could have been scripted thus.  Nevertheless, Saracens’ pressure told in turnovers and botched set-pieces so that when a final Saints attack was dragged into touch, the free flags were raised and an embarrassment on Saracens’ Wembley debut was avoided.

Man of the Match: The official verdict was Ernst Joubert, and the back row were all very deserving given the defensive effort.  Personally, however, I thought Steve Borthwick was everywhere.  Both his defensive effort, and his leadership of the lineout determined that Sarries would take another four points to go second in the Guinness Premiership.

Club Wembley

In a fortunate turn of events, our cheap season tickets translated into seats in Club Wembley, with (cushioned) seats on the half-way line opposite the tunnel.  And I’m a pie in the stands kind of guy, but the main concourse – which looks mostly like an airport lounge – had rows of Xbox 360s, which meant getting there early was justified.

The Double Header

Sarries stutter and Quins pay the penalty, again (groan).

 Twickenham was resplendent today for the gala opening of the 2009/2010 season.  Perhaps there was a sense of rebirth in the air – so many changes, but a few big issues not quite resolved so tinged with worry – how will it turn out?  Well, we had two games I wouldn’t chose to introduce someone to the game with, but for those of us with rugby in our blood, it was sweet to have it back.

 

Sarrie the Camel and I share a Guinness and some pre-match banter

 

 

Saracens 18 London Irish 14

Clinical is not usually a word you associate with Saracens and yet, in twenty first half minutes, they had two real chances and went in leading 18-3.  Frustrating, nervy and perhaps even complacent are more to the point, and it was not a little hard to bear seeing these false friends take their seats after the interval to watch a half almost completely dominated by Irish, who came close to snatching victory.  Indeed, but for new arrival Ryan Lamb’s lost kicking boots, they would have run out comfortable winners.

Irish always had a hold on the game through their dominance of the scrum.  Saracens conceded too much possession and too many points from their inability to match their opponents, although the solidity of their lineout was encouraging.  However, with England international Nick Kennedy, Irish’s lineout ball was equally secure.  Moreover, their forwards chased the ball with real hunger, keeping possession and turning it over on occasion.

 

 

Hodgson breaks through

 

If Irish had a solid base on which to build, they proved unable to live up to the billing as last year’s most attractive team.  While Paul Hodgson at scrum half was lively, the extent of their backs’ strategy was to pass the ball as quickly as possible to the renowned Delon Armitage, who really offered nothing above and beyond the fallback plan of hoofing it up in the air, except for the distance he could achieve and was sin-binned for reacting angrily to a late tackle. 

 

This happened a lot

Irish seem to have suffered from the loss of Mike Catt and Shane Geraghty, their fly halves from last season, when they passed the ball with confidence and precision (partly thanks to the innovative coaching method of training blindfolded).  Lamb failed to impose himself and missed at least 11 points with the boot – unforgivable in such a close game.

Saracens, all-considered, did well to win a game where they were predominantly on the back-foot.  It was an atypical performance for a side nominally with home advantage.  However, there were two moments of magic in the first half, both the result of quick thinking from fly half Glen Jackson.  First, Saracens were awarded a penalty in the Irish 22.  A kick at goal appeared inevitable, and indeed the touch-judges were making their way behind the posts when Jackson tapped and went from 15 metres, jinking inside the defender on his way to the line.  Within ten minutes Saracens were again in striking distance when, fed by the irrepressible Neil de Kock, Jackson kicked cross-field, for Andy Saull to dive on.

 

Jackson was outstanding today

Irish came back after the half-time pep-talk and Gary Stowers completed a forwards-move to give them something to fight for.  But though they weren’t short of chances, Saracens defended solidly (if not brilliantly) and as more of Lamb’s kicks went astray, Irish’s luck ran out.  Even with Saracen No. 8 Ernst Joubert in the bin for the penultimate ten minutes, their incisiveness was limited.

 

Irish's score came through their dominance in the scrum

Man of the Match: Although a sentimental, and in one sense fair choice would be Saracens’ Glen Jackson, when Peter Richards came on at outside-centre, Irish were a different prospect.  Richards is a player who wants the ball at every opportunity and almost always takes it forward.  Irish would be wise to start him – he could make their season.

 

Blatantly Biased Bit About Saracens

In the first game of any campaign, a good result is preferable to a good performance.  But unlike the rusty Irish, Sarries were relatively on their game, at least in the first half, and showed spirit in the second.  That spirit will have to be backed with a bit more control if Saracens are to march up the table this season.  Our weakness in the scrum was a worrying development, suggesting that the loss of Cobus Visagie was the decisive event of last summer.  We have yet to see the ball skills of Schalk Brits, and his sin-binning was not especially helpful, although par-for-the-course for a hooker (the position most likely to be prefixed by‘abrasive’).  The backs were practically faultless, with Wyles in particular showing some distinction, but some of Jackson’s kicking from hand was uninspired.

 

Maurice Botha, He-Man and apparently useful acquisition (or maybe just noticeable)

On another note, despite being played twenty-odd times, the new Saracens ‘anthem’ (which must be a first for Right Said Fred) is good, but three pints of Guinness does that to you.  Stand Up!

http://www.saracens.com/news/view.php?Id=5488

 

Wasps 25 Harlequins 14

Harlequins were always going to be playing with a heavy weight on their back.  We can only imagine how disruptive having their coaching staff and club name dragged through the (well-deserved) mud must have been.  It would be a fairly reasonable thing to respect their character to come out fighting in a difficult opening game, or at least it would be, if it hadn’t meant playing with 14 men for 78 minutes.  When second-row George Robson had a Zidane-esque moment of madness at some unknown provocation (and headbutted Joe Simpson, in plain English), he let his already way down teammates down even further, although the fact that half of them were throwing punches probably didn’t help his appeal.  And much as it spoilt a potentially exciting game, you really can only ask the referees to enforce the rules of the game (strictly too, when necessary – i.e. now more than ever).

For all its potential, there really were some moments of positive excitement about this game.  Quins were far from dull – in fact, they were the brighter team attacking, and scored first when British Lion Ugo Monye raced in after David Strettle soared down the wing, drew the defenders and slipped the ball inside to his full back.  Their disadvantage was most evident in the two tries Danny Cipriani worked for the otherwise sloppy Tom Varndell. 

 

Varndell scores from Cirpriani's cross-field kick

For the first, the Boy Wonder took the ball from a scrum, ran across the blind side defence and put the winger in a one-on-one from a few metres.  5-5.  Minutes later, however, Quins were again in front when the brilliant Danny Care chipped the ball across the field for Gonzalo Comacho to collect in the goal area.  Varndell scored a second after Wasps stole lineout ball and Kelly Brook’s ex-boyfriend kicked across field (yes, it’s quite a popular move now).  Quins’ line was too stretched, and they went in at half time a point down – really rather respectable but a poor return on their effort.

The second half was a protracted affair – slow set-pieces and tedious kicking.  Wasps’ advantage was translated into an ultimately comfortable margin when the referee awarded them a generous but probably justifiable penalty try in the last five minutes.  On balance, it looks like Quins will be the better team when they recover from their current woes – they certainly have the motivation and as crucially, the players.  What they may lack is the nous of Dean Richards, a man who dragged them up the mountain (from Division One to last year’s play-offs) but now threatens to pull them back down.  Wasps on the other hand were poor in defence – once their strongest area.  Too many gaps opened up, and Serge Betsen can’t fill them all, although he does cover Cipriani at set-pieces.  The Future-of-English-Rugby was good today, but he still lacks awareness of some of the opportunities Wasps created.  Moreover, by not taking his team’s place kicks, he suggests that his ankle is still not fully healed.

 

In the absence of Shaw and Worsely Betsen will be key to Wasps' sturdiness

I saw nothing that made me reconsider my fairly low expectations of Wasps this year – they will miss Flutey, and though Shaw and Worsely will tighten them up they don’t look like the commanding outfit they were in the Dallaglio-era.  However, I don’t doubt that with Simpson, Cipriani and Sackey they will score some great tries.

 

He's overrated, but that doesn't mean he's not good

Man of the Match: Monye and Strettle both looked fit and alert, Cips was alright (I suppose) and Betsen was hard to miss, stalking the field in a fluorescent scrum-cap.  But Harlequins’ efforts were predicated on good, quick delivery.  Danny Care quietly, but noticeably was up to it.

 

The Season So Far

Of course, it’s early days, but there were a few interesting indicators today.  The first concern is discipline.  The national team were beholden to their penalty-count last year, and English rugby looks no cleaner this season.  There were three sin-binnings and a sending-off, a penalty-try and countless scrums (often reset) and penalties today (plus a yellow-card yesterday in a game where all the points came from nine penalties).  Whether the refereeing of the game is getting stricter, or players are becoming more cynical, there is no positive spin to be put on it.

Secondly, the attractiveness of English rugby is still in decline.  There were moments today – maybe not sublime, but pleasing to the eye.  However, the endless, aimless kicking that marred both games today is to rugby what the Somme was to the art of generalship.  Everyone wants to see a running game, which isn’t going to happen for the same reasons that not every football team plays like Arsenal (and Arsenal haven’t won anything in years).  But if you have to play a pressure game, at least kick well.  It’s easier to be negative when you’ve seen two scrappy games.  It was good not to have to see uncontested scrums, but too many end up in penalties or free kicks anyway.

Still, Saracens second in the table is something that I think we can take forward.

 

Tri-Nations

Rather surprisingly, Australia have put an end to South Africa’s unbeaten run in the Southern Hemisphere competition.  Actually, Australia’s record against the Boks in Australia is very good, but seeing the South Africans take their foot off the pedal before the competition is completely sealed is an unusual sign of complacency and to be honest, an indictment of coach Pieter de Villiers.

 If You’ve Read This Far

You must be a real fan, of something.  Anyway, I enjoyed this article about putting values back into the game, which is not a kneejerk reaction to ‘bloodgate’ but apparently a pretty serious attempt to cut down of increasing incidences of disrespectful behaviour towards referees and sportsmanship.

 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby_union/article6822827.ece

 We’re on our Way to Wembley Now!

 

Rugby 09/10

What to look out for in the new rugby season, and why it’s worth the bother.

It’s the best of times and it’s the worst of times.  There’s an intro loaded with cliché value, but it really has been true of this summer.  The engrossing heroics of the British and Irish Lions in South Africa gave us some of the best rugby, and best drama since at least the 2007, if not 2003 World Cups.  Yet, the sport has been tainted by disciplinary after disciplinary. 

Sergio Parisse, Alan Quinlan, Schalk Berger – what do they all have in common?  They’re all dynamic loose forwards, talismanic to their clubs and countries.  Wrong, they have all been cited for eye-gouging, and been given disgracefully short suspensions.  Bath have lost five players because of illegal substance use and now everyone in England knows at least one rugby club – Harlequins, and at least one joke about fake blood.

In this article I want to escape the confines of the team-by-team prediction format.  It will be done by experts in every major newspaper and anyway, I couldn’t claim objectivity!  What I will do is hazard a guess at what this season might be remembered for, if at all.

Cheating

One incident from last season has already taken over this one.  When Tom Williams went off with a ‘blood injury’ in Harlequin’s Heineken Cup Semi-Final, everyone knew that he’d cheated.  Rugby is a long way behind WWE in realism, and that really is saying something.  Quins have been lucky to escape sporting sanction this year – they may have been fined nearly £300,000 and had Tom Williams banned for four months, but they have not been kicked out of European competition, nor been docked points (yet), nor lost many players in the mean time.  Admittedly, Dean Richards leaves a big gap, but his credibility is now in such shreds that far from being the England heir-apparent, it is unclear that he will ever coach top-class rugby again, even after his three-year ban expires.  Anyway, to have played on with him would have been to shame Quins even more, and it is the moral burden that most journalists suspect will strangle their season and will hopefully deter others from similar crimes.

Inside of the game, more attention will be paid to another form of dodgy substitutions.  This year, the Guinness Premiership has imported from France the requirement that each team name a full front-row on its bench.  This is to prevent the practice of two props going off injured and forcing uncontested scrums, which are as they sound.  Naturally, clubs have brought in props, but it will be interesting to see whether this change makes a difference to the quality of scrums.  Also, I have to say it; Wasps, you did this so many times.

Big Venues

On Friday, at a windswept Edgeley Park just outside of Manchester, the new Guinness Premiership season begins.  Sale take on Leicester, a grudge match stoked by big ambitions.  It will be a back to basics affair, but a much needed one after a summer of embarrassment.  For the rest of the season, however, rugby’s profile will grow, a fact reflected in the venues.  The next day, 50,000 fans will pack Twickenham, and the place will probably sell-out for the Final in Spring.  Saracens will play at Wembley – possibly twice, and Leicester will almost certainly make use of the Walkers Stadium again, if repayments on their recent development at Welford Road don’t preclude it.  Rugby’s profile is still growing, and so will the crowds, hopefully.

Hands-On Rugby

This is something that I can’t swear by, but I do think that you will see more attractive rugby this year than in previous ones.  The likes of London Irish have been building an attractive attacking brand for a few years and last year’s second-placed finish will embolden them.  Leicester also found that flair was a route to success through Sam Vesty, who takes the ball forward in a manner that the more considered Toby Flood probably wouldn’t.  The return of Ben Cohen, to the Sale of Charlie Hodgson also bodes well for some good tries – despite disappearing off the radar, he hasn’t quite lost his talent.  Dare I say it, Saracens can even play a bit and Wasps’ Danny Cipriani may be the most overrated player in the game (seriously, he has barely any positional awareness), but he’s still alright.

On the other hand, Sale have lost Chabal, an icon of the English game, and Luke McAlister.  Worcester have brought in Willie Walker, not noted as a running fly-half.  Leeds probably won’t offer much in the way of rugby, nor in results, I’m sorry to say.  I predict Bath will struggle this year, not only because of the disruption caused by events at the end of last season, but because in the aggressive Butch James and the shaky Ryan Davies, they still don’t have a fly-half who can set their backs flowing.  Only time will tell what the return of Olly Barkley means to that part of the West Country, while in the part he is leaving, Gloucester have replaced Ryan Lamb, who never lived up to his promise, with Carlos Spencer, who hardly promises anything any more.

If all of this is about fly-halves more than anything else (apologies to the fat bastards), it’s because (a) they matter, and (b) we are now entering the post-Jonny Wilkinson age.  Now setting the French Top 14 alight, probably as a result of playing with someone of Kris Chesney’s quality, Wilkinson will only be playing rugby in England during the international window.  No change there, then.

The Resurgence of the Home Nations?

This year’s Six Nations was disappointing for those who remember it.  Ireland got the Grand Slam, but England, Wales and France all misfired.  This year should see more stability for the first two after a morale boosting Lions tour.  The Welsh were arguably the stars of the tour, especially Jamie Roberts but their nominal captain, Ryan Jones will have to rebuild his career after being left out, starting with the Ospreys.  If England can solve their disciplinary problems, i.e. Phil Vickery, they have the chance to build a really good team.

First, however, they have to play these guys;

The Tri-Nations Champions-Elect 

The Top Four

Leicester

Irish

Northampton

Saracens

A Final Note

One thing I don’t want to happen this season is the touted-retirement of Gavin Henson.  Henson was a player of some potential and is still young, so if his ankle doesn’t give out, I’m sure he has more to give.  In Jamie Roberts, he has a challenger to bring out the best in him.  If it does happen, you can be sure to hear from me.

Enjoy the rugby!