Saracens
OUCH.
Leading to 2 tries
By jeremy ogaribaldi
June 3 2010
I really thought this report would be easy to write; after all it was the best day to be a Saracen in the last decade. But after a bitter end to a pulsating match on an emotional day I find words escape me. Apologies for the lateness of the report.
The day started brightly enough with a sunny start at 7am; would the weather forecasters be wrong. Within an hour or so the clouds gathered and rain started; great for the garden but not much use for running-flowing rugby. The though of knock-ons and endless scrums were not a pleasant one and marching behind the drum seemed to lose its lustre. By midday the rain started to ease and the train journey was not so worrying. Finally I arrived at Twickenham station and the sight of so many tabards and so few green striped shirts made me feel more at home.
Guinness in hand I joined in the march around in circles; all seemed well with the world. Then I met up with Waldo’s bottle. I was told that Waldo had bottled some chillies and vodka after our last cup final appearance in 1998; it looked like it and tasted like it too. Three or four slugs later I was definitely more in the mood for the match, less in the mood to take notes. Finally, I wandered into the stadium and took up our seats close to the try-line. I think I’m going to buy some better tickets when they come available this year; the chance is fairly reasonable we will make it again.
The match started at a tempo and got faster. An early penalty for Jackson was answered by Flood and then Jacko kicked again for a 6-3 lead and only 10 minutes had gone. Tiggers looked dangerous with ball in hand and although Tuilagi managed to butcher a 3 man overlap by running ahead of his passer it wasn’t long before one managed to count. Hugh Vyyvan managed to bring down Crane when it seemed a try; but lines were cleared. Tiggers were not to be denied; first moving left and then right, Smith took advantage of a hole in the Sarries flat line for an easy run in; Flood added the extras. Sarries were not to be outdone and within 5 minutes were back in front. Tagi moved the ball right on one of his mazy runs and from quick ball Glen ran around Brad before releasing the back-row boys. Burger straightened and then passed to Joubert who scored wide out. Unfortunately, Glen was unable to convert, but it was 11-10.
Shortly afterwards Flood restored the lead 11-13, before Glen hit back for 14-13. Both sides were throwing the ball about and attacking well; a try could come from anywhere and on 28 minutes Youngs showed why he was one of the players of the season. Taking advantage of Dave Pearson’s position at a ruck or Borthwick’s lack of match fitness depending on your point of view, he sped into a hole to run away under the posts for a 20-14 lead to Tiggers. Although Sarries attacked well, and Joubert looked to be clear again at one point; the half finished at the same score.
It was breathtaking stuff and although Leicester looked good for their lead, it wasn’t without hope. Half time beers came and went and the second half started. Leicester seemed to be the team on top for the first few minutes and an ominous penalty at a scrum gave Flood an easy chance to extend the lead to 23-14. The hammer blow was not delivered as although an overlap was worked on the left, the pass again went behind Tuilagi into touch. Flood missed a penalty and all of a sudden we looked in trouble. Then from a breakaway, pretty similar in fact to the first try, Saull burst through the line before releasing Joubert again. This time he scored close enough to the posts for 23-21.
Leicester were far from daunted and started to squeeze the life out of Sarries in the tight. Borthwick had only just lasted into the second half and his scrummaging prowess was missed as Botha and Gill struggled when they came on. Flood thankfully missed another penalty, but was successful with a third as Tiggers extended to 26-21. Enter the Cavalry; not for the first time this season in the shape of Justin Marshall. Upping the pace of the game, he started to prod one way and another and the heavier Leicester pack started to show the effects of the game being played at such pace. At each attacking breakdown, less and less defenders were competing for the ball, giving Marshall more options and time.
With the lack of defenders to slow the ball legitimately, the ringcraft of the more experienced side came into its own. Most of the time it went unpunished, but as less and less bodies were there, the tricks were exposed. Pearson awarded 3 penalties, although at the end almost every breakdown could have been another penalty kick. Glen slotted an early one over for 26-24, but was short with an effort from close to halfway. Where was HooHaa when we needed him. Finally with just 4 minutes on the clock, patience was rewarded with a kickable penalty; Glen took the lead at 27-26.
In the stands Sarries fans were rampant; those in green seemed to see the writing on the wall as their men were tiring and the likelihood was that Sarries would drive their way upfield from the restart. I felt confident at this point as we had done this many times this season; taken the ball in and ground out the time, playing inside the other 22 if needs be. Not to be; the old Sarries returned and gave the ball away. Leicester gathered the restart and now with a sniff of victory their strength returned. A high tackle gave them a penalty advantage, but they didn’t need it as Hipkiss found himself in space and ran in easily.
Tiggers gathered their own restart and proceeded to grind down the clock; but frantic attacking at the breakdown caused an isolation and a penalty for hanging on. Jacko kicked wonderfully to the corner and with 3 seconds on the clock Brits threw in to the last play. Parling threw caution to the winds and took a chance of an interception. If he had missed, the defending line would probably have conceded a try, being unprepared for the certain drive. Fortune was with the brave and he hung on; the ball was kicked into the stand and the final score was 33-27.
Initially I was crestfallen and despondent in defeat. But time is a great healer and I can now look back on the positives for next season. Both here and at Saints, we were staring defeat in the face with 15 minutes to go; each time we gathered ourselves together and re-took the lead. Although I’m not sure Nils has the same drive that Marshall does to make it happen. I’m looking at the ins and outs at the end of the season and I really don’t think anyone else has recruited as well as us; if we can come so close then I believe next year will be even better
And a message to Waldo; if you are going to pickle some more chilli vodka for our next final then please make sure you drink it before I arrive
Scorers: Leicester: Tries: Smith 13, Youngs 28, Hipkiss 77 Cons: Flood (3)
Pens: Flood (4)
Saracens: Tries: Joubert 18, 49 Con: Jackson Pens: Jackson (5)
Referee: D Pearson (RFU)
Attendance: 81,600
Leicester: G Murphy (capt); S Hamilton, M Smith (D Hipkiss 68min), A Allen, A Tuilagi (J Staunton 74min); T Flood, B Youngs; M Ayerza (B Stankovich 51min), G Chuter, M Castrogiovanni (D Cole 50min), L Deacon, G Parling, T Croft, L Moody (C Newby 68min), J Crane.
Saracens: A Goode; M Tagicakibau (K Ratuvou 60min), A Powell, B Barritt, C Wyles; G Jackson, N De Kock (J Marshall 65min); M Aguero (R Gill 50min), S Brits, P Du Plessis, S Borthwick (M Botha 45min), H Vyvyan, J Burger, A Saull (J Melck 65min), E Joubert (capt).
Digg
Delicious
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon03/06/2010 23:08
To you and all the rest of the peeps that have kept this site ALIVE- Thanks in 09-10!
We pray you all write in 10-11.
Please don't underestimate how brilliant you all are.
To everyone else - please feel free to contribute over the summer.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010:07:05:10:21:51 by TonyTaff.
Thanks to Kat and all other mods for your enthusiasm throughout the season!
Great report by the way, but I disagree about time being a good healer
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:06:04:08:27:40 by Neville.
We had a penchant for "Interesting Drinks" on away trips and Statler and I just happend to be in the drinks section of an airport duty free on a European away trip several years back when we hit upon the idea of putting something aside for when we got to a final.
Suffice to say we have had the Vodka a very ,very long time ! The chilli's were very red when they started off , the theory being that the more colour they lose the more "hotness" is tranferred to the liquor.
I think it's safe to say there was zero colour in the chillis ! Like a fine wine I nurtured the spirit and turned the bottle every so often (well actually whenever I needed to get to the cupboard above the fridge which is where it lived ! )
Already preparing for the next final ......chilli Absinthe anyone ?
PS - Woodys Noilly Pratt was pretty "interesting" too !
Keep on "forgetting" to do this, as it could get messier than normal. I have a nice bottle of Orzechowka somewhere, a nut cordial from Poland that hits at a moderately impressive 45%. I thought about a little mix with some of the stock Pochin left and some Polish spirit to give it a kick.
Fruit based drinkks for the ladies could be provided.
It is all relative
Just as well you left it a while as I could not have faced the retelling till now!
Great day/ match/ season....so so near!!!!!!!!!!!
Great report, I was wrong in thinking Tiggers would grind out the whole game, they helped to make a great (but painful) day!
Thanks to mods for all their work & I will continue to post my usual rubbish over the summer....
I took my flask of chilli vodka to Wembley, for the Quins game. Seemed like a good idea at the time - soon became apparent that this hadn't been my finest move. Waldo's gullet is definitely where the stuff belongs!
It's a long time since Sports network paid anything!
You didn't seem too steady on those legs of yours ...... you were certainly ignoring Waldo's comments at you
It's a long time since Sports network paid anything!
More Saracens headlines
- END OF SEASON POLL AT LAST
- PWR Semi Final and Final 2025-26 Report
- Saracens Women v Ealing Trailfinders PWR Final Report
- Saracens Women v Ealing Trailfinders PWR Final Preview
- MARK McCALL, AN APPRECIATION
- Saracens Women v Exeter Chiefs Women PWR Semi-Final Report
- Exeter Chiefs v Saracens Premiership Report
- EXETER v SARACENS: please post match related content here
- SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST