Saracens
Saracens vs. Harlequins – Match Preview
By saracens4life
May 5 2011
The Men in Black head down to the Twickenham Stoop this Saturday, in the final round of the Premiership regular season, looking to extend the club’s best winning streak since the 1980s. Quins though, spurred on by the uncertainty over Heineken Cup qualification and buoyed by a fabulous semi-final win at Thomond Park last weekend, will provide a stern test at a ground where they have lost just twice this season. All in all there is a cracking encounter in store…
Let us start with our opponents this weekend; a hitherto indifferent season for Quins, showing attacking promise on home soil but inconsistency on their travels, has in recent weeks been given a big lift with very strong away performances against Leeds and Munster. They easily came through what was seen as a potential banana-skin game against Neil Back’s desperate Leeds side, scoring some classy tries in the process, and six days later they entered the European bear-pit that was Thomond Park and played with neither fear of their opposition nor respect for their previous achievements. They put width on the ball with impressive tempo and comfort, giving the likes of Gonzalo Camacho, Ugo Monye and George Lowe space to display their pace and agility, and they dominated the collisions all day long, with the likes of Ollie Kohn and Chris Robshaw counter-rucking with great effect and big Samoan Maurie Fa’asavalu making good ground when carrying the ball. It was not only a fantastic performance which may help to create some momentum going into Saturday’s clash, but there are also ramifications in terms of their quest for Heineken Cup qualification. If they win the Amlin Final against Stade Français, and I would expect them to, then they would ensure Heineken rugby next season, irrespective of their position in the league.
However, whilst that in theory might give them reason to focus on the Stade game rather than the match against us this Saturday, I can’t imagine Director of Rugby Conor O’Shea will show it in his team selection, as Quins look to carry that all-important momentum through to the final. The first-choice front row includes two young, English emerging talents who have burst onto the scene from relative anonymity this season – Joe Marler and Joe Gray – and a 22st Samoan tighthead, James Johnston, brother of our beloved Cencus. Marler and Gray are both fine carriers, with the latter relying more on intelligent running angles and the big loosehead more comfortable running into and over defenders – both bring speed and dynamism to their ball carrying as well as work rate in defence. Johnston does not seem to be blessed with the precocious and fearless ability of his brother to carry the ball in open spaces, selling outrageous dummies and counter-attacking from his own goal-line, but he is sure to bring some level of stability to the tight exchanges. That said, this Quins trio looked far from convincing at scrum time against a Munster pack renowned for their ineptitude in this area.
Behind them are two players who have come on leaps and bounds this season – literally, in the case of George Robson, whose athleticism and speed off the ground have become the foundation stone of the Quins lineout. Robson, previously best known for his head-butt on Joe Simpson 46 seconds into the London Double Header a couple of years back, has improved in all areas of his game and England recognition, at least for the Saxons, is surely beckoning. Alongside him is Ollie Kohn, a real no-nonsense enforcer-type second row who has always brought a combative presence at close quarters, but recently has developed the art of counter-rucking, an area in which he caused Munster, so fabled for their nous and experience at the breakdown, no end of problems. The flaw in his game seems to be his lineout work, where Robson is usually left to shoulder almost all of the responsibility.
Quins have a wealth of options in the back row, with club captain Chris Robshaw, head of the Premiership tackle count and possessing a seemingly unceasing motor, usually shifted to openside to accommodate the ball carrying presence of Fa’asavalu, who is not an especially refined player but will run into brick walls all day and invariably with plenty of impact, and the guidance and solidity of the much-maligned England No.8 Nick Easter. Aside from that impressive trio is the ex-Tigers specialist scavenger Will Skinner, and absent with injury is the very promising Tom Guest. If Quins do choose their best forward pack – if not, the back-up options are far less formidable – and bring the same obstinate physicality as they did against Munster, Sarries will have to be at their best to achieve dominance.
At half back is Danny Care, the England back-up, who at his best injects this side with the tempo they so desperately need for their attacking game to flourish. Discipline, as always, will be important for the Men in Black, but especially so this weekend given Care’s propensity to take quick-taps and disorientate the defensive line, allowing space for his wider runners. Outside him Rory Clegg is likely to start at fly-half, with Nick Evans having been taken off early last week with a painful-looking knee injury; Quins will be desperate to keep their All Blacks ace wrapped in cotton wool ahead of their crucial final, but the ex-Newcastle man Clegg stepped in admirably against Munster and provided the same controlling influence on his back-line. He perhaps doesn’t possess the flair of Evans, but his basics are very sound, and if the Quins forwards are afforded any superiority, he will act as the link between the zippy service of Care and the exciting runners out wide.
The centre pairing is a classic mix of guile and brawn, as well as comprising two young, talented English players – there is a theme emerging here. Jordan Turner-Hall has been taking inside balls and running headfirst into walls of defenders all season, but slowly and surely he has developed more strings to his bow, now picking his running lines later and according to what is in front of him, as well as making the occasional offload. George Lowe has been one of the star discoveries of the last two seasons – indeed, nominated this year for Discovery of the Season – and has made the transition from wing to outside centre successfully. His footwork and acceleration can cause any defence problems, but his contact work has improved immeasurably and he now carries the ball strongly and defends soundly. His likely match-up with Chris Wyles is, for me, one of the great prospects for Saturday’s game.
In the back three, British Lion Ugo Monye is starting to recapture the form that took him to South Africa in 2009, as the success of the Quins gameplan to put width on the ball has helped to unlock his raw pace and power. At full-back is one of the form players in the country – much as I don’t like to admit it, given my dislike for the man – the young English talent Mike Brown. His kicking from hand has always been a strong point, his commitment in making last-ditch tackles is second-to-none and he has become razor sharp in picking holes off counter-attack. His good form is fortunate, as when he is not on his game his frustration tends to manifest itself in pettiness and foul play. On the other wing, the elusive running of Argentinean Gonzalo Camacho last week will probably see him keep the infamous Tom Williams out of the side.
Overall, needless to say, Quins are a very talented side, and they seem to play at their best at the Stoop. Their attacking game will pose a useful challenge to our defensive systems as they operate a similar width-orientated game to our likely semi-final opponents Gloucester.
As for the Men in Black, Mark McCall has an interesting selection to make, as I’m sure there will be a temptation to rest or safeguard crucial players with the Premiership semi-final in just over a week’s time. My preference, though, would be to a play a very strong side to maintain the momentum and the self-belief oozing out of the squad at the moment; also, I think that given the new club culture, we will be approaching this game as if we had not even secured a play-off position: that is to say, it is a must-win game.
I would start with our usual front row of Matt Stevens, Schalk Brits and Carlos Nieto, who together offer an impressive blend of set piece solidity, powerful ball carrying, and unusually for a front row, blistering running in the wide channels. That said, I would be equally tempted to start with the second-string of Welsh international Rhys Gill, emerging talent Jamie George and ex-Nottingham Petrus du Plessis to give them match experience, saving the top trio as impact off the bench. Either way I would expect all 6 to get a fair amount of game time on Saturday. The scrum is an area where I feel we could have a clear edge, so I imagine there will have been a focus on that aspect in training this week.
The second row provides its weekly selection conundrum, albeit eased slightly by the injury against Gloucester to Hugh Vyvyan, who will apparently be back available for selection in time for the semi. Borthwick is sure to start as captain, and the form of England’s forgotten man has been impressive in recent weeks, not only in terms of leading the lineout but also his tremendous work rate in defence and at the breakdown; in Vyvyan’s short-term absence, I think the experience and composure of Borthwick will be invaluable for the front five. Alongside him, I would expect Hayden Smith to come in for Mouritz Botha on rotation: both are immense in defence, provide different but excellent lineout options and have impressive carrying games – deciding who should take the starting point in the semi-final is not an enviable task. As with the scrum, I envisage that Sarries could gain dominance in this area, with Quins heavily reliant on Robson but Sarries possessing the luxury of multiple lineout options.
Speaking of those lineout options, the back row provides yet another interesting selection dilemma. I fully expect Ernst Joubert to take his place at Number 8 – a position where I think he has been the stand-out player in the Premiership this season, as with last season. The situation at flanker is more complex: I can absolutely see the merits of a Kelly Brown/Jacques Burger starting combination, with Andy Saull entering the fray in place of the big singing Scotsman after 40 minutes to shift the balance to dynamism over physicality; I feel Saull works better as an impact substitution than Brown, as he shown with numerous impressive second-half cameos where he has completely transformed the breakdown battle. That said, our heroic trio from last season of Burger, Saull and Joubert is very tempting especially on the hard grounds. Fortunately, we could field any three combinations – and that is disregarding the consistently outstanding Justin Melck – and still combine lineout versatility, defensive excellence and nous at the breakdown.
Behind the pack, the depth of our squad is shown even further, as the higher-tempo Neil De Kock will contest the more structured game of Richard Wigglesworth for the #9 shirt. The selection here will give a good indication of which of our two gameplans we are intending to use: the quicker service and more expansive outlook of the Springbok would facilitate a wider game where the likes of Brits, Chris Wyles and David Strettle are able to exhibit their talents with ball in hand; Wigglesworth’s presence often leads to a narrower, more physical attacking game – see the Matt Stevens try against Gloucester – where the gain line becomes crucial, and the use of the England man’s superior box-kicking game which allows us to look for territory as well as utilising our formidable kick-chase, usually spearheaded by defensive rock, and fellow England representative, Brad Barritt. Owen Farrell is sure to start once again in the pivotal fly-half role, where he has blossomed this season with – given his youth and inexperience – an incredible ability to manage and control a game, tenacity in the contact area and a solid distribution game.
In the centres I would expect to see the usual pair of Brad Barritt, who has underpinned so much of our success this season with his dominance in many a gain line battle, and US Eagle Chris Wyles who now looks very much at home in his new outside centre role. The duo give absolutely nothing away in defence and both carry with purpose and have the ability to release the wider running threats of Strettle and James Short. Following on I think we will see the usual back-three of top try scorer and ex-Quin David Strettle, the in-form academy man Short, and Stuart Barnes’ new love-child Alex Goode, fresh from a consummate man-of-the-match performance against Gloucester. Goode’s kicking game and propensity to slot in as an alternative first receiver adds balance and variety to our back division, and both wingers use their pace very effectively for kick-chasing as well as unlocking defences with ball in hand.
In preparation for the challenges ahead, I would be very tempted to switch Goode to fly-half after 40 minutes, both giving Fazlet a rest and the full-back match practice in his secondary role of back-up #10. Also at half-time, or soon into the second half, I would bring Adam Powell, returning this week from injury, into the outside centre position to give him game time, switching Wyles back to full-back to cover Goode’s transition. Finally, I would like to see Noah Cato get as much game time as possible to find out if he can discover the devastating form he showed against Exeter recently, maybe swapping for Strettle to give the England man a rest.
Overall it is a hugely exciting game in prospect, with two teams packed full of talented running players and both desperate to maintain the all-important momentum going into their respective knock-out games. It sounds like there will be a good Sarries presence at the Stoop, so let us be as vocal and passionate as we have been on other Sarries away days this season. And don’t forget that with the Army and Navy game happening across the road at exactly the same time, driving down to Twickenham is not advised unless you’re getting in early – public transport links are very convenient.
See you there…
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:05:09:12:47:04 by Fozz1e.
Quote:His good form is fortunate, as when he is not on his game his frustration tends to manifest itself in pettiness and foul play.
I don't know how much you have seen of ASBO this year, but his discipline has been superb.
In the Munster match ROG gave him a couple of punches. ASBO just knicked a bit of his undershirt in retaliation. You may call it petty, but it was a great response to ROG's attempt to wind him up.
Nunquam Dormio
See you all on Saturday. Any chance you could leave Stretts behind when you leave?
It's a long time since Sports network paid anything!
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