Remember THAT try

By Superman wears Schalk Brits pyjamas
September 8 2011

Back to earth with a bump, that is what last weekend felt like. Sarries continued their dire run of form at the double header and the even worse record of the champions’ first game back. While the pre-season optimism melted away in what might have been the last sunny day of the summer.

Last weekend’s match was certainly the most disappointing in a long time, not least being our first competitive loss since January. But just as the title can’t be won in September it cannot be lost in September so we must regroup and head onwards to Bath.

Bath put away Newcastle 9-22 in a late kick-off last Saturday - taking the lead in the first table of the season. Matt Carraro was put through by Sam Vesty on 7 minutes to start the season off and Bath never relinquished their lead. Vesty went on to add the conversion, a drop goal and four penalties. It certainly seems that Bath are not immediately missing Butch James or the late arrival of Stephen Donald (their new kiwi fly half)! However, the key factor in the result was a strong pack allied to a tight defensive effort which kept Newcastle off the score-sheet in the second half. The only downside appeared to be a poor game from Abendanon – Sarries must hope his streak will continue one game longer. As a team, Bath seem keen to build on the performance from the second half of last year.

Last season, Sarries managed a league double over Bath, a 13-17 away win in November and a 20-9 win at Vicarage Road in April before the team left for Miami. In the first game, Sarries scored 17 unanswered points to come back from a poor first half. The second game of the season was fairly forgettable – Sarries putting an end to Bath’s play-off hopes while collecting an 8^th win in a row on our way to the trophy.

For a thrilling Bath/Sarries match we have to look back to the 20-16 fight back in March 2009. Eddie Jones had left 48 hours before the game and rumours swirled of which players would remain into the next season. The game started poorly; Sarries quickly losing Ches to the sin-bin and falling 16 points down. But the team proved that this club has had spirit for more than the last two seasons!

Rodd Penney scored on the stroke of half-time to bring some respectability to the score. But the last 15 minutes was when the magic really happened. Alex Walker scored on his debut before a length-of-the-field wonder try from Penney. Collecting a loose ruck ball inside his own try line he dodged the scrambling defence to score in the corner: topping this off with an iconic Sarries celebration.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF8nm1ML5NM&feature=related

Smelling a victory Sarries came forward again; Don touched down with only 2 minutes on the clock. The noise when the TV ref awarded the try is something I don’t think I remember at Vicarage Road before or since! The win was particularly remarkable as the lowest scoring bonus point win in premiership history. Sarries missing 26 possible points from the boot, split between both Jackson and Ross.

The feeling in the club is hardly comparable from then to now. The Venter regime may have brought departures; only 5 (Goode, Ratuvou, Barritt, Penney and Powell) survive from the squad two and a half years ago. But it also brought silverware; the defence of which brings many new questions for the coaches, squad and fans.

The key question for Mark McCall this week is whether to give the boys a second chance or whether to ring the changes. A decision made especially hard by the strong performances put in by George Kruis and Duncan Taylor off the bench last weekend.

 I predict McCall will choose to give the bulk of last weekend’s side another chance. This fits with the 2/3 game rotation we have seen over the previous two seasons and also shows his confidence in the side. Petrus appears to be out injured and so Mako Vunipola should take his place – his brother certainly appeared up for it last weekend! The other question mark for me is in the subs for the backs. Taylor, Maddock, Ratuvou and Penney all have claims for the centre/back-3 cover. However, I’m tempted to give the place to Maddock, a return to the Rec should bring out the best from him. I expect Farrell to start over Hodgson for at least this week, but a 50 minute substitution should be expected whichever starts the match.

 That gives a final Sarries team of:

15. Alex Goode; 14. David Strettle; 13. Adam Powell; 12. Brad Barritt; 11. James Short; 10. Owen Farrell; 9. Neil De Kock.

1. Rhys Gill; 2. Schalk Brits; 3. Carlos Nieto; 4. Steve Borthwick (capt.); 5. Mouritz Botha; 6. Justin Melck; 7. Andy Saull; 8. Ernst Joubert

16. Jamie George; 17. Deon Carstens; 18. Mako Vunipola; 19. George Kruis; 20. Jackson Wray; 21. Ben Spencer; 22. Charlie Hodgson; 23. Joe Maddock

I expect Bath will feature a line-up very similar to the Newcastle game – a case of why fix it if it ain’t broke? The side from last week was:

15 Abendanon: 14 Carraro: 13 Hipkiss: 12 Williams: 11 Biggs: 10 Vesty: 9 Claassens

1 Flatman: 2 Dixon: 3 Palma-Newport: 4 Hooper: 5 Caldwell: 6 Skirving: 7 Fearns: 8 Taylor

Both sides are missing first-choice players to the world cup. Although Sarries are missing 8 to Bath’s 6, I still feel we have a stronger squad. I also don’t feel that we can play so badly again (famous last words???). The forecast for Saturday is light rain and blustery winds – so running rugby could be a rarity and grunt will be called for instead. In total I believe that we should hope for a better result this weekend and will predict a 22-19 victory.

Good luck to any fans making the trip to Bath; other fixtures this weekend will probably keep many Sarries fans at home. But let’s hope we can celebrate a quintet of victories on Saturday for Sarries, England, Romania, Japan and your choice of Namibia or Fiji!