By Saracens4life
August 31 2012

And so another season begins. After a summer dominated by season ticket frustrations, big corporate deals and building work - finally we can get back to the rugby.

And what a season it promises to be - last year's top 4 all going through exciting times in the transfer market, the potential rejuvenation of Bath and London Irish under new coaching teams, and the unknown quantities of Wasps, Sale and Gloucester.

And I think this Saturday could prove to be a belter of a match. Brian Smith's last stint at our opponents London Irish saw them miss out on a Premiership title by a single point, and develop into the most deadly counter-attacking side in England. Many of the personnel from those seasons have changed - but the ethos will be the same. And they have plenty of players who can cut loose in their ranks - Geraghty, Tagicakibau, Yarde, Homer, Joseph, & Ojo. With good ball, they have the talent to punish even a defence as comfortable and secure as Sarries'. But there lies the key question - will they be able to generate good ball frequently enough? In the old days, it was the revered lineout duo of Casey and Kennedy that provided heaps of possession - and the limpet work of Steffon Armitage dominating the breakdown battle. Now, their forward pack is much more of an unknown quantity.

The scrum will be an interesting contest, with England man Alex Corbisiero and new signing Cai Griffiths likely to achieve at least parity. The lineout should be an area of concern for the Exiles: Matt Garvey, for all his great work in the loose, remains inexperienced, and the likely caller, George Skivington, will be taking on the role for the first time at his new club. At Leicester, his ability to adapt quickly was not one of his stand-out traits. And to the breakdown, where Irish will be pinning their hopes on the dog work of captain Declan Danaher and young openside Jamie Gibson. It is a combination that should provide resilience but also risks - alongside the renowned hot-heads Paice and Hala'ufia - a fair share of penalties conceded. There are plenty of good carriers in that pack, and they should be strong on the gain line - but the deciding factor will be how they fare in the tight exchanges. If Geraghty and co. get a platform, the points could rack up. The horrific injury to Joe Ansbro (we wish him well) will be a blow, but it should open the door to one of the most exciting talents in English rugby - Jonathan Joseph. Pace, power, feet, & good hands - the real deal. Add the raw pace of Topsy Ojo and the seemingly untackleable Sailosi Tagicakibau, and it becomes clear that Sarries will have to stop the Exiles attacking game at source.

Say what you like about the limitations and potentials of Sarries' attacking game - but no one can deny that we do the core things well. Our lineout, under captain Steve Borthwick and Ernst Joubert, will be solid as a rock on our ball and may well devour a lot of the Exiles' throws too. Brad Barritt will lead the defensive line superbly, and his team mates will follow him. Alex Goode will marshal things from the back and deal with the potentially limited kicking game of Irish (assuming Humphreys doesn't start). Despite missing our two first-choice opensides to injury, Kelly Brown and his back-five colleagues should be able to dictate the tempo of the breakdown - and our discipline in this area has tended to be excellent in recent seasons. The scrum is harder to call. Injury to our stand-out loosehead Rhys Gill will be a loss, but young English prospect Mako Vunipola has thrown himself into contention with a string of impressive showings in pre-season. At tighthead, the options are numerous but lacking in any outstanding candidate - Nieto's scrummaging prowess has to be traded off with the fact his years start to show through in the loose; Romano is an exciting but as yet unknown quantity; Stevens and Du Plessis are solid across the board, but not fearsome. I think we'll be content with a stable platform in this area. And sandwiched in the middle of it all, desperate to break free and roam the wide spaces - the ever-smiling Mr Brits.

Which leads me to the second key question regarding Saturday's game: If Sarries do dominate the possession stats - and I suspect we will, quite comfortably - will we have the same ability as Irish to punish the opposition off good-quality ball? In previous seasons it often didn't matter, as our defence and kicking games were sufficient to strangle our opposition out of the contest. But this season I'm inclined to think most of the Premiership sides will adopt a more attack-centric game - and we need to adapt to the transition. Initial signs suggest that we are adapting, and rather well. We have half-backs (and a hooker) able to put pace on the ball and still play with precision. We have centres (and a hooker) who can make yards and still look for offloads. We have wingers (and a hooker) who can anticipate plays and hit lines at the perfect time. We have a full back (and a hooker) who can slot in mercurially all over the pitch and make magic happen. All we need is for those things to happen at once, again and again for 80 minutes. I think at some point this season, it will click fabulously and we'll hit a cricket score, but Saturday is probably a bit soon for that to happen.

The HAC game (albeit against weaker opposition) showed signs of the attacking potential we possess, and I think the game against Irish will be another rung on that ladder. Expect some half-chances, some magical flashes, and probably a couple of nice tries. Combined with the flair of the Exiles' backline, we should have quite a spectacle in store. But, as usual, the result will depend on who gets on top in the non-flashy stuff. Enjoy the game!

Prediction - Sarries by 12.

STOP PRESS:

Saracens line-up vs London Irish 

15 Alex Goode 
14 Chris Ashton 
13 Joel Tomkins 
12 Brad Barritt 
11 Chris Wyles 
10 Charlie Hodgson 
9 Richard Wigglesworth 
1 Mako Vunipola 
2 Schalk Brits 
3 Petrus du Plessis 
4 Steve Borthwick © 
5 Mouritz Botha 
6 Kelly Brown 
7 Will Fraser 
8 Ernst Joubert 

16 Jamie George 
17 Rhys Gill 
18 Carlos Nieto 
19 Eoin Sheriff 
20 Jackson Wray 
21 Neil de Kock 
22 Nils Mordt 
23 James Short

London Irish team: 15. Tom Homer; 14. Topsy Ojo*13. Jonathan Joseph*; 12. Sailosi Tagicakibau*; 11. Marland Yarde 10. Steve Shingler; 9. Tomás O’Leary; 1. Max Lahiff; 2. Scott Lawson*; 3. Leo Halavatau; 4. George Skivington; 5. Bryn Evans (Captain)*; 6. Jamie Gibson; 7. Ofisa Treviranus*; 8. Jon Fisher Replacements: 16. Brian Blaney; 17. Halani Aulika*; 18. Cai Griffiths; 19. Kieran Low; 20. Declan Danaher; 21. Alex Gray; 22. Shane Geraghty*; 23. Jack Moates