By The Saracens
November 26 2023

It’s a beautiful winters day and the Bears are in town! The sun is falling gently through an impossibly blue sky. What leaves remain on the trees are barely moving. It is even faintly warm in the last of the sun’s rays. A perfect day for rugby.

Sarries have rested their 2 Argentinians + Riccioni and of course are without Earl, Hunter Hill and Loz following last week’s carnage but there is the welcome sight of Theo McFarland warming up with the squad. Squad rotation means Van Zyl gets a week off but poor old Tompkins is putting in yet another hard shift. Bears are stronger than expected with both Randall and Sheedy fully recovered and Max is back, unfortunately though wearing the blue and red of Bristol Bears. He seems to spend more of the warm up embracing former colleagues than practising with his new mates. Reassuringly Luke Pearce is in charge. Hopefully Sarries remember that Mr Pearce doesn’t stand for backchat!

The obligatory fireworks – actually far more impressive today as the light fades – the smoke clears and we are off. Bristol are first to challenge with a good break from Bristol but Heenan’s pass goes into touch. Aled’s attempted clearance is charged down but Brizz knock on and Sarries win a penalty at the scrum which is encouraging with Mako & Christian Judge packing down against England props Genge and Sinckler. Someone says something and the kick is marched forward 10m – for once it is the opposition who have riled Mr Pearce. Good that he has made his mark early on. An excellent turn over by Christie sees Parton make a break for freedom down the far touchline but he is brought down. Sarries have a penalty advantage. We can all see Lewington unmarked on the other side but by the time Faz notices the pass is too telegraphed and intercepted. Faz has a rather heated discussion with Mr Pearce then puts the penalty in the corner. The maul drives forward and as it is grounded Davies flicks the ball out to Faz on the wing who dummies delightfully then barges through Randall and Ibitoye and scores himself! Not a common occurrence for the Skipper but a nice one none the less. The conversion from wide out on the touchline hits the post. We think nothing of it. 5-0 after 8 minutes, not a bad start.

From the kick off, Willis manages a charge down and Bristol knock on again. Sarries continue to dominate from the scrum, this time a free kick but while everyone is getting ready to scrum again, Billy is alert, kicks to himself and finds and Daly who gets to within 5m. He off-loads through most of the backs (and Christie of course) to Lewington who scores in the other corner. Owen’s conversion attempt from wide on the other side again hits the post. Still 2 tries in 10 minutes is a good start.

Bristol threaten from the restart and Ibitoye breaks but falls over when he should probably have scored. Otherwise the hits keep coming in, especially from Christie who is everywhere. Eventually Van Rensburg breaks clear and offloads to Batley who ploughs through Goode and Davies to score. Sheedy doesn’t miss and we are back to 10-7.

Sarries are on the attack but Bears intercept, however the ball is knocked on. This time Bears get the free kick at the scrum which they kick dead so we come all the way back for a Sarries scrum. Davies points out very politely to Mr Pearce that there is a Brizz hand on the floor and Sarries get the penalty. It’s quite a long way out but fairly central and kickable however Owen opts for the corner. At the 2^nd attempt, Billy wins the lineout, nips through a gap at the front and scores number 3 and we all get to hear “Baby Shark”.  Owen’s kick doesn’t even hit the post this time and there are the first stirrings of concern. 15-7 but it should have been 21-7 which sounds so much better!

Owen’s largesse is soon made to pay when Max looks dangerous and a Brizz penalty goes to the corner. Sarries infringe at the maul and Sheedy puts the ball back in the corner. This time no mistake from Bears, the maul is unstoppable and Genge scores. Sheedy, unlike Owen, has brought his kicking boots and the conversion from wide out is good bringing the score back to 15-14.

Owen tries another of those grubbers that aren’t working. I’m not sure if other teams have got wise or he’s just overdoing it but this one doesn’t have a hope through a mass of feet. Fortunately Brizz knock on but then Sarries infringe on their put in. Sheedy finds an excellent touch from a narrow angle and once the maul is set from the lineout there is only ever going to be one outcome. This time it’s Oghre who scores and once again Sheedy nails the extras to end the half.

15-21! 3 tries each. The conversions make the difference. It feels like Sarries had the better of the half and yet they are trailing. Hopefully some magic words from Mark McCall during the interval will do the trick.

It looks like they have as Maro thinks he’s scored from the restart when the whole Brizz team watch it bounce and Maro collects the ball but unfortunately Christie knocked the ball marginally forward in the chase so the “try” is disallowed much to Maro’s disgust. Sarries get a penalty, fairly central and on the 10m line. Owen can’t believe his eyes as the ball goes wide. We start to think the unthinkable. Should Alex take over the tee? But we know it won’t happen. Despite what has gone before, Owen will continue to back himself for the next one. Sarries win another penalty and this one goes in the corner. Owen’s goal-kicking may be awry but his place kicking is perfection. Cleary replaces Judge and now our 3 front row forwards are all sporting matching head bands like 3 Ninja Turtles!  Sarries are on the attack and after the forwards have a go, Owen pinpoints Lewington out wide with a delightful crossfield kick which bounces kindly for Lewi to score his 2^nd. And glory be Owen lands the conversion! There is a loud round of applause from the relieved crowd and a wry smile from Owen. But at least Sarries are back in an albeit narrow lead at 22-21.

But as we know, Bristol are a very hard side to put to bed. They just refuse to lie down! Sheedy puts the Bears back in front with a nice penalty kick. It seems to galvanise Sarries even more though. A good kick ahead by Daly sets up the attack. Ibitoye is bundled into touch just as he offloads and Max finds himself buried under a pile of Bears and Sarries. Mr Pearce awards Sarries the penalty. Twice it goes to the corner, twice Brizz defend but eventually the maul is set and Jamie scores, ignoring a rogue ball which has bounced onto the field. Faz is on a roll and converts this one too for a 29-24 lead.

Loud applause for the return of Theo McFarland who replaces Tizard. His first action is to win a penalty for his team. Sarries are back in the 22 again with an attacking scrum. Mawi comes on for Mako. One Ninja for another (as he too is sporting the matching headband). Brizz manage to clear with an intercept but the respite is temporary as Lewi puts a lovely kick in behind the Brizz defence forcing Brizz to kick to touch. Simpson replaces Davies and Christie tries a grubber! It finds touch for a Brizz throw. Maits comes on for Parton who has had another solid game. Sarries win a penalty on half way and Owen once again pinpoints the 5m line. Everyone piles in from the lineout. Lots of pick and goes but it’s all too tight. Lewi is once again alone on his wing but ignored and eventually Mr Pearce decides McFarland was held up so Brizz get the goal line drop out. Owen collects and decides to go for a drop goal which is charged down but the ball drops kindly for Theo who sprints forward and offloads to Willis for the 6^th try. Once again Owen misses a fairly straightforward kick but at 34-24 with 10 minutes to go, it’s feeling a bit more secure.

We spoke too soon. Sarries must also have breathed a sigh of relief because we now see Ibitoye field a kick from Farrell in his own 22 and hurt down the field, running through most of the defence and off-loading to Thacker and Marmion (who has replaced Randall) for an easy score. Sheedy never looks like missing and we’re back to 34-31. This time it’s Brizz who switch off. Maro is onto Ibitoye, presumably still celebrating in his head, and McFarland wins the penalty. The maul doesn’t make it but Sarries have a penalty advantage which turns into a man advantage when Brizz captain Fitz Harding is sent to the bin, presumably by the TMO. No penalty try though. Another drive is illegally stopped by Brizz. At the 3^rd attempt though it succeeds and Jamie gets his 2^nd. Faz is having no more success with the boot so it stays at 39-31 with about 3 minutes left. Surely even Brizz can’t come back from this one.

A whole load of replacements: Pifileti for Jamie (ominously with heavy strapping on his ankle) Knight for Willis and Hartley for Tompkins. Bristol win a penalty but can’t make it count and the game ends appropriately when Christie forces a knock on, Sarries’ gain possession and Simpson kicks the ball into the stands.

On the face of it 7 tries sounds like a good day at the office but it never felt like that, it was hard work. Owen left 13 points out there: 52-31 would have seemed much more comfortable! But lets not blame our captain. Apart from his goal kicking he had an excellent game with some delightful off-loads and picture perfect place kicks. Maro got man of the match but once again I thought Christie was robbed! Lewington scored for the 4^th successive game – he really is in a purple patch. The scrum held up fairly well against a good Bristol pack but without Riccioni, Mako seems to struggle and the bomb squad looked more solid (albeit against Bristol’s back ups). Our lack of line-out options didn’t seem too much of a problem. Many of the throws went to Christie who was excellent. It was good to see Theo back as well. I would expect him to start next week. Willis did his best at blindside flanker but he’s really an 8. Still needs must.

For Bristol, Malins was easily their standout alongside Sheedy’s impeccable boot. Ibitoye was impressive apart from a defensive lapse. Van Rensburg was dangerous. Vakatawa was anonymous.

And so another win, another 5 points and up to the heady heights of 2^nd. Northampton Saints will provide a stiffer test next weekend but we should be able to call on Cinti, Gonzales and Riccioni. Isiekwe may also be fit. A few of the guys might get a break but I don’t see a replacement for Tompkins poor chap. The 2 minutes’ respite at the end of the game will have to do for now. And I guess for Faz it’s a week at kicking school!

Saracens:

Goode, Lewington, Daly, Tompkins (Hartley), Parton (Maitland), Farrell, Davies (Simpson); M Vunipola (Mawi), George (Pifileti), Judge (Cleary), Itoje, Tizard (McFarland), Willis (Knight), Christie, B Vunipola

Bristol Bears:

Malins, Ibitoye, Vakatawa (Williams), Van Rensburg, Lane (Ravouvou), Sheedy, Randall (Marmion); Genge (Woolmore), Oghre (Thacker), Sinckler (Kloska), Dun, Batley, Heenan (Caulfield), Thomas, Harding

SCORERS:

Saracens (39):  Tries: Farrell, Lewington (2) B Vunipola, George (2), Willis; Conv: Farrell (2)

Bristol (31): Tries: Batley, Genge, Oghre, Marmion; Conv: Sheedy (4), Pen: Sheedy

Yellow card:  Harding (Bristol Bears)

Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)