By Innings
December 10 2023

There are games that somehow highlight more than one of the inconsistencies that make rugby irritating, fascinating and compelling.  Last night’s game at the Loftus Versfeldt in Pretoria delivered all three elements, sometimes with all three components simultaneously. For me, for Sarries’ opening game of the European Rugby Champions Cup to be taking place in South Africa, at altitude, against South African side Vodacom Bulls, kick-off 7.30 pm, local time, offers a clear example of what is wrong with professional rugby. 

Irritation lingers with the decision that South African sides would be welcomed into the European league that would become the United Rugby Championship.  That merely complicated the problems that already exist in European rugby, with a four nations’ league becoming so bloated that now it cannot even run a traditional round-robin league.  Instead of that, the structure became a competition of four regional round-robin pools followed by a ‘sweeties-for-all-except-Italy’ process of ensuring that sides finishing as low as eighth in their domestic league would qualify for the élite EPRC.  Cardiff would actually finish tenth in the URC final table and still qualify. 

In turn, I suspect that the competition’s over-sized geographic footprint means that most supporters, however willing, will never travel from Europe to see their teams play in one of their pool fixtures.  Habits of non-travelling can be catching.  As a result, there is little of the travelling support that fills grounds, give the atmosphere that makes sport worth watching, and is an integral part of what comes across as a TV-ready product.  Pursuit of money, especially TV money, is killing professional rugby. 

The essence of any sporting competition is that the competition itself be understood, and that the casual supporter can engage in its highs and lows.  That makes the vast FA Cup so appealing: every club in every league sets off on the same journey, and every year there are upsets, surprises and mis-matches that see the underdog humbling the mighty.  I defy any writer in the world to define in 200 words the journey that any club in the URC undertakes in pursuit of the final goal, to win the EPRC. 

With all that negativity aired, I settled down to watch the game.  I expected nothing from it.  A losing bonus point would be about the limit of realistic hope, whilst a four-tries BP would be very acceptable.  Winning would be heroic, a five points’ win beyond extraordinary. 

Bulls have an easy early start, with the combination of some early hints of forwards domination rounded off by frightening speed in the outside backs, and the score was 7-0 before Sarries had mentally arrived on the field.  It surprised me to see that the vaunted Bulls’ forwards actually carried a lighter tonnage than the Sarries had selected.  However, at the Bulls’ home ground altitude of 1350 metres, 4,500 feet in old money, that slightly lighter heft is greatly reduced by being accustomed to playing at that altitude and by youth.  Just one direct comparison indicates this latter point.  Cameron Hanekom, playing No.8 and man of the match, was born in 2002, whereas Billy, playing No.8 and red-carded, was born in 1992. 

I do not, in this report, propose to go line by line through the detail of the game.  After that early sucker punch, and various penalties exchanged, the first real moment of contention involved the referee.  Signor Andrea Piardi is definitely a rising star in the world of refereeing, but I found it difficult to follow his thinking when he gave his first card, of four on the night.  It was the slightest possible shift of body position by Alex Goode, in the path of an onward rushing Bulls kick through.  Many would have adjudged that Alex did no more than brace himself as he stood his ground, perfectly legally, in anticipation of the collision that must happen.  If only the commentators could learn to shut up, let the viewer hear the referee in discussion with his support team, we might have got a clearer idea of his thought process.  Unfortunately, the peerless Dan Maskell – he of the long silences - is long gone from all but the memories of the oldest of us, and we listen to the constant stream of conjecture and usually incorrect interpretation that passes for informed commentary today.  Perhaps TV commentators are paid by the number of words they utter?  On this occasion it seemed as though S. Piardi was even debating whether the event, near the half-way line and with other Sarries’ cover in the back field merited a penalty try. What seemed to some to be a legitimate moment of self-protection becomes debate for penalty try?  Before we know it, players will be wearing sashes to be snatched from them in lieu of physical contact in the tackle.  Incidentally, even Willie le Roux, aged 34, is younger than his opposite number, Alex at 35. 

Sarries get through the ten minutes of disadvantage, and indeed, as so often, seem to begin to grow into the game as a result of it.  I cannot say that they look like winning, but it’s possible that the result may be closer than had looked before the game, or after the opening minutes. 

It would be some consolation to suggest that Maro Itoje’s yellow card, the second of the first half, was equally open to discussion.  Unfortunately, you cannot flop down on top of a breakdown, like a minke whale on the beach at Robin Hood’s Bay near Whitby in September, without consequence.  As another comment on the relative ages of the two squads, Maro, aged 29, is almost exactly five years older than Janko Swanepoel, his opposite number. 

At half-time, it was possible to see some signs that Sarries were finding their feet, not exactly winning Strictly but not tripping over their own feet quite so obviously. 

The second half was interesting enough.  At times Sarries were actually playing the better rugby, and the scrum was by no means the preferred option for the Bulls.  The fabled shortage of oxygen at altitude was no longer as obviously to Bulls’ advantage, and it began to feel, just perhaps, that the game was not a long-gone as it had looked after the first five minutes.  However, S. Piardi then had to reach for the pocket for the third time.  Billy hurtled into a ruck, his shoulder inevitably made contact with a head, and his game was done.  Should it have been red?  Yellow seemed reasonable, but red a bit marginal, depending on which camera angle, of many, was deemed definitive. However, Billy should not have done it, and that is the real fact of it.  Rather a sad thought, for me, was that Billy’s mind refuses to acknowledge what his body is telling him; his wrecking ball days are in the past, he needs to play what his body can deliver and stop trying to play what his muscle memory wants him to do.  

As so often, the prospect on ending the game a man short galvanises Sarries, and we can see that Bulls players are allowing seeds of doubt to germinate.  Mistakes start to spoil most of their plays.  We have already seen two of their tries disallowed by inaccuracy, one for a foot in touch, the other for the most blatant forward pass since Tom Brady retired, but now they are stuttering and at times on the ropes.  S. Piardi’s pocket produces another card, this time for a Bulls infringement, after a little prompting from Owen.  

The game ends 27-16.  Sarries travel home tonight, empty-handed, facing a tricky deployment at home in this coming weekend.  It should not be thus.  Connacht are scarcely giants of the game, but as one paper noted as I write, the chinks are starting to show.  Dominated physically in two consecutive games, horribly shown up for pace in the back division last night, Sarries absolutely cannot afford a third loss in a row.  This all feels very uncomfortable, a feeling that there is truth in the old French saying, usually about love but equally applicable to sport: Si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait.

MATCH DAY TEAMS

VODACOM BULLS

STARTERS:

1. Gerhard Steenekamp 2. Akker van der Merwe 3. Wilco Louw
4. Janko Swanepoel 5. Reinhardt Ludwig
6. Marco van Staden 7. Elrigh Louw (c) 8. Cameron Hanekom
9. Embrose Papier 10. Johan Goosen
12. David Kriel 13. Stedman Gans
11. Canan Moodie 14. Kurt-Lee Arendse 15. Willie le Roux

IMPACT:

16. Simphiwe Matanzima 17. Jan-Hendrik Wessels 18. Mornay Smith
19. Deon Slabbert 20. Marcell Coetzee
21. Zak Burger 22. Jaco van der Walt 23. Sergeal Petersen

SARACENS

STARTERS:

1. Mako Vunipola 2. Jamie George 3. Alec Clarey

4. Maro Itoje 5. Hugh Tizard
6. Juan Martin González 7. Andrew Christie 8. Billy Vunipola
9. Ivan van Zyl 10. Owen Farrell (c)
12. Nick Tompkins 13. Elliot Daly
11. Sean Maitland 14. Alex Lewington 15. Alex Goode

IMPACT:

16. Theo Dan 17. Tom West 18. Christian Judge
19. Theo McFarland 20. Toby Knight
21. Aled Davies 22. Olly Hartley 23. Lucio Cinti Luna

SCORERS:

BULLS (27):  Tries: Kriel, Swanepoel, Moodie; Conv: Goosen (3)  Pen: Goosen (2)

SARACENS (16): Tries: Daly, McFarland; Pen: Farrell (2)

REFEREE: Andrea Piardi (Ita)

ATTENDANCE: 15,157