Saracens
Saracens v Bristol Bears Preview
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By saracensfan62
September 29 2025
What an entertaining weekend of rugby it was! I say weekend, more like an extended one what with the trial of a Thursday night game at Sale. From Thursday through to Sunday we were lucky enough to watch some absolute crackers. Saints v Exeter, Bristol v Tigers and then our, well, slightly clunky win at Newcastle. 5 points nonetheless, but it wasn’t a game that flowed particularly well. Now the Bears are coming to town, and this match always delivers some brilliance and flair from both sides. I for one am extremely excited, Bristol are (apart from us and possibly Bath) my favourite team to watch entertainment-wise. StoneX and Saracens seem to be real bogeys for Bristol – they haven’t beaten us at Barnet Copthall in recent years, and haven’t won against us outright since 2020 and times of COVID-19. It always seems to go right to the wire in every game against the Bears – in 6 of the last 9 meetings between the 2, the winning side has won by 10 points or fewer. Our games with Bristol are also quite high scoring, with 303 points being scored between the 2 teams in the last 5 meetings alone. An average of more than 60 per game! Crackers, eh?! Either way this weekend could be very fast, furious and full of attacking rugby. This is exactly what we want to see at StoneX.
Set Pieces, Mauls and Lineouts
So much of our game plan revolves around first and second phase excellence, so in order to achieve this, we must tidy up our scrum, mauling and lineout. I think we can all agree that the scrum and mauling issues in the Premiership cup were highly unexpected, but it demonstrated a lack pf physical presence in the pack at times, often exacerbated by replacements coming on and a drop in intensity. The scrum held up well against Newcastle and the maul seemed reasonable too, so it seems we did seem to tidy much of these problems up last Friday. Bristol will be a much sterner test than Newcastle (no disrespect to the Red Bulls) so we will see how our props do on Saturday.
Kicking Battle and Territorial Kicking
This is an area where I expect Saracens to excel. We know how the ball bounces on the 3g pitch better than Bristol could ever know, our pitch is slightly smaller (I believe?!) than the one at Ashton Gate so our kicking will naturally be a little more accurate and our backline features players with very big boots such as Owen and Max Malins, both highly capable at making 50/22’s and high ball kicks for explosive players like Brandon Jackson and Noah Caluori to jump and retake. The aerial battle could prove decisive in determining who can score the most points.
Breakdown and Turnovers
Both Bristol and Sarries have some excellent players in the backrow (and midfield alike) who are more than capable of stealing ball at ruck-time and also completing turnovers in the carry. Players like Viliame Mata and Santi Grondonna coming head to head with Andy O-C and Tom Willis… match up of the titans so to speak. From my own observations, I was highly surprised how inefficient and sometimes even poor we were at the breakdown last season. Notable figures like Ben Earl sometimes went missing in big games. We need to ensure our back row are able to compete at the breakdown and to do this, we need dominant collisions. Another area we used to be so strong on back in the ‘wolfpack’ days and now seems to have fallen slightly off the radar.
Running-Rugby and Open Play
Simple thing is – when we played Bristol this time last year, we gave them so many opportunities to run the ball down the field at us. Exactly what they thrive on and they scored a ton of points from attacks from deep. We cannot beat Bristol at their own game, despite the undoubtable quality we possess in the backline; our forwards simply cannot compete with the fitness of the Bristol pack. Bristol are very much a fearless team who will run from their own try line if they can rather than kick possession away. High risk high reward and if we can maintain an organised defensive structure against their punchy strike-runners like Janse van-Rensburg or Kalaveti Ravouvou and disrupt that crucial midfield axis that allows the ball to get to their wingers and FB, we stand a very good chance of taking the 4 or 5 points.
One other point about running – Louis Rees-Zammit is back in the Premiership (I refuse to call it PREM) and is back to his usual tricks of try scoring. He is lethal in open space so we must close him down at every opportunity. It’s a tricky question – do we adopt a drift defence to combat the threat of the Bears midfield or adopt a blitz style but risk getting exposed out wide should someone misread a pass/player? Definitely one I expect MM and his team are discussing or have been discussing.
Key Player Matchups
Tom Willis vs Bill Mata à talk about a battle of the titans. 2 absolute beasts off the back of the scrum and ball-in-hand. Both of their defensive stats are astonishing, and they both possess impressive speed for 2 110kg+ lads. Whichever of the two breaks the gainline the most and makes the most dominant carries will set his team up very nicely indeed.
Owen Farrell vs Janse van-Rensburg à this is a strange matchup. 2 completely different style 12’s. Van Rensburg, whilst very skilful, acts as more a crash-runner and big ball carrier. Owen Farrell acts as more a distributor and decision-maker instead of the crash ball runner. The one similarity between the two is that they both organise the defence very well, making calls to both the players inside and outside of them.
Another difference I forgot to mention is their lineout abilities. Van-Rensburg seems to act as a very nice backup lineout jumper should he need to (I think London Irish v Leicester a few years ago?) whereas I’ve never seen Fazza attempt to jump in a lineout. That of course might be a moment that will happen in the near future.
Gabe Oghre vs Theo Dan àthe lineout will be crucial to our success at the weekend, so whichever of these 2 gets their darts the most accurate and provides their 9 with the best platform will boost their team’s chances of winning. Both also act as excellent crash runners and are highly skilled ball in hand. Potentially a future battle of the England international hookers?....
Onto the team. I expect we will go as strong as we can for this one. It’s always tricky to predict a Saracens team because we are notorious for keeping player injuries/absences under wraps (rather frustratingly so for us editors, but I can see why they do it) so I’m going to predict a very similar team as last week vs Newcastle:
- Rhys Carre
- Theo Dan
- Marco Riccioni
- Nick Isiekwe
- Hugh Tizard
- Nathan Michelow
- Andy Onyeama-Christie
- Tom Willis
- IvZ
- Fergus Burke
- Rotimi Segun
- Owen Faz
- Nick Tompkins
- Brandon Jackson
- Max Malins
- Eoghan Clarke
- Eroni Mawi
- Tietie Tuimauiga
- Olamide Sodeke
- Harry Wilson
- Charlie Bracken
- Louis Johnson
- Noah Calouri
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StumbleuponSaracens v Bristol Bears Preview
Discussion started by TheSaracens.com , 29/09/2025 16:14
TheSaracens.com
29/09/2025 16:14
29/09/2025 16:14
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:10:13:20:06:12 by Darraghgirl.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:10:13:20:06:12 by Darraghgirl.
Michelow will almost certainly be banned and Jackson apparently failed hisHIA so neither likely to be present. If neither Jack Bracken or Tobias Elliot fit we might have to deploy Louis Johnson at 15 with Max on the wing, or play Owen at 10 with Fergus at 15 and play Hutchinson at 12.
Bristol paid a heavy price for the win on Sunday loosing their first choice half backs (Randall & MacGinty), Ravouvou and potentially Ibitoye. Rees-Zammitt looked pretty rusty until that try at the end.
Interesting comparison between Tom Jordan (likely to play 10) and Fergus Burke. Both Kiwi's, both now qualified for Scotland, both finding their feet in the Premiership. (Jordan was MOTM last Sunday)
Will be a tough one but hopefully we can do this!
Interesting comparison between Tom Jordan (likely to play 10) and Fergus Burke. Both Kiwi's, both now qualified for Scotland, both finding their feet in the Premiership. (Jordan was MOTM last Sunday)
Will be a tough one but hopefully we can do this!
That's a really good review saracensfan62 although I must admit I hate even mentioning the sort of " they haven't beaten us for a decade" type sentiment. It feels too much like tempting fate and I have horrible flash-backs to how I felt before Quins last season and Falcons away!
I'm interested in your take on the breakdown last season, "surprised how inefficient and sometimes even poor we were at the breakdown last season" in what respect are you thinking. Resourcing or turning over or both. I think we're maybe guilty of muddling the roles of some of our players as you say with Earl.
I agree on 100% on winning the gainline on both sides and in that respect as good a start as last week was I think we need to spread the carrying a little more and also use Willis as more than a battering ram. We became hugely reliant on Billy to do that and he became less and less effective as the opposition knew what was coming. I'd like to see some passes before contact or options at the line rather in addition to that direct option.
I was impressed with how well Bristol coped with losing key players and Jordan looks very good indeed. I'm pretty sure Ravouvou is not one of those who took a knock and if not he will start and is areal live wire.
We kicked far less last game which I thought was a positive. If we chose not to follow that route this time we will need to have great kick chase as feeding their back three will be very bad news for us.
I'm also interested to see how our set piece goes and how we chose to play.
In terms of injuries it's looking a bit thin in the back three unless one or more of our youngsters; Elliott, Bracken, Hall have returned. If Mitchelow is banned then Wilson straight into 6 for me (or lock if the coaches insist)
It should be a great game.
I'm interested in your take on the breakdown last season, "surprised how inefficient and sometimes even poor we were at the breakdown last season" in what respect are you thinking. Resourcing or turning over or both. I think we're maybe guilty of muddling the roles of some of our players as you say with Earl.
I agree on 100% on winning the gainline on both sides and in that respect as good a start as last week was I think we need to spread the carrying a little more and also use Willis as more than a battering ram. We became hugely reliant on Billy to do that and he became less and less effective as the opposition knew what was coming. I'd like to see some passes before contact or options at the line rather in addition to that direct option.
I was impressed with how well Bristol coped with losing key players and Jordan looks very good indeed. I'm pretty sure Ravouvou is not one of those who took a knock and if not he will start and is areal live wire.
We kicked far less last game which I thought was a positive. If we chose not to follow that route this time we will need to have great kick chase as feeding their back three will be very bad news for us.
I'm also interested to see how our set piece goes and how we chose to play.
In terms of injuries it's looking a bit thin in the back three unless one or more of our youngsters; Elliott, Bracken, Hall have returned. If Mitchelow is banned then Wilson straight into 6 for me (or lock if the coaches insist)
It should be a great game.
Excellent preview!
Canโt wait for this. First prem game back at the StoneX and against the real great entertainers who canโt help but pull us into their crazy orbit every time we play. Sad for them if Ibitoye, AJ and Randall are all out but theyโve got some fine replacements. I remember we were linked with Marmion a few years back, I think he wouldโve been a very good Saracen.
Interesting calls ahead. As noted Jackson and Michelow probably out. I imagine too early for Caluori to start so I can see the case for Burke to 15, Malins to wing and Faz to 10. Iโm still not comfortable with Faz at 12, especially v a team who play as fast as Bris. He didnโt look particularly nimble last week, Iโm not sure if heโs still not 100% or if thatโs the new normal- heโs only human after all!
Our unavailable list at this early stage is quite something, fingers crossed Theo M is getting back to fitness soon and some others like Elliott/Hartley are a short term issues.
Canโt wait for this. First prem game back at the StoneX and against the real great entertainers who canโt help but pull us into their crazy orbit every time we play. Sad for them if Ibitoye, AJ and Randall are all out but theyโve got some fine replacements. I remember we were linked with Marmion a few years back, I think he wouldโve been a very good Saracen.
Interesting calls ahead. As noted Jackson and Michelow probably out. I imagine too early for Caluori to start so I can see the case for Burke to 15, Malins to wing and Faz to 10. Iโm still not comfortable with Faz at 12, especially v a team who play as fast as Bris. He didnโt look particularly nimble last week, Iโm not sure if heโs still not 100% or if thatโs the new normal- heโs only human after all!
Our unavailable list at this early stage is quite something, fingers crossed Theo M is getting back to fitness soon and some others like Elliott/Hartley are a short term issues.
Once again SportNetwork website has pulled off an exceptional admin error - this preview was meant to have been published at 8am on Wednesday but it seemed the site had other ideas...
Regarding Michelow, is a ban implemented for a 20 minute red? I don't think it is but I (probably!) am wrong. I wasn't aware that Jackson failed his HIA, apologies Bard. In that case I would expect Max to move to wing and, as you say, LJ to full back. No idea who'd take his place on the bench. Is it too late to call say Wyles or Strettle back to the squad??
PaulH, yes I was referring to Earl and not giving him a clear position or role. I remember a period in 2022 (around october time i think) when he was always deployed at 7 for us, not playing for England and was pretty much unplayable. He was at every single breakdown and caused havoc for opposition. Since then he's played at 8 with England (IMHO not his natural position) and I feel he put so much into England (now of course Lions) that his form for sarries suffered significantly once he came back. It's super he's getting the international opportunities but not at the expense of his form for us.
PaulH, yes I was referring to Earl and not giving him a clear position or role. I remember a period in 2022 (around october time i think) when he was always deployed at 7 for us, not playing for England and was pretty much unplayable. He was at every single breakdown and caused havoc for opposition. Since then he's played at 8 with England (IMHO not his natural position) and I feel he put so much into England (now of course Lions) that his form for sarries suffered significantly once he came back. It's super he's getting the international opportunities but not at the expense of his form for us.
Earlโs workload for England has been utterly ridiculous, there were times where he was the only ball carrier and still making a huge amount of tackles. Hopefully with Willis there and a new attack coach he can be sure a bit more sparingly.
Earl did brilliantly at the last RWC stepping in at 8. I thought he did more than enough there in his games for the Lions to take the 8 spot for the Test teams where Conan was hard-working but largely ineffective for all three tests in terms of generating momentum in attack.
I think you 100% can have him cover 8 but there are better choices to start there and Willis is that player for both England and Saracens.
England's backrow especially 7 is super crowded with both established quality and exciting new talent. When fit Saracens have a similar abundance of riches in the backrow.
I think to retain his England spot he needs an extra USP and the obvious one is covering centre to a good standard.
I think that suits Saracens too so I'd hope that together with England the plan is starting at 7 but having the time put in so he's a genuine option to move to 12 if needed.
Re our team V Bears we will obvious see who is fit and not come selection.
My preference would be the same team again as much as possible and ideally bench players becoming starters where needed and wider squad onto the bench in the backrow/wing.
If we decide to change things at 10/FullBack then my preference would be Johnson at 10 with Farrell outside and Burke at FullBack.
Johnson isn't as far along as I'd like but I appreciate he's had limited game time.
With Farrell alongside him and swapping in at first receiver you have an opportunity to mitigate that inexperience.
Burke has played a significant amount at FullBack in the SH and even had a run out for Scotland. I'd have no hesitations about him there at all.
I think I'd prefer that than moving Farrell to 10 with Hutchinson and Tompkins outside.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:09:30:11:36:11 by PaulHerox.
I think you 100% can have him cover 8 but there are better choices to start there and Willis is that player for both England and Saracens.
England's backrow especially 7 is super crowded with both established quality and exciting new talent. When fit Saracens have a similar abundance of riches in the backrow.
I think to retain his England spot he needs an extra USP and the obvious one is covering centre to a good standard.
I think that suits Saracens too so I'd hope that together with England the plan is starting at 7 but having the time put in so he's a genuine option to move to 12 if needed.
Re our team V Bears we will obvious see who is fit and not come selection.
My preference would be the same team again as much as possible and ideally bench players becoming starters where needed and wider squad onto the bench in the backrow/wing.
If we decide to change things at 10/FullBack then my preference would be Johnson at 10 with Farrell outside and Burke at FullBack.
Johnson isn't as far along as I'd like but I appreciate he's had limited game time.
With Farrell alongside him and swapping in at first receiver you have an opportunity to mitigate that inexperience.
Burke has played a significant amount at FullBack in the SH and even had a run out for Scotland. I'd have no hesitations about him there at all.
I think I'd prefer that than moving Farrell to 10 with Hutchinson and Tompkins outside.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:09:30:11:36:11 by PaulHerox.
I like that too Paul, and gets us one closer to my 'dream' backlike of 'every player is a 10' ;-)
Quote:nedrichards
I like that too Paul, and gets us one closer to my 'dream' backlike of 'every player is a 10' ;-)
9, Johnson, 11, Farrell, Lozo, Malins, Burke is the closest I can get. 5 of 7 not too shabby.
If we still had Whiteley he could be the 9, 10.
Just need an additional wing 10. Can our young SA 10 play there.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:09:30:11:33:44 by PaulHerox.
Davidson played at 15 in the prem cup so stick him there and shunt Burke out onto the wing.
We (Bris) lost Luatua not Ravouvou Luatua limped off before the end of the game but, heโs tough as they come and may well be ready for the weekend with yet more strapping ( we havenโt seen his legs since 2020) !
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:10:03:11:01:06 by Hercules Spoons.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:10:03:11:01:06 by Hercules Spoons.
Paul H I absolutely agree regarding Earl. He did a very good job for the Lions in the summer. I hope he can bring his A-game to sarries as well.
TK who is Davidson? Is he an academy player or joined the club this year?
TK who is Davidson? Is he an academy player or joined the club this year?
Luke Davidson joined last year I think, we picked him up from SA straight from school. He played a few matches for Ampthill at 10 and won man of the match. Heโs also been picked in the latest England u20s squad.
Heโs had a couple of prem cup cameos off the bench, without too much chance to show what he can do but definitely an exciting prospect.
Yeah, I might have to cheat with Daly, and then play Jamie George at actual 10.
Thank you TK and Bard. I must have missed the Premiership Cup games he featured in. Definitely exciting if he's won MotM for Ampthill.
Ned Richards, we do have a song that goes all we need is a team of Jamie george. I would expect him to be more of a Cipriani/Phil bennett hybrid what with the mean footwork JG possesses.
Ned Richards, we do have a song that goes all we need is a team of Jamie george. I would expect him to be more of a Cipriani/Phil bennett hybrid what with the mean footwork JG possesses.
saracensfan62: he came on for the "not good bit" against Northampton, not that being beaten up in the forwards is usually the full backs fault! Just meant he didn't have much of a chance to show his class.
Pat Lam has confirmed that Randall, McGinty and Ibitoye are all due to undergo surgery this week.
Ibitoye is often our best player when we play them. Some kamikaze moments in recent games but keeps you entertained!
But of course we are missing Maro , Ben Earl , Jamie G and Elliot Daley , whereas their only Lion is Ellis Genge , which evens things up a bit !
Here we go ......
Saracens Men team to play Bristol Bears:
1 Rhys Carre
2 Theo Dan
3 Marco Riccioni
4 Harry Wilson
5 Hugh Tizard
6 Nick Isiekwe
7 Andy Onyeama-Christie
8 Tom Willis
9 Ivan Van Zyl (c)
10 Fergus Burke
11 Rotimi Segun
12 Owen Farrell
13 Nick Tompkins
14 Jack Bracken
15 Max Malins
Replacements:
16 Eoghan Clarke
17 Eroni Mawi
18 Alec Clarey
19 Olamide Sodeke
20 Charlie West
21 Charlie Bracken
22 Cameron Hutchison
23 Noah Caluori
Unavailable: Lucio Cinti, Ben Earl, Jamie George, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Maro Itoje, Tietie Tuimauga.
Injured: Phil Brantingham, Elliot Daly, Max Eke, Tobias Elliott, Angus Hall, Olly Hartley, Toby Knight, Alex Lozowski, Theo McFarland, Vilikesa Nairau, Sam Spink, Brandon Jackson, Harvey Beaton
Saracens Men team to play Bristol Bears:
1 Rhys Carre
2 Theo Dan
3 Marco Riccioni
4 Harry Wilson
5 Hugh Tizard
6 Nick Isiekwe
7 Andy Onyeama-Christie
8 Tom Willis
9 Ivan Van Zyl (c)
10 Fergus Burke
11 Rotimi Segun
12 Owen Farrell
13 Nick Tompkins
14 Jack Bracken
15 Max Malins
Replacements:
16 Eoghan Clarke
17 Eroni Mawi
18 Alec Clarey
19 Olamide Sodeke
20 Charlie West
21 Charlie Bracken
22 Cameron Hutchison
23 Noah Caluori
Unavailable: Lucio Cinti, Ben Earl, Jamie George, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Maro Itoje, Tietie Tuimauga.
Injured: Phil Brantingham, Elliot Daly, Max Eke, Tobias Elliott, Angus Hall, Olly Hartley, Toby Knight, Alex Lozowski, Theo McFarland, Vilikesa Nairau, Sam Spink, Brandon Jackson, Harvey Beaton
Bristol (not sure how official) taken from their site
Woolmore
Oghre
Chawatama
Dun
Batley
Owen
Ivanishvili
Mata
Marmion
Jordan
Ravouvou
Jenkins
BJVR
Rees-Zammit
Carrington
Thacker
Grahamslaw
Kloska
Luatua
B. Grondona
Pepper
Worsley
Boshoff
Woolmore
Oghre
Chawatama
Dun
Batley
Owen
Ivanishvili
Mata
Marmion
Jordan
Ravouvou
Jenkins
BJVR
Rees-Zammit
Carrington
Thacker
Grahamslaw
Kloska
Luatua
B. Grondona
Pepper
Worsley
Boshoff
Huge introduction to Prem rugby for Jack Bracken tomorrow up against Ravouvou
I think the later kick off of 5.30pm should mean that the wind has significantly abated by kick off. Still breezy but not a gale!
I wonโt get my hopes up. An ant farts and it feels like a gale at the StoneX!
Just the sort of game for Farrell to show all the experience and game-management we're always told about.
Opponents we've been winners over for a while plus injuries/absences of their key personnel often equalled complacency and upset last season so not doing that would be building on last weeks very good opener too.
The less said about tonight's match officiating the better but both teams played very well in pretty biblical conditions. Spencer in particular.
Opponents we've been winners over for a while plus injuries/absences of their key personnel often equalled complacency and upset last season so not doing that would be building on last weeks very good opener too.
The less said about tonight's match officiating the better but both teams played very well in pretty biblical conditions. Spencer in particular.
Referee: Christophe Ridley (89th match)
ARs: Dan Jones & Gareth Holsgrove
TMO: Stuart Terheege
ARs: Dan Jones & Gareth Holsgrove
TMO: Stuart Terheege
Excitement increases as match day arrives. Looking forward to a good game this evening.
With Ridley I really hope we bin the back-chat or we're likely to spend a lot of time being penalised and marched back 10.
Weather forecast suggests a sunny if windy game in North London. Let's hope its a good one.
Weather forecast suggests a sunny if windy game in North London. Let's hope its a good one.
๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐.
Eoghan Clarke has been ruled out, replaced by James Hadfield.
Eoghan Clarke has been ruled out, replaced by James Hadfield.
31-0 at halftime. This season our squad has to be up there with the best in the league. And weโve not yet got our test players back!
Supporting Saracens for over 55 years.
Supporting Saracens for over 55 years.
Quote:Sarriebone
๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐.
Eoghan Clarke has been ruled out, replaced by James Hadfield.
Hadfield was excellent- solid in the set piece and a decent engine on him.
Jack Bracken. Oh my!
Jack and Charlie both superb. Max M also.
Supporting Saracens for over 55 years.
Supporting Saracens for over 55 years.
That was enjoyable! Some of the tries were works of art. 31-0 at half time was a fair reflection of our dominance with some impressive work in the tackle area. Loved a couple of Tom Willis strips of the ball. Farrell was impressive as a second distributor and marshalling the backs. Isiekwe was excellent running the line out. The scrum was solid. Scoring 50 against Bristol whilst also giving many of the youngsters valuable game minutes was a great result.
Nice to see Maro et al walking around the ground as a promise of more to come. I would give a shout out to AOC who made lots of useful contributions.
Great start to the season and off to the Stoop next.
Nice to see Maro et al walking around the ground as a promise of more to come. I would give a shout out to AOC who made lots of useful contributions.
Great start to the season and off to the Stoop next.
That was a really enjoyable game.
Hard luck Bears they are suffering badly with injuries. Hopefully none of those from today are too serious.
Hopefully Dan is ok too.
I actually think Hadfield would have been a decent shout for MotM. Came on very early. Set piece was great, he was one of our top tacklers and was decent in the carry and showed some nice hands in the loose. For all the stardust we're witnessing performances like that and Wilsons are what makes it possible.
Another game with 60% sub 3 second ruck speed.
Second week in a row Van-Zyl making those who suggested his performances in previous seasons were about his lack of pace/talent as opposed to the awful gameplan look a bit silly.
We also saw the value of running players off Willis looking for the off-load rather than just using him as a battering ram.
It's almost as though some of us know what we've been talking about for seasons.
Too many brilliant performances including the coaches to go through them all but the things that made me especially happy were Carre on the carry with his big grin, Segun two games into the season looking exceptional and not injured, Riccioni's work rate around the field, Van-Zyls supporting run and return pass for Malins and the reward the team and coaches are getting for backing our skills and the team buy in on defence.
Also how good was Jack Bracken.
In terms of Bears I thought Marmion changed the game for them and LRZ showed how devastating he can be. I don't know if he's lost any pace but what he's gained in physicality more than makes up for it of so. He went through a few of our better defenders like butter.
Ultimately all three of their trys fed by basic mistakes from us but it's great to have work-ons.
Hard luck Bears they are suffering badly with injuries. Hopefully none of those from today are too serious.
Hopefully Dan is ok too.
I actually think Hadfield would have been a decent shout for MotM. Came on very early. Set piece was great, he was one of our top tacklers and was decent in the carry and showed some nice hands in the loose. For all the stardust we're witnessing performances like that and Wilsons are what makes it possible.
Another game with 60% sub 3 second ruck speed.
Second week in a row Van-Zyl making those who suggested his performances in previous seasons were about his lack of pace/talent as opposed to the awful gameplan look a bit silly.
We also saw the value of running players off Willis looking for the off-load rather than just using him as a battering ram.
It's almost as though some of us know what we've been talking about for seasons.
Too many brilliant performances including the coaches to go through them all but the things that made me especially happy were Carre on the carry with his big grin, Segun two games into the season looking exceptional and not injured, Riccioni's work rate around the field, Van-Zyls supporting run and return pass for Malins and the reward the team and coaches are getting for backing our skills and the team buy in on defence.
Also how good was Jack Bracken.
In terms of Bears I thought Marmion changed the game for them and LRZ showed how devastating he can be. I don't know if he's lost any pace but what he's gained in physicality more than makes up for it of so. He went through a few of our better defenders like butter.
Ultimately all three of their trys fed by basic mistakes from us but it's great to have work-ons.
Quote:PaulHerox
That was a really enjoyable game.
Hard luck Bears they are suffering badly with injuries. Hopefully none of those from today are too serious.
Hopefully Dan is ok too.
I actually think Hadfield would have been a decent shout for MotM. Came on very early. Set piece was great, he was one of our top tacklers and was decent in the carry and showed some nice hands in the loose. For all the stardust we're witnessing performances like that and Wilsons are what makes it possible.
Another game with 60% sub 3 second ruck speed.
Second week in a row Van-Zyl making those who suggested his performances in previous seasons were about his lack of pace/talent as opposed to the awful gameplan look a bit silly.
We also saw the value of running players off Willis looking for the off-load rather than just using him as a battering ram.
It's almost as though some of us know what we've been talking about for seasons.
Too many brilliant performances including the coaches to go through them all but the things that made me especially happy were Carre on the carry with his big grin, Segun two games into the season looking exceptional and not injured, Riccioni's work rate around the field, Van-Zyls supporting run and return pass for Malins and the reward the team and coaches are getting for backing our skills and the team buy in on defence.
Also how good was Jack Bracken.
In terms of Bears I thought Marmion changed the game for them and LRZ showed how devastating he can be. I don't know if he's lost any pace but what he's gained in physicality more than makes up for it of so. He went through a few of our better defenders like butter.
Ultimately all three of their trys fed by basic mistakes from us but it's great to have work-ons.
You're the Donald Trump of the Sarries forum.
Really impressive performance today, the new shouty female compere absolutely horrendous though
Well done to Mawi for forcing the knock on/drop on Thacker on the line with the last play too.
Very satisfying to not give any points away.
I watched on TV where none of the compares registered but it was really nice to have Sarah Elgin back.
Very satisfying to not give any points away.
I watched on TV where none of the compares registered but it was really nice to have Sarah Elgin back.
Yep, IVZ has been class these 2 games, last season the game plan was poor and he lost his spark with the added responsibility of losing Faz and being told to help Ferg. He didnโt suddenly become a bad player, and he is proving what a good 9 he is.
Also, well done to big Tiz - huge shift today, doing more carrying and glad he scored. Seems he is getting his confidence back! Huge shifts from big Nick, little Nick, Maxi, Marco, Hadders and the OC. Hope little Theo not out for too long, another who seemed to be getting his confidence and accuracy back. And Harry Wilson was also immense.
Is it me or is Faz actually tackling lower?! Some great defence today by the whole team, not just impressed with the bracken bros skill and pace, their work rate in defence, too.
Big shout out to Charlie West, too, he had an eventful 8 mins on the pitch, ripping balls from bears (!) and being on the receiving end of the biggest hit Iโve seen for a while (and legal). Congrats to Marmion, score a hatrick and you end up getting nothing out of the game, harsh. Unfortunately, their injury list just keeps getting bigger.
A great start to the season, big game next week away to Quins and maybe some returning internationals - if they can earn a place Odin the squad!!!
Also, well done to big Tiz - huge shift today, doing more carrying and glad he scored. Seems he is getting his confidence back! Huge shifts from big Nick, little Nick, Maxi, Marco, Hadders and the OC. Hope little Theo not out for too long, another who seemed to be getting his confidence and accuracy back. And Harry Wilson was also immense.
Is it me or is Faz actually tackling lower?! Some great defence today by the whole team, not just impressed with the bracken bros skill and pace, their work rate in defence, too.
Big shout out to Charlie West, too, he had an eventful 8 mins on the pitch, ripping balls from bears (!) and being on the receiving end of the biggest hit Iโve seen for a while (and legal). Congrats to Marmion, score a hatrick and you end up getting nothing out of the game, harsh. Unfortunately, their injury list just keeps getting bigger.
A great start to the season, big game next week away to Quins and maybe some returning internationals - if they can earn a place Odin the squad!!!
Even with the caveat that Bris were missing some key players that was one of the best performances in years. Quality in defence and the attack looked really smooth at times. J Bracken impressive not just for his tries but tackled really hard all game, particularly for someone of his size and quality kick chase, our jumping Ravouvoi was great. Sodeke was excellent when he came on for Willisโs HIA in particular, lots of big hits. Roti was really prominent too. Carrรฉ with some great carries. Really too many good performances to be able to adequately choose a player of the match. Bit of an acid test at Quins next week after our struggles vs them last season.
Seems like the whole world is bemoaning the Brizzle injury crisis but the fact is that, before kick-off, they had 19 players unavailable but Sarries had 20 players unavailable. The difference is that Sarries have a senior squad of 45, Brizzle only 36.
Briz may have been architects of their own crisis with such a small squad.
Briz may have been architects of their own crisis with such a small squad.
Yesterday was the most fun Iโve had watching the team at the stonex in 2 years.
Excellent first half performance that tailed off in the second but still had some nice attacking flair to it.
So so excited to finally see some evolution. There were some small failings yesterday but I donโt care as I thought at times, particularly in attack, we were mercurial.
Shout out to Ivz. Thought he was dreadful last year and a half but looked brilliant yesterday. Amazing what happens when you get quick ball and he really did that.
I think having faz there just makes all the difference. Ivz doesnโt need to worry about anything. Think the 9-10-12 axis worked really well releasing max jack and roti.
Very very enjoyable day all round
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:10:05:08:40:11 by Stonexjim.
Excellent first half performance that tailed off in the second but still had some nice attacking flair to it.
So so excited to finally see some evolution. There were some small failings yesterday but I donโt care as I thought at times, particularly in attack, we were mercurial.
Shout out to Ivz. Thought he was dreadful last year and a half but looked brilliant yesterday. Amazing what happens when you get quick ball and he really did that.
I think having faz there just makes all the difference. Ivz doesnโt need to worry about anything. Think the 9-10-12 axis worked really well releasing max jack and roti.
Very very enjoyable day all round
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:10:05:08:40:11 by Stonexjim.
Bringing Faz back is massive. Just what this exciting squad of youngsters and Sarries newbies needed. Until he gets called up by England again...
Stonexjim I totally agree that the first half of rugby was very entertaining. IVZ may have been the skipper but Owen was definitely running the show and as you say the 9 -10 - 12 axis worked brilliantly which gave the players outside plenty of opportunity to show their skills. Looking forward to this season, if those 3 can stay injury free! That is why I feel a bit sorry for Bristol as their equivalent went kaput the previous week against Leicester.,
I agree it was a great game, very enjoyable for a supporter to watch, however I do have some concerns about Owen. He played very well and exercised his talents to considerable effect however I think we are in danger of becoming too dependent on him' Once our centre's are available I believe we need to focus on them, to give them a real opportunity to contribute, and to further develop the kicking and game management of Fergus with Owen in support when needed.
Sadly missed the game in person yesterday. What was the attendance as the East stand looked a bit thin in places for our first home Premiership fixture and the "return of the king"!
My wife has told me that she's considering ending our marriage due to my utter obsession with rugby.
I'm begging her for one more try!
My wife has told me that she's considering ending our marriage due to my utter obsession with rugby.
I'm begging her for one more try!
The Rugby Paper shows the attendance as 8,503 but from where I was sitting I thought it might have been a little more, but no where near a full house.
Gutted i was part of the missing contingent STH, was my sons Birthday yesterday so didnt go, looking forward to Sale at home in a few weeks time
Ninjafez - supporting Sarries and cleaning their signs since 2006!
Ninjafez - supporting Sarries and cleaning their signs since 2006!
If you have a ST then I suspect you are counted as part of the 8503 whether you are present or not as I think the figure is the total number of tickets sold and not just those who manage to get to the ground.
So much more movement in our back line this season and Owen is a large part of that. IVZ, Burke and Tomkins much more assured than last season.
Pack all excellent too, set piece did its job and maul defence finally stopped someone.
Jack Bracken is seriously quick and a great finisher, he unfortunately does panic and throw blind passes after some scintillating breaks. But we have an incredible group of young wingers who all look at home in the prem.
Pack all excellent too, set piece did its job and maul defence finally stopped someone.
Jack Bracken is seriously quick and a great finisher, he unfortunately does panic and throw blind passes after some scintillating breaks. But we have an incredible group of young wingers who all look at home in the prem.
Srangelove Farrell may be making some tackles lower but he's still hitting high and upright a lot.
A couple of tackles v Bears were all it would have taken is a slight movement from the Bears player in contact and you're looking at head-on-head.
I think that the way the season runs and who ends up getting International call ups and who doesn't will naturally mean some rotation and opportunities.
Right now all our you centres; Hartley, Spink, Hall and Cinti are crocked or unavailable but they'll filter back in.
I think Wales would be mad not to pick Tompkins but we might have him available. My feeling is we'll have Farrell for at least the AIs but not Burke.
So perhaps Farrell to 10 if we have Tompkins available at 12 and if not Johnson to 10, Farrell to 12.
If Burke, Farrell and Tompkins, plus Cinti are unavailable it all gets a bit exciting for the 1? League game we'll miss them over this period.
I'm interested to see how we continue to use Farrell this season and have been encouraged by what we've seen so far.
It is working well if somewhat prescriptively so far and that will be the challenge.
The Ford/Farrell partnership was successful for England but also changed the way that Ford played making him much less of a threat at the line.
I'd hope that Burke retains a licence to play what he sees at the line rather than feel that his play is purely dictated by "his masters voice" and that extends to giving him the reigns at 10 with other options than Farrell at 12.
I have been impressed with how its worked so far as to me Burke/Farrell?Tompkins seemed to lack a bit of balance.
It will be interesting to see how it fares against more challenging opposition. I'm excited to see.
A couple of tackles v Bears were all it would have taken is a slight movement from the Bears player in contact and you're looking at head-on-head.
Quote:gerry1
I agree it was a great game, very enjoyable for a supporter to watch, however I do have some concerns about Owen. He played very well and exercised his talents to considerable effect however I think we are in danger of becoming too dependent on him' Once our centre's are available I believe we need to focus on them, to give them a real opportunity to contribute, and to further develop the kicking and game management of Fergus with Owen in support when needed.
I think that the way the season runs and who ends up getting International call ups and who doesn't will naturally mean some rotation and opportunities.
Right now all our you centres; Hartley, Spink, Hall and Cinti are crocked or unavailable but they'll filter back in.
I think Wales would be mad not to pick Tompkins but we might have him available. My feeling is we'll have Farrell for at least the AIs but not Burke.
So perhaps Farrell to 10 if we have Tompkins available at 12 and if not Johnson to 10, Farrell to 12.
If Burke, Farrell and Tompkins, plus Cinti are unavailable it all gets a bit exciting for the 1? League game we'll miss them over this period.
I'm interested to see how we continue to use Farrell this season and have been encouraged by what we've seen so far.
It is working well if somewhat prescriptively so far and that will be the challenge.
The Ford/Farrell partnership was successful for England but also changed the way that Ford played making him much less of a threat at the line.
I'd hope that Burke retains a licence to play what he sees at the line rather than feel that his play is purely dictated by "his masters voice" and that extends to giving him the reigns at 10 with other options than Farrell at 12.
I have been impressed with how its worked so far as to me Burke/Farrell?Tompkins seemed to lack a bit of balance.
It will be interesting to see how it fares against more challenging opposition. I'm excited to see.
Quote:PaulHerox
Srangelove Farrell may be making some tackles lower but he's still hitting high and upright a lot.
A couple of tackles v Bears were all it would have taken is a slight movement from the Bears player in contact and you're looking at head-on-head.
Quote:gerry1
I agree it was a great game, very enjoyable for a supporter to watch, however I do have some concerns about Owen. He played very well and exercised his talents to considerable effect however I think we are in danger of becoming too dependent on him' Once our centre's are available I believe we need to focus on them, to give them a real opportunity to contribute, and to further develop the kicking and game management of Fergus with Owen in support when needed.
I think that the way the season runs and who ends up getting International call ups and who doesn't will naturally mean some rotation and opportunities.
Right now all our you centres; Hartley, Spink, Hall and Cinti are crocked or unavailable but they'll filter back in.
I think Wales would be mad not to pick Tompkins but we might have him available. My feeling is we'll have Farrell for at least the AIs but not Burke.
So perhaps Farrell to 10 if we have Tompkins available at 12 and if not Johnson to 10, Farrell to 12.
If Burke, Farrell and Tompkins, plus Cinti are unavailable it all gets a bit exciting for the 1? League game we'll miss them over this period.
I'm interested to see how we continue to use Farrell this season and have been encouraged by what we've seen so far.
It is working well if somewhat prescriptively so far and that will be the challenge.
The Ford/Farrell partnership was successful for England but also changed the way that Ford played making him much less of a threat at the line.
I'd hope that Burke retains a licence to play what he sees at the line rather than feel that his play is purely dictated by "his masters voice" and that extends to giving him the reigns at 10 with other options than Farrell at 12.
I have been impressed with how its worked so far as to me Burke/Farrell?Tompkins seemed to lack a bit of balance.
It will be interesting to see how it fares against more challenging opposition. I'm excited to see.
There are no Prem games during the Autumn Internationals so call ups to Tompkins/Burke/Cinti will not affect us
The England squad players will miss the Northampton away game due to a training camp
Thanks for the reply MarkCol7.
I'm just not sure about when players both EQP and other Internationals need mandated rests now as that will apparently clash with at least some Prem games.
It sounds a bit like we might have Internationals available for Saints but so will they.
Two things that really stood out on watching again were that we seem to be trying very hard with our discipline, breakdown especially and are seeing a massive benefit. Obviously more competitive opposition will create a greater need to slow the ball and likely infringe but its good to see.
The other thing is we left a lot of good chances out there. I'd say 2 0r 3 trys really should have been finished by playing a little more heads up. Bracken in particular suffered from men inside not giving him the final pass and giving him a race to the line.
Not a criticism but an observation on the amount of chances we are creating which is a big plus. We'll undoubtedly get even more clinical as the players get more comfortable with the gameplan and team-mates.
I'm just not sure about when players both EQP and other Internationals need mandated rests now as that will apparently clash with at least some Prem games.
It sounds a bit like we might have Internationals available for Saints but so will they.
Two things that really stood out on watching again were that we seem to be trying very hard with our discipline, breakdown especially and are seeing a massive benefit. Obviously more competitive opposition will create a greater need to slow the ball and likely infringe but its good to see.
The other thing is we left a lot of good chances out there. I'd say 2 0r 3 trys really should have been finished by playing a little more heads up. Bracken in particular suffered from men inside not giving him the final pass and giving him a race to the line.
Not a criticism but an observation on the amount of chances we are creating which is a big plus. We'll undoubtedly get even more clinical as the players get more comfortable with the gameplan and team-mates.
Paul,
Rest after International Windows applies to all Prem Players as part of PGB regs.
โPlayers selected in the match day 23 for all matches for their country during the Six Nations Championship and Autumn International fixtures will have a one (1) week rest period within the three (3) weeks following the end of any such period of international duty. The commencement date of such rest week will be discussed between the relevant Club DOR, the England Head Coach (where relevant in relation to EPS Players) and the relevant Player, but the final decision shall be made by the relevant Club DOR at their sole discretion;โ
Rest after International Windows applies to all Prem Players as part of PGB regs.
โPlayers selected in the match day 23 for all matches for their country during the Six Nations Championship and Autumn International fixtures will have a one (1) week rest period within the three (3) weeks following the end of any such period of international duty. The commencement date of such rest week will be discussed between the relevant Club DOR, the England Head Coach (where relevant in relation to EPS Players) and the relevant Player, but the final decision shall be made by the relevant Club DOR at their sole discretion;โ
Also both Ben & Maro played 33 games last season including the B&I lions.
The max is supposed to be 30, nothing definitive but the last I saw on this was the proposal, was that players exceeding the limit would have those number of games over the limit taken off this years limit.
ie Ben and Maro would be restricted to 27 games each this season.
The max is supposed to be 30, nothing definitive but the last I saw on this was the proposal, was that players exceeding the limit would have those number of games over the limit taken off this years limit.
ie Ben and Maro would be restricted to 27 games each this season.
Quote:tigersimon
Paul,
Rest after International Windows applies to all Prem Players as part of PGB regs.
โPlayers selected in the match day 23 for all matches for their country during the Six Nations Championship and Autumn International fixtures will have a one (1) week rest period within the three (3) weeks following the end of any such period of international duty. The commencement date of such rest week will be discussed between the relevant Club DOR, the England Head Coach (where relevant in relation to EPS Players) and the relevant Player, but the final decision shall be made by the relevant Club DOR at their sole discretion;โ
Will be interesting to see where the priority lies whether the England lads are rested for a European game or Bath at home after the Autumn Internationals
According to RugbyPass the number was actually 6609! [www.rugbypass.com] which... also seems off to me - certainly seemed a bit more than 'slightly over half full' and would indicate almost 2,000 season ticket holders not turning up?!?! Which... seems like a lot of our actual season ticket base.
Quote:Keffer K
That number feels like absolute nonsense to me.
It's RugbyPass, of course it's nonsense.
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