Saracens
Preview Gloucester v Saracens
Castle Grim
By Saracens4Life
April 17 2013
It's becoming an exciting time to be a Sarries fan. Already, under the stewardship of Brendan Venter then Mark McCall, the squeaky-bum mediocrity that used to characterise the Men in Black was made to feel like a distant memory. But in the last month or so, we have started to go through the gears. Bonus-point wins aplenty, on the new Allianz Park surface and away at Welford Road; comprehensive victories against top 4 sides; and the best of the lot, the crushing performance against Ulster. All of a sudden we're in two semi-finals and we're thinking of what we'd sacrifice to follow the team to potential silverwear.
But back down to earth for now, and to more immediate matters...
On Saturday we travel to Kingsholm to face an enigmatic Gloucester side. Their form this season has fluctuated between the lethal and the woeful. Perhaps none more woeful than their 30-point, 5-try drubbing away at Sale - where they looked headless and uncaring. But at home, against the best sides (i.e. Leicester and Quins), they have often raised their intensity and sparkled under the Kingsholm lights.
Suddenly, they have their apathy at the contact zone snapped out of them by the ferocious atmosphere. Their lateral, meandering attacking patterns are transformed as Freddie Burns and Billy Twelvetrees run at retreating defence lines. Their deadly strike runners find their golden eggs: space and 1-on-1s.
It is hard to predict which version of the Cherry & Whites will turn up this weekend. Yes, they are at home, against the top-of-the-table side (doesn't that sound nice?); but, their chances of making the play-offs are slipping fast, and last week's performance is the sort which can knock the stuffing out of a side.
In the worst case scenario, Nick Wood single-handedly puts the scrum on the front foot, and the likes of Sione Kalamafoni, Akapusi Qera and the returning Ben Morgan smash into people with ravenous intensity. At the other end of the scale, they are dominated on the tight-head side, and their lack of grafters - and lineout technicians, for that matter - in the back five is exploited.
We all know what Gloucester's young English backs can do with ball in hand, if they are given the opportunity. Freddie Burns is the best wide-passer of a rugby ball in England, no contest. Both Twelvetrees and Trinder are big fans of the audacious offload. Jonny May can terrify defences when he comes into the line from full back.
Equally, without the platform, they have a noticeable lack of experience and direction. They concede countless tries by not having a working exit strategy - either through chargedowns, or through territorial inferiority. Because they're not very efficient at the breakdown, they often don't have enough narrow running options in the backline - so they go too wide too early, and the attack becomes lateral and toothless.
Those are two deficiencies that you don't want against any close-to-its-best Sarries side. The wolfpack will invariably dominate and suffocate its opposition at the breakdown and in defence. Our kick-chase game is still the best tactically and the best-executed in the league, so we tend to dominate territorially as well. There was a fair bit of imprecision in these areas against Worcester - which I always find comforting (unless we lose!), because you can be sure it will be put right the following game. That's what our group is like. Certainly, you can be sure that similar imprecision will have nastier consequences at Kingsholm.
But - as we like to remind everyone - Sarries are no longer the one-dimensional, defence-orientated team that the Sky team chooses to see. The attacking intent is there; the familiarity, the speed of thought and execution, it's all improving; and we're racking up the tries. Anyone who says "you've clearly been wasting all your talent" needs to try playing at a different ground every week, with a backline disrupted by internationals, and an attack coach who is learning (albeit very quickly) on the job.
The attack was certainly potent enough against an admittedly tiring and scarcely-motivated Worcester side, with the Men in Black running in six good tries. David Strettle and Chris Ashton seem to have regained their respective “mojos” and they ran with gusto. The growth of Barritt and Tomkins as a combination has been one of this season’s biggest pleasures – and their hard running, good feet and (rarely credited) deft offloading is a key weapon for us. However, at the contact area especially, a lot of our performance on Sunday was not up to scratch – mostly attributable to the lower work rate of Smit and sub-par performances from Botha & Burger (the latter excused for lack of game-time!).
Efficiency and intensity in the contact area are fundamental to any winning performance – and especially as the platform if we want to make headway with ball in hand. With that in mind, and with Toulon looming on the horizon, I reckon our priority this Saturday will be on performance. Sorting out the fundamentals; being clinical in attack. And unless Gloucester are at their very best, the result will take care of itself; if they are, we have the luxury of not being too fussed about league points.
It will be a case of continuing our amazing momentum – so I’d expect to see not a second-string side (whatever that is) as is being mooted in some corners, but a virtually first-choice line-up. The only hindrance would be the question of fatigue among our Six Nations representatives.
At loosehead, either Gill or Vunipola would be an excellent option. You’d expect Mako to start next week so he’ll want a good half an hour if he comes off the bench, from where he will add considerable impact. Welshman Gill put in a good shift to mark his entry into the 100 Club, so perhaps he deserves to keep the starting berth. On the other side of the front row, Stevens is outright first-choice, but if he’d prefer a breather, Du Plessis and Nieto are more than able back-ups. Just a word on Carlos: he has fallen out of favour somewhat with the coaches as his legs have grown older and less nimble, but in his two big cameos recently, he won two huge scrum penalties against Wasps, and scored a try against the Warriors; the mark of a true club man.
At hooker, it may well be a matter of wrapping Brits (if fit at all) and Smit in cotton wool, allowing young Jamie George a long overdue start. Captain Fantastic will start in the second row after a week-off, and will look to make a mess of Gloucester’s non-specialist lineout. I would have his partner for next week, Ali Hargreaves, on the bench allowing George Kruis to continue his meteoric rise. Kruis ran an almost-exemplary lineout on Sunday, made 20 tackles and 9 effective, tackle-busting carries. The kid’s a star.
In the back row, I would have thought Will Fraser will be restored alongside vice-Captain Fantastic Kelly Brown. Those two are so crucial to our game plan, and their graft at the breakdown may well show up their Cherry & White counterparts. Jacko Wray will probably keep the #8 shirt after a strong outing; Ernst Joubert, if he’s found a new nose, will slot onto the bench – and if he hasn’t, Jacques Attack can continue his road to recovery. One area where we had success against Worcester and Ulster is the catch-and-drive, and there’ll be few better opponents to continue that streak than Gloucester; it’s become an extremely helpful weapon for us.
Behind the scrum, I’d give Neil De Kock a week’s rest after Josh Matavesi’s decapitating, yet seemingly invisible, tackle. Ben Spencer, in my well-recounted opinion, is a worthy replacement. Fly-half is a tough call: Farrell will have the shirt against Toulon, which advances his case, but then again Hodgson is returning to some very dangerous form. I’ll let the coaches decide on that one. Maybe the infamous coin-toss.
In the centres, I think we’ll see Barritt and Tomkins carrying on where they left off, unless the former, who was looking slightly weary last weekend, needs a week off. In that case, I would play Duncan Taylor at 12 as the more like-for-like replacement: hard running, solid in defence, throws his body on the line. On the wings, Twitter has it that Ashton will be having a week off on rotation after his hugely impressive exploits in recent weeks – which would leave Strettle and Wyles competing for the following week’s #11 shirt, with the ex-Harlequin currently in poll position after his record-breaking hat-trick.
Alex Goode is one player I think we could still see more of. He remains safe as houses at the back, and much as the Shed will try and change that on Saturday, I can’t see him being troubled by Gloucester’s kicking game. On the counter attack though, I feel he needs to back himself more (see the build-up to Ashton’s try against Ulster for how effective he can be) – perhaps he hasn’t quite got over the harder kick-chases of the Six Nations, but he has the all-important gift of being able to beat the first man so long as he runs purposefully. Our wingers would definitely find it easier if Goode ran harder and broke the line more regularly.
But that small gripe aside – and remember we would be nowhere if we weren’t constantly looking for improvements – Sarries look in superb shape going into the final few weeks of the season. But we need to remember that nothing is won yet, and there is still the potential for everything to go off the rails. What will see us through is a focused and ruthless attitude (of which more next week) – so let’s start as we mean to go on against Gloucester.
See y’all at Castle Grim…
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Stumbleupon17/04/2013 08:20
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:25:09:25:48 by sutton_sarrie.
Quote:Shhh!
"lower work rate of Smit" - ??? Must've been at a different game to me.
Compared to Schalk. Not meant as a slight!
Quote:Thanks or an insightful preview.
Didn't notice a (presumably) typo there - I thought you were making a comment that a writer had to choose which they wanted...seemed rather harsh to me
I don't want to take over someone else's mantle!!!
Quote:Shhh!
"lower work rate of Smit" - ??? Must've been at a different game to me.
Different work. Obviously Smit doesn't have Schalk's pace and dance steps when in the wide blue yonder, but I was very, very impressed on Sunday by the number of bulldozing caries he got through and the number of times he was on hand to sort out a breakdown in our favour. Whenever there was tight work to be done, he was there.
Quote:Shhh!
Different work. Obviously Smit doesn't have Schalk's pace and dance steps when in the wide blue yonder, but I was very, very impressed on Sunday by the number of bulldozing caries he got through and the number of times he was on hand to sort out a breakdown in our favour. Whenever there was tight work to be done, he was there.
I see your point, and as before I'm not trying to be dismissive about John's contributions - just realistic about their fitness levels.
Wasn't referring to fancy stuff in the wide channels. I reckon Schalk and John are equally effective carrying through the middle. My instinct from watching them is that Schalk's tackle count is higher, his line speed is faster (one of our leaders in this respect) and he hits more breakdowns. He's also a primary kick-chaser.
So no criticism of Smit intended here ... just my view of their relative contributions. Either will do an excellent job this weekend & against Toulon.
Quote:Shhh!Quote:Shhh!
"lower work rate of Smit" - ??? Must've been at a different game to me.
Different work. Obviously Smit doesn't have Schalk's pace and dance steps when in the wide blue yonder, but I was very, very impressed on Sunday by the number of bulldozing caries he got through and the number of times he was on hand to sort out a breakdown in our favour. Whenever there was tight work to be done, he was there.
"Carries". I meant "carries". I have no idea what his dental health is like. And although I've no idea how bulldozing caries might manifest, it sounds horrible!
Regards from the Gardens
Mobbs
The Burg's tweeted about getting another game so will be at least benching. Maybe Will will swap with Melck?
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