Saracens
Falcons downed ... just!
Dodgy action!
By King Zak
December 29 2014
Another game and still no clear answer as to why Saracens seem unable to put any real consistency into their performance. Yet another game littered with unforced errors and, at times, some real control and power.
This was my first visit to Kingston Park and I certainly hope it won't be the last! The highest Falcons home crowd for over 6 years created a great atmosphere and contributed to what was an absorbing contest.
A cold, clear day saw Sarries start in positive mood; driving forward through the front five and looking to keep the ball moving at any opportunity. Great to watch - poorly executed! Their adventure and willingness to play in such style is admirable but it requires far greater precision than currently evident. Having dominated the opening exchanges, Sarries fell behind to a Socino penalty after a dropped ball in attack led to a breakaway by Falcons and an offside decision against the visitors. If the first mistake had been unnecessary and costly, the next could have proved fatal - even as early as the 15th minute.
Once again, the visitors were on the attack, they had almost created an overlap on the right as Goode sought to feed Ashton. Unfortunately, he failed to spot the not inconsiderable bulk of Tuilagi between him and the intended recipient of his delayed pass. Having got over the shock of being presented with the ball just outside his own 22, the former Tiger set off with intent, and unobstructed, towards the try line. It was reminiscent of the 2011 Premiership Final, on that occasion his run was halted by a magnificent Brits tackle. This time though, only Hodgson stood between Tuilagi and glory. Having been brushed off at his first attempted tackle it is hugely to Hodgson's credit that he somehow managed to get a second opportunity just short of the try line to prevent the score. It took a lengthy TMO review to determine that Hodgson had forced the giant winger over the touchline fractionally before he grounded the ball. It was a tackle which proved to be costly for both sides. Tuilagi departed a few minutes later, and although Hodgson managed to return to action after treatment, he departed the fray at halftime. It is a worrying trend that Hodgson has now departed early on several occasions this season.
Sarries continued to control possession and territory as the first half progressed. They were quick to the breakdown, pressurised Falcons in defence and there were signs of improvement on previous weeks. But, just when they looked to be creating scoring opportunities, the errors we've witnessed so frequently this season returned to thwart them. Many of these were the ball being dropped or the pass going behind the intended recipient. The Vunipola brothers and Hargreaves carried very well, but one player in particular seems to epitomise the frustrations felt by many this season - Jacques Burger. Jacques, understandably, holds a cult type status amongst supporters for his relentless and ruthless tackling, and it was good to see much of that in evidence on Saturday. However, not many would consider him our ball playing, line breaking back row. Yet increasingly this season Saracens have used him in such a position, frequently leading to lost momentum in attack and often lost possession. On more than one occasion against Falcons he basically got in the way. This is a harsh criticism, and not one I feel comfortable writing, but it's hard to avoid when seeking to determine why things just don't seem to 'click'.
When the simple errors were omitted, Saracens looked threatening indeed, particularly the combination of Goode, Farrell and Wyles down the left wing. It was this combination that led to the first try, as the latter two combined well in the narrow channel to keep the ball in play and drive towards the try line. With the Falcons defence trying to realign, De Kock saw a gap on the narrowest of blindsides to sneak over in the corner. Farrell made the most challenging of conversions look simple to put Sarries ahead 3-7 with 20 minutes played.
Falcons hit back shortly before halftime through another Socino penalty but Saracens forward domination continued to grind out territory. It was also refreshing to see the scrummage much more solid than in recent weeks. As the half drew to an end, another driving maul led to a penalty 30 metres out to the right of the posts. Having missed from a similar position earlier in the half, Farrell made no mistake this time to restore the 4 point advantage.
As the players trooped off to the warmth of the dressing room, with Sarries ahead 6-10, the general feeling was Saracens were in control but Falcons were battling hard to stay in contention. The locals were also less than impressed with referee Pearce, many suggesting that he must be a 'Mackem', such was his refusal to award any decision in favour of Newcastle.
The second period continued in similar fashion to much of the first, Saracens in possession, moving the ball quickly but always the threat of an error. They had an early warning when one misplaced pass was adjudged to have been knocked on by Falcons, thus denying them a breakaway score. The second time they were not so fortunate; Tompkins, a halftime replacement for Hodgson, and Mako combined to leave the ball lying on the floor. It was hacked on by Sinoti who just beat the despairing dive of international team-mate Bosch to complete the score. He added the conversion to give Falcons the lead 13-10.
The lead was short lived though as Saracens increased tempo led to a close range score for Tompkins, Farrell adding the conversion to restore their advantage on the scoreboard. The pattern of the game continued in much the same way but a couple of kicks highlighted one of the major differences on the day. Farrell had an opportunity from just inside Falcons half; he duly crashed the ball through the uprights to give Saracens a 7 point lead. Socino had an opportunity from about 35 metres; the ball never remotely looked like reaching the posts, dropping some 5 metres short. It was a let off for the visitors and ultimately cost Falcons the win.
As the half progressed Sarries seemed to grow in confidence and it was no real surprise when their third try arrived courtesy of the ever alert Ashton, via another 'blindside sneak'. It was a score greeted with boos from the home support, something I didn't quite understand. I hope it was linked to the prior award of a disputed lineout to Saracens which led to the score, rather than anything against the player himself. The mood was not helped as Farrell attempted to take the conversion fully 15 metres further infield than where the score had been made. Referee Pearce spotted the ‘error’ and moved the ball 10 metres closer to the touchline. Farrell again lined up the kick only for Pearce to decide he needed to move it again. He finally placed the ball in the right spot but quite some time had elapsed - the crowd and Falcons players were demanding that the allocated time had passed. The comedy moment continued as the ball then obligingly fell from the tee; the frustrated Farrell went to replace it only to be told his time was running out, so he opted for a drop kick. The baying crowd momentarily fell silent as it seemed that the kick was actually going over. It eventually struck the post, much to the kicker's frustration. I have a degree of sympathy for him; Pearce wasted time putting the ball in the wrong place and then allowed Falcons to charge as he went to replace the ball after it fell from the tee. Somewhat ironic given the incident earlier this season involving Ashton.
The whole incident seemed to galvanise Falcons and just when it seemed the game was comfortably won, Sarries conspired to present them with another Christmas gift. This time it was Ashton at fault. Having initially done well to intercept a wide pass inside his own 22, he then inexplicably tried to offload from the floor to the invisible man! With no Sarries player in sight, the ball fell nicely for replacement wing Chris Harris to score in the right corner. Socino's conversion drifted wide and with 5 minutes to go Sarries lead was cut to 7 points.
They continued to strive for the bonus point try, but it was still a high risk approach, giving rise to the thought that one more error could take the win away from them. Sure enough, another breakdown in communication led to a Falcons penalty. They kicked deep for the lineout, Sarries conceded another penalty in midfield and Harris scampered home for his second try. All that remained was for Socino to add the conversion and bring the scores level with the final kick of the game. It was from the almost identical spot as his previous effort. Much to the relief of the visitors, it had the same end product, just wide. It is shame his goal kicking doesn't match the rest of his game. Socino is a genuine star in the making and brings some real flair to the backline. The missed conversion gave a final score, 23-25.
We discussed on the way out of the ground that Sarries will be disappointed not to have got the try bonus point and Falcons disappointed that they failed to get at least a draw. In hindsight it was a very entertaining game, although Saracens will be unhappy with the number of errors they committed. Falcons are a much improved team this season. Their style of rugby has evolved, helped no doubt by the plastic surface and the running ability of Socino; if they continue to improve, not many teams will relish a trip to Kingston Park - welcoming as it is!
For Saracens, they are improving (I think!), but its slow progress. Yesterday is the first time that I've really thought that if Borthwick had been there we would have won comfortably, just by being more careful in retaining possession and being a bit more pragmatic. MoM for me would probably be Billy Vunipola. Everyone knows what he's going to do - run straight and hard; trying to stop him is another matter!
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Alex Tait; 14 Sinoti Sinoti, 13 Adam Powell, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Alesana Tuilagi; 10 Tom Catterick, 9 Mike Blair; 1Rob Vickers, 2 Scott Lawson, 3 Kieran Brookes, 4 Calum Green, 5 Kane Thompson, 6 Mark Wilson 7 Will Welch, 8 Allister Hogg.
Replacements; 16 George McGuigan, 17 Eric Fry, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Josh Furno, 20 Andy Saull, 21 Ruki Tipuna, 22 Chris Harris, 23 Tom Penny.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode; 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Chris Wyles; 10 Charlie Hodgson 9 Richard Wigglesworth; 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Jamie George, 3 James Johnston, 4 Jim Hamilton, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 6 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jacques Burger, 8 Ernst Joubert.
Replacements; 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Petrus Du Plessis, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Neil De Kock, 22 Nick Tompkins, 23 David Strettle
Referee: Luke Pearce
Attendance: 9,192
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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2015:01:08:16:27:54 by sutton_sarrie.
Nous sommes l'armée noir et rouge !
Nous sommes l'armée noir et rouge !
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