We are family.....

By TheSaracens.com
December 15 2021

I’m reflecting as we drive to StoneX on a miserable Saturday that this will be Sarries’ first game in European competition since that heart-breaking night in Paris when a piece of magic from Finn Russell ended our hopes of a glorious exit from the elite level of northern hemisphere club rugby for who knew how long, and in the same game a head injury took a distraught Brad Barritt from a field of play for the final time. It’s hard to believe, with everything that’s happened in recent times, it’s only 15 months since that night, and that it was, technically, two seasons ago.  Today, though, it’s the first step of a season-long journey that I hope – having already booked the tickets, flights and hotel - will end on a balmy Friday night in Marseille next May with Sarries lifting what would, for us, be a new pot for the cabinet although with the greatest respect to the Challenge Cup and its contestants I don’t want us to qualify for entry again... Much like the Championship, the Challenge Cup is a lovely trophy to win, but just the once please: I wonder if we’d get a fourth star on the jersey, perhaps smaller and maybe a different colour…

Parking up at StoneX a little after 12.30 when the gates are due to open, we notice a lot of people hanging around outside – it transpires that there has been a burst water main in NW4 and we are told that it had been "touch and go" whether the match could go ahead, which it will to the enormous credit of the stadium team at Saracens, although given that there’s no water supply in the Olympic Bar, and being extremely selfish here, it remains to be seen whether I will get my half-time and game-critical café de boeuf (as Bovril is known in the Browne household).

There may be an omen to be found in the above, but I can’t figure out what it is.

Most importantly of all, though, the Edinburgh fans haven’t had a wasted journey.

The Sarries squad for today has been tweaked a little since last week’s entirely self-inflicted debacle at Sandy Park (when even some Exeter fans I was chatting to in the post-match bus queue felt that we were the better side and were the more likely of the two clubs to win the Premiership this season).   

A striking feature of the squad will be the presence of no fewer than four members of the Vunipola clan, with Kapeli Pifeleti joining cousins Mako, Billy and Manu in the starting XV.

Working backwards, positionally speaking, the recently shorn Alec Clarey is the only non-Vunipola in the front row, coming in for the sadly Wasps-bound Vincent Koch who is reportedly on holiday in Abu Dhabi (don’t blame him, the weather’s miserable here); Maro, following a Covid scare, is confirmed as available to play and replaces Nick Isiekwe who drops to the bench, while the fast-maturing Callum Hunter-Hill comes to play against his former club; another rapidly-developing talent, Andy Christie, comes in for one of last week’s co-captains, Jackson Wray, alongside Ben and Billy in the back row; the midfield is re-jigged with Manu coming in at fly-half while Elliot Daly moves forward to outside-centre with Loz moving inside to accommodate him; in the backs, we have Max and Alex Lewington on the wings and today’s (sole) captain, the good Mr Goode, at full-back - having been baffled by the co-captaincy system recently in use by Sarries, I’m pleased to see  that we’ve reverted to just the one skipper this week.

The bench looks strong, with a mixture of old, international and young.

Edinburgh’s line-up is not entirely unfamiliar featuring as it does internationals like 2021 Lion Hamish Watson, Henry Pyrgos, Grant Gilchrist, James Lang, Pierre Schoeman and WP Nel, plus, I notice, a pair of Pumas in Emiliano Boffelli and Ramiro Moyano; as Darraghgirl talks about in her excellent match preview, Edinburgh are having a fine season and currently lie second in what is now called the URC. 

I’ve picked up on a rather flat atmosphere around the ground pre-match, which we’ve variously attributed to the miserable weather, a crowd likely to be somewhat below capacity, Sarries’ fluctuating form over the last few games, Christmas looming ever closer and uncertainty over the Omicron situation: this is translated into the build-up to the match where the buzz of anticipation in the crowd doesn’t seem to be quite there somehow.

The game gets underway, and Edinburgh make a positive start with the first real action resulting in a penalty which, from 48 metres out, Boffelli dispatches with all the aplomb of our own Argentinian long-range legend, Marcelo Bosch, to register the first score of the game for 0-3 with only 3 minutes on the clock.

Sarries come more into the game now, with some good work from Pifeleti followed by a spell of sweeping  play taking the ball across the field, but when the ball reaches Malins he can’t get to his own kick and the chance is lost.

There’s a fairly even spell of play, with Edinburgh already looking calm and well-organised, showing the confidence that having a good season brings; Sarries gain some traction in the game, however, as they move forward and, following a Sarries scrum, a classy piece of work from Earl sets Goode up to go over on the left, although Manu is unable to add the extras as he fires wide so as we approach the quarter of an hour it’s 5-3 as Sarries settle into the game.

Edinburgh regain the lead after winning a penalty from a scrum almost on the half-way line and again Boffelli fires a long-range effort to regain the lead for his side, taking the score to 5-6.

Shortly afterwards, and in two separate incidents within just a few minutes, Sarries’ already long injury list grows further when first Billy Vunipola appears to have landed awkwardly and sustained what looks like a knee injury, although he was able to walk off, with Wray coming on as his replacement, and then Pifeleti is hurt and, very concerning, remains prone on the pitch for a long period until being taken off on stretcher. Lewis, now Sarries’ senior hooker, is also now on.

The game resumes after an understandably long break, as we reach 20 minutes and from a scrum Edinburgh surge forward, with a cross field kick finding Montayo (with Lewington caught out of position, do I see?)  who goes over in the corner; Boffelli with, for him, a very short-range effort, takes the score to 5-13.

Good as Edinburgh are, it must be said that Sarries haven’t really got into their full stride so far in the game, and I fear they could have been unsettled by the two injuries in quick succession.

Nonetheles, Sarries reduce the deficit in very short order, with a penalty kicked to the corner and then Andy Christie is prominent as he first has a go close to the posts, then after play moves wide, he pops up again and this time touches down on the left. Manu converts successfully and we edge within a point of Edinburgh at 12-13 as the half draws to a close.

A successful Goode 50:22 gets us out of our seats briefly, but Edinburgh defend well and the half draws to a close.

So far, so-so and although Edinburgh look a good side, I can’t help thinking that a Sarries side at full throttle could be comfortably ahead. Talented as Manu is he can’t provide the game management and control of a Farrell or Lozowski, while Malins looked “out of sorts” at Exeter and does so today.

There is no half-time café de boeuf to be had, and the weather is getting worse. What more can happen?

Enlivened by a chat over tea and orange slices, Sarries come out firing, with Daly gathering the kick-off and charging deep into Edinburgh territory, where we win a penalty, which Manu calmly slotting the ball over to put Sarries ahead 15-13 with a minute gone in the half. Can we push on and finish the job???

“No” is the answer – and the rain pouring down as the dark sky tries hard to replenish the water supply at StoneX.

Boffelli produces another howitzer of a penalty from 50 metres to edge Edinburgh 15-16 in front as the quality of the game deteriorates along with the weather.

Sarries are decidedly aimless now, and having shown no real enterprise resort to a fruitless kicking game, producing nothing other than chances for Edinburgh to take mark and clear their lines; eventually, though, we do win a penalty and Manu does his job to give our boys an 18-16 lead as we approach the hour mark.

Sarries, having edged in front, and then survived a missed Boffelli penalty, contrive to apply more pressure on themselves when, just a few minutes after our having taken the lead, Edinburgh start to dominate and after a series of infringements, Mawi is yellow-carded as we move into the last quarter of an hour.

Following on from the yellow card Edinburgh ramp up the pressure on Sarries’ defence and although an initial drive over the line results in a disallowed try (double movement, so someone sitting behind us who's listening to a radio tells me), they take the opportunity afforded by a penalty advantage to regain the lead when, after the penalty is kicked to the 5 metre line, the powerful Nel drives over and although the conversion is missed the Scots take an 18-21 lead as the game moves into its closing stages.

Sarries at last wake up and enjoy probably their best spell of the game, driving forward to besiege the Edinburgh line, and after wave upon wave of attack, finally force their way over the line and the stadium erupts as the referee raises his arm and our players celebrate – until that is the referee walks over to the big screen and after repeated replays, which I struggle to see because a large group of considerate fans decide to stand up, completely unnecessarily, thinking they can see the screen better whilst on their feet (they can't), the try is not given.

The game ends with the huge sense of frustration that had pervaded StoneX for most of the afternoon.

There’s no doubt that we’re missing our injured stars and experienced operators like the desperately unlucky Duncan Taylor, and in particular it’s apparent that we’re missing Owen’s leadership and ability to control games, but we shoud still have enough quality and experience available to win matches like this, with all due repect to a good Edinburgh side.

Of most concern to me was the lack of ideas, as we resorted too often to a kicking game that simply gave up possession, and at no point until the very end of the game were we able to retain possession for long enough to pressure the admittedly well-organised Edinburgh defence and there was no "spark". 

Jonny

Teams:

Sarries: 15 Goode; 14 Lewington; 13 Daly; 12 Lozowski; 11 Malins; 10 Manu Vunipola; 9 Van Zyl                                

1 Mako Vunipola; 2 Pifeleti; 3 Clarey; 4 Itoje; 5 Hunter-Hill; 6 Christie; 7 Earl; 8 Billy Vunipola

Substitutes: Lewis; Mawi  Beaton;  isiekwe;  Wray;  Davies;  Tompkins; Obatoyinbo.

Edinburgh: 15 Boffelli; 14 Blain; 13 Bennett; 12 Lang; 11  Moyano; 10 Savala; 9  Vellacott

1 Schoeman;  2 McInally; 3 Nel; 4 Sykes; 5 Gilchrist; 6 Crosbie; 7 Watson; 8 Haining.

Substitutes: Cherry; Venter;  Atalifo;  Hodgson;  Bradbury;  Pyrgos;  Van der Walt;  Hutchison

 Referee; T Trainini (France)