Saracens
OSPREYS PREVIEW: please post all match-related comments here
By The Saracens
March 31 2023
So with the job nicely done on Saturday and a home semi-final safely in the bag, thoughts turn to Europe on Sunday and the visit of Ospreys. Not surprisingly, it took a while for the squad to “click” on Saturday but once they started to read each other better, Sarries began to show glimpses of their best form. It was really encouraging to see Maro back to something like his best, Billy firing on all cylinders and Jamie showing everyone what a difference a classy hooker makes. But the biggest difference was the presence of Farrell.
When he is on the field, the team look different, more together, more determined, just better! And therein lies the rub. Owen hobbled off on Saturday with an ankle injury. Will he make it on Sunday? Encouragingly he was on the pitch at the end of the game of Saturday with just some ice strapped to the injured limb rather than the big plastic boot. A midweek update from the Club is optimistic, he is back in training and should be fit. I suspect he’ll want to play on 1 leg. Wild horses and all that!
So what of our visitors Ospreys? They are currently in 12th place in the United Rugby Championship having won just 5 of their 16 games. (But then Edinburgh are 14th and we had a lot of trouble with them!). However Ospreys managed a comprehensive 37-18 win over Dragons last weekend after 2 defeats (a heavy one to Munster and a narrow one to Benetton). Let’s not forget that in the pool stages of the Heineken Cup they defeated Montpelier twice and Leicester away from home so they seem to be a different “bird” on the European stage. When it comes to playing staff, Ospreys appear to have some class. With the likes of George North, Gareth Anscombe, Rhys Webb & Alex Cuthbert in the backs and Tomas Francis, Dan Lydiate, Justin Tipuric & Alun Wyn-Jones in the forwards, Ospreys are not to be taken lightly.
Injuries permitting, I suspect the team we see on Sunday will be pretty similar to that of last weekend. I would be tempted to start Isiekwe ahead of Tizard and perhaps find space for in-form Alex Lewington (possibly at Goode’s expense). If Faz doesn’t make it, then the calls are bigger. I suspect Goode would revert to 10 with Malins moving to 15.
The referee is Georgian Nika Amashukeli assisted by 2 frenchmen: Vivien Praderie and Pierre-Baptiste Nuchy with Brian McNeice as TMO. Nika was referee for our home game against Edinburgh where, to be honest, Sarries didn’t read him very well, Owen got pretty exasperated and Edinburgh very nearly won. Hopefully everyone has done their homework a bit better this time.
On form, Sarries should win but especially in Europe, form has a habit of going out of the window. The most important thing will be to keep 15 on the field. In these days of lottery and inconsistency that might be easier said than done but we must hope that the team that wins is the one playing the best rugby.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2023:04:12:18:47:39 by Darraghgirl.
The URC situation is really interesting. As you say both Edinburgh (Tigers opposition this weekend) and Ospreys are doing poorly there but on that basis seem to have punched way above their weight in the ERCC. Is this a new thing for them? focusing on the games that are closer to the top level than the cut and thrust of their League where the processional nature behind Leinster and the top SA teams makes it a touch pointless?
Agree we struggled with Amashukeli but I actually thought he did a good job in terms of decision-making. Also maybe we're adapting better as last week showed we're happy to accommodate if the referee allows the break-down to be a free-for-all
I was incredibly impressed with last weeks performance given Sarries have sometimes struggled with cohesion when the teams reunited. The weather could well play a roll but hopefully the team can get the result.
Quote:OldMarovian
The URC situation is really interesting. As you say both Edinburgh (Tigers opposition this weekend) and Ospreys are doing poorly there but on that basis seem to have punched way above their weight in the ERCC. Is this a new thing for them? focusing on the games that are closer to the top level than the cut and thrust of their League where the processional nature behind Leinster and the top SA teams makes it a touch pointless?
.
I wonder why they did away with the pool system in the URC. It kept the competition alive till very late in the season as most teams were in with a shout to qualify for the knockouts until right near the death
1 Mako Vunipola
2 Jamie George
3 Marco Riccioni
4 Maro Itoje
5 Hugh Tizard
6 Andy Christie
7 Ben Earl
8 Billy Vunipola
9 Ivan van Zyl
10 Owen Farrell (c)
11 Sean Maitland
12 Nick Tompkins
13 Alex Lozowski
14 Max Malins
15 Alex Goode
Replacements:
16 Tom Woolstencroft
17 Eroni Mawi
18 Alec Clarey
19 Nick Isiekwe
20 Jackson Wray
21 Aled Davies
22 Duncan Taylor
23 Alex Lewington
[www.thameslinkrailway.com]
15. Michael Collins
14. George North
13. Owen Watkin
12. Keiran Williams
11. Luke Morgan
10. Owen Williams
9. Rhys Webb
1. Nicky Smith
2. Sam Parry
3. Tomas Francis
4. Adam Beard
5. Alun Wyn Jones
6. Ethan Roots
7. Justin Tipuric ©
8. Morgan Morris
Replacements:
16. Dewi Lake
17. Gareth Thomas
18. Tom Botha
19. Rhys Davies
20. Dan Lydiate
21. Reuben Morgan-Wiliams
22. Gareth Anscombe
23. Iestyn Hopkins
Quote:gerry1
Their bench looks pretty strong compared to ours
On the other hand I wouldn't be too unhappy to see most of our bench players as starters.
Great to see Farrell available and Woolstencroft return although hopefully Dan missing is rotation rather than anything else as that energy he has brought on from the bench has been brilliant.
I just don't get Taylor on the bench, I seem to remember we did that last year too (sometimes two centres on the bench) so hopefully he has a good performance.
ERCC suggests the following interesting facts:
Sarries have conceded the most penalties in the opposition 22.
Sarries have the second highest carry dominance.
Billy has passed more than any other forward and carried more than any other Sarries player.
Ospreys have conceded the fewest turnovers and scrum penalties. A friend suggests that Botha the Ospreys TH is mustard and is expected to take over from Francis.
So all we need to do is not give them any possession, keep our discipline as well as in recent weeks and maybe play away from the scrum and breakdown rather than contest? I'm sure the coaches have an ace plan!
COY
With Welsh regions reducing squad sizes a lot at the end of this season I suspect this may be the last time we see Ospreys in the knockout stage of the Champions Cup for a while. To think just over 10 years ago they turned up at Vicarage Road with 13 British Lions in their squad and we turned them over!
Quote:OldMarovian
ERCC suggests the following interesting facts:
Sarries have conceded the most penalties in the opposition 22.
I guess the majority of those were from the first half of Edinburgh away match alone!
Tigers/Edinburgh looks like the Wild West at the breakdown ...
Quote:OldMarovian
Quite possibly TK.
Tigers/Edinburgh looks like the Wild West at the breakdown ...
Probably the best HT 3 - 0 that I've seen!
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You sensed beating us was Edinburghs cup final. Think Dimes got there too late
Pollard finding his feet is beginning to show that little was lost in releasing Ford to Sale. If they can keep him uninjured, which has been a struggle for his teams in the past, they will surely kick on yet again. It also shows the value of spending cap well. Montoya, Weise and Pollard all on big salaries but looking to be worth every penny.
They were also doing their best to boost the bar takings …..could be a few sore heads tomorrow !
We didn’t play that well for a good part of the game, but we won - how often have we said that this season and it’s the sign of a good team. The Earl of Barnet deserved his MoM, although Mako was a man possessed and Max, Faz and Christie were great. Hopefully Andy’s injury not serious (holding his wrist when he came off) and hope Alec is not out too long.
Looking forward to next weekend, both us and La Rochelle are going to have to play much better (bad luck Glos), wouldn’t be surprised if we go 6/2 split on bench with Jacko starting if no Andy and Big Nick on bench as a flanker and Calum as lock cover (good to see him training yesterday).
Should we manage to get a result in France anyone any idea how home semis are worked out?
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