Heineken Cup Preview - Leicester Tigers v Ulster

Home advantage.  Is it really that important?  In the modern, professional, game, where players haven't necessarily always lived within a 3 miles radius of the club they play for, does it really matter?  After all, rugby is a game played on a pitch with 2 sets of posts no matter where you play.  Except, rugby is so much more than that.  At its best, it is full-blooded emotional war – acute physical and mental conflict between two teams of supreme athletes, roared on with a thunderous tribal passion by those surrounding the pitch.  The Heineken Cup serves up occasions such as these on a regular basis, but few can match the intensity of the Saturday night clash in the final round of the group stages, where the mentality of the players and the atmosphere takes on an almost gladiatorial mood.  And tomorrow – when Leicester meet Ulster for home advantage in the Heineken Cup, Welford Road is the Colosseum.

Both sides have already qualified for the quarter finals of the competition through their superior points tally, but home advantage in the knockout stages  is all riding on the outcome of this match.  And that means that both sides will be going flat out for the win.  Why?  It's not just because, as a player, you get an extra lie-in instead of having to travel, avoid flying on Ryanair and get to stick with the local cuisine that, so far, hasn't sent you scurrying in panic to the throne with 10 minutes to kick off.  No, it's the emotion and passion you generate from playing in front of your home fans – no matter where you originate from, once you pull on that shirt, you become one of their own.  It becomes almost tribal in nature.  Think I'm talking nonsense?  Take a look at Clermont Auvergne, unbeaten at home in 72 games.  That is their fortress; where they are invincible.  Yet away from home, they look vulnerable.  For Leicester and Ulster, two sides with their own fortresses in Welford Road and Ravenhill, the opportunity to play a home quarter final is one neither team wants to let slip.

Much of the build-up for this game has been focussed on Ulster's superior quality and form.  And it's hard to argue with the form issue – a gritty win against Leicester in the opening round was followed by a mesmeric  bonus-point win in France, a relaxing 10 points against Treviso and a comfortable – if not perfect – win against Montpellier.  They are the only unbeaten side left in Europe, and you can see why.  With a gargantuan pack, driven onwards by the inspiration Johann Muller and given bite by the human wrecking-balls of John Afoa, Dan Tuohy and Nick Williams, Ulster have the capacity to send wave after wave of physical runners into the opposition until they crumble.  They have one of the best kick-chase games in the tournament too, with Ruan Pienaar and Paddy Jackson placing back threes under all sorts of pressure to gain the territory from which they can launch another physical assault.  Ulster rugby is characterised as old-school in the best possible sense – a pack of hard, physical men who want nothing more than to dominate their opposite numbers and a pair of shrewd half backs to tell them where to go (in case they get lost – it's difficult for forwards).

Leicester, on the other hand, haven't been quite as impressive but – being Leicester – are still right in the mix and, importantly, winning games.  Following their opening loss to Ulster, the Tigers played a thriller against Montpellier at home, sneaked a win in France by one point, and stuttered their way to 2 bonus point wins against Treviso.  It hasn't always been pretty, but the Tigers do not know when to quit and, on their day, can put together displays of such pace and power that they can turn over anybody.  Unfortunately, their 'best' has only come in dribs and drabs this season, and often they have to be spurred into life by being forced to chase a game.  Richard Cockerill will know that his men cannot afford to do this against Ulster though, and he will be looking for his side to play at a high tempo in the Ulster half, with Ben Youngs and Toby Flood threatening the gainline and fringe-defence, with powerful runners like Tom Youngs, Graham Kitchener and Niki Goneva picking smart angles off their shoulders.  Once the Leicester machine gets motoring, it is incredibly hard to stop – and once the home support at Welford Road gets their voice up, they're very hard to keep quiet.

There are mouth-watering battles all over the pitch, from Ayerza v Afoa and Tom Youngs v Best, to Ben Youngs v Pienaar and Goneva v Gilroy.  For me, in contrast to what some of the press seem to be saying, these sides are very evenly matched, and a win is most likely going to come down to how Leicester deal with bombs from Pienaar and Jackson, and whether or not Ulster can withstand the intense pressure they will come under at the set piece.  It is shaping up to be a stunning encounter in a cauldron of electricity, and this should be helped by the fact that the referee, Nigel Owens, is the best in the business in allowing games to flow, accepting no nonsense and – to the relief of Ulster fans – ignoring pressures from the home crowd.

The stage is set.  By Saturday night, only one side will be able to rely on their fortress in the knock-out stages.  The final-battle for the Heineken Cup may be a little way off, but the siege of Welford Road is about to begin.

Leicester Tigers Team News

Richard Cockerill has made 8 changes – 2 positional – to the side that picked up a bonus point win in Treviso last week.  Inside centre Allen and hooker Tom Youngs are recalled to the Leicester starting line-up, with Tigers vice-captain Allen joined by Matt Smith in the midfield, with captain Toby Flood moving from the 12 to the 10 shirt.  Vereniki Goneva moves out to the left wing in place of Miles Benjamin who has a knee injury while club captain Toby Flood reverts to the fly-half role instead of Owen Williams.  In the pack, Tom Youngs returns to the front-row, while Graham Kitchener and Ed Slater form a second-row partnership after also missing the trip to Italy.  Jordan Crane returns to the number eight shirt ahead of Thomas Waldrom.

Starting Line-up: 15 Tait, 14 Morris, 13 Smith, 12 Allen, 11 Goneva, 10 Flood (c), 9 Youngs; 1 Marcos Ayerza, 2 Tom Youngs, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Ed Slater, 5 Graham Kitchener, 6 Jamie Gibson, 7 Julian Salvi, 8 Jordan Crane.

Subs: 16 Hawkins, 17 Stankovich, 18 Balmain, 19 Deacon, 20 Mafi, 21 Mélé, 22 Williams, 23 Hamilton.

Key Player

Tom Youngs.  The Leicester, England and Lions hooker has fast cemented himself as one of the European game's best in his position, and he'll have a big battle on his hands against the experienced and highly rated Rory Best.  If the word "chode" could at all be used in a complementary manner, it would be used for the Leicester man, who has a physique of a square on legs – with a low centre of gravity and surprising turn of pace which makes him one of the best carriers and most aggressive defenders around.  But it's his set piece which will come under the most scrutiny on Saturday.  Despite having the joint best lineout record in the competition (at 91%), he will be under a huge amount of pressure at throw-in time from an experienced and intelligent Ulster pack.  Add to this the fact that Mr Best, who lost out to Youngs in the battle for a Lions Test spot, will be offering some choice words of 'encouragement' at every available opportunity, and Saturdays match quickly becomes one of the biggest tests yet for the older Youngs brother.  If he can maintain his composure in the set piece – an area in which Leicester will hope to hold the upper hand – then he can set his hosts the ideal platform from which to build their pressure game.

Ulster Team News

Ulster hooker Rory Best will make his 150th appearance for the province and will line up alongside John Afoa and Callum Black, who makes his first start in the Heineken Cup.  The inclusion of Black is one of two changes to the team that defeated Montpellier at Ravenhill last week. The other sees Roger Wilson selected at blindside with Robbie Diack moving to the bench. Williams starts at number eight, with Chris Henry picked at openside.  Craig Gilroy has recovered from the injury that he sustained against Montpellier and starts on the left wing with Andrew Trimble named on the right and Jared Payne continuing at 15.

Starting Line-up:  15 Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Roger Wilson, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Johann Muller (capt), 3 John Afoa, 2 Rory Best, 1 Callum Black.

Subs: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Tom Court, 18 Ricky Lutton, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Robbie Diack, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 David McIlwaine, 23 Michael Allen.

Key Player

Paddy Jackson.  There's no doubting the young fly half's skillset – nor the attacking ability and intent of those outside him – but to win at Welford Road the Irish province will be looking to their 10 to put the ball in the correct areas of the park and put up high kicks that are there to be chased.  He did this with aplomb against Leicester in the fixture at Ravenhill, putting ideal length on the kicks and using the swirling wind to make life miserable for the often-butter-fingered Niki Goneva and Miles Benjamin, who was making his first start for over a year following a neck injury.  This time, Mr "safe-hands" Niall Morris is one wing, and Mathew Tait – who has looked very assured following his return from injury – starts at 15, but Goneva is still a potential target for one of Jackson's expert "bombs".  The problem is that, this time, he will have to do it with a resurgent Leicester defence hounding his every move and the Welford Road faithful making every effort to get into his head – he kicks too far, and Leicester deal with it easily, he kicks too short, and the pressure ends up on Ulster.  But if, like Baby Bear, he gets it just right, then there is a potential opening for Jackson and Andrew Trimble to exploit – and there are few better at doing so.

Key Battle

Ben Youngs v Ruan Pienaar.  Two top-class scrum halves, but whilst one has been setting the world alight, the other has found himself in a bit of rut.  Yes, Youngs junior looked jaded upon return from the Lions tour and, although his performances of late have been decent (and are still picking up), they are still someway short of what we all know he is capable of.  In a game where tempo and tactical awareness will be key, Youngs will need to maintain his excellent box-kicking game, whilst seeking to inject the urgency that stood him out when he first arrived on the scene.  His last 15 minutes against Montepellier in France were a masterclass of attacking scrum half play – he will need to bring out this game for 80 minutes on Saturday.  His opponent, the South African Pienaar, is an experienced veteran who has – on more than one occasion – looked like he is single-handedly driving Ulster to victory.  With one of the sharpest brains in the business and a wonderful pass, he has long been ranked as one of the worlds-best, despite not being as quick as some of his counterparts – Youngs included.  With two powerful sets of forwards and talented backlines on show tomorrow, the battle of the 9s for fluency, tempo and territory will be absolutely critical.  Keep an eye out as well for the all-out-war between Julian Salvi and Chris Henry for supremacy at the breakdown.

Prediction

Ulster fans generally believe that they have the better team on paper, and whilst I don't agree entirely, it is certainly an impressive line-up for the men in white with a wonderful balance of power and speed throughout the side.  For me, Leicester just have the edge in the front row, and Ulster have the edge at 9 and 10, but that aside I think it is pretty much evens.  What the teams on paper don't show, however, is the Welford Road factor.  An evening kick off means the crowd will be in full voice by the time "Smoke on the Water" echoes round the stadium and the fans begin to stamp their feet as the Tigers run out – this is the occasion that Leicester players – and fans – live for.  In the same way that Ravenhill does for Ulster, Welford Road takes the Premiership Champions to another level – especially in Europe.  It all adds together to what should be an unbelievable atmosphere and potentially an explosive night of Heineken Cup rugby at its best.  It will be a ferocious forwards battle and a fascinating tactical clash, but I can see the Leicester scrum and home crowd earning the hosts the narrowest of victories.  Tigers by 3.

 

What else is happening in the Heineken Cup this weekend?

 

Pool 1:  Leinster should seal a quarter final spot by beating the Ospreys tonight, whilst Northampton will book themselves an Amlin Cup spot by beating Castres at home.

Pool 2:  Cardiff can be confident of picking up a home win against an out-of-sorts Exeter tonight, and Toulon should despatch of Glasgow relatively comfortably, despite playing away from home.

Pool 3:  There should be bonus point wins for Toulouse and Saracens on Saturday against Zebre and Connacht respectively, which would provide both sides with a spot in the last 8, although the Irish side have ambitions of their own so will be going all out for the win.  

Pool 4:  Clermont should have no problem overcoming the woeful Racing Metro at home, whilst Harlequins could sneak a win and salvage some pride by winning in Llanelli against the Scarlets.

Pool 5:  The other match in Pool 4 is a dead rubber in which Montpellier will be expecting to turn Ulster over with relative ease.

Pool 6:  Both Munster and Perpignan will be confident of victories at home against Edinburgh and Gloucester respectively on Sunday.

 

Predicted Quarter Final Line Ups:

Toulon (1st seeds) v Saracens (8th)

Toulouse (2nd) v Ulster (7th)

Clermont Auvergne (3rd) v Leinster (6th)

Leicester Tigers (4th) v Munster (5th)

Heineken Cup Review - Toulouse 21 - 11 Saracens

It’s one of rugby’s little oddities that the word ‘bully’, in an egg-shaped context, doesn’t have entirely negative connotations.  A word that is so often related to misery and despair outside of a game actually, in rugby terms, draws up memories of smugly knocking your opposite number flying with a big carry for the 4^th time in a single game, or perhaps joyfully swinging the irritating opposition scrum half around by his collar before releasing him – hammer-throw style – into touch.  Yes, one of the aims of rugby is to physically dominate – to bully – your opposition.  And it’s all legal, and roundly encouraged.  And on Sunday, we got to see two of the best exponents of the art of bullying go head to head.

Toulouse, despite being French, aren’t actually known for their out-and-out Gallic flair.  Sure, chaps like Hosea Gear, Clermont Poitrenaud and Yoann Huget are all partial to a dance every now and again, but overall, the French powerhouse is a pragmatic side.  With a gargantuan pack.  Blokes like Gillian Galan, Louis Picamoles and Census Johnston all weigh roughly the same amount as a small elephant, and it shows as they hammer teams into submission, time and time again.  Their opposition, on Sunday, were no strangers to that either.  They may not have the fastest or naturally creative set of backs, but Sarries have brains and power in abundance – a dangerous combination.  The Londoners have been burying sides all season on the domestic front, dismantling other sides’ packs and releasing the ball to the backs only when the opportunity presents itself.  It’s great to watch, but it must be a bloody nightmare to play against.  In fact, the only time this season that Saracens haven’t been able to have their way with the opposition was when Toulouse presented themselves in the first leg of the pool at Wembley, where they ground the hosts’ pack down gradually over 80 minutes.  It was this background which had everyone labelling this as the clash of the weekend – a clash of the titans.

The home crowd didn’t have to wait long for the first earth shattering collision – 10 seconds to be precise.  Straight from the kick off, two of the – shall we say – less dainty players, Billy Vunipola and Census Johnston met, with the Samoan prop slamming down the England number 8 and forcing a penalty after the Saracens man had shrugged off the attentions of two would-be tacklers.  Jean-Marc Doussain, scrum-half by trade, knocked over an easy 3 points and the hosts had the perfect start.

Saracens, though, are not the cream of the crop in England without good reason.  After good pressure from the restart, the Sarries pack got to work off a lineout, driving the Toulouse pack infield and making Hosea Gear inexplicably leave his wing.  It was easy pickings for Chris Ashton as the English winger spotted the opening, and sauntered in off Neil De Kock’s pass to touchdown for the game’s opening and, as it would prove, only try.  Owen Farrell was surprisingly off target with the conversion, but Sarries had put down a marker early on.

Doussain added another penalty from bang in front on 14 minutes, but the French heavyweights were beginning to look ominous.  Despite a couple of promising breaks from Alex Goode and Dave Strettle on kick returns, the Londoners were struggling to create any quick ball in attack, with the likes of Thierry Dusautoir and Yannick Nyanga in particular causing problems at the breakdown.  Toulouse, on the other hand, were having no such problems, as Maxime Medard and Yoann Huget combined beautifully to cut Saracens apart on the right handside, before Chris Ashton offered the same resistance as a damp flannel on the left to allow Hosea Gear to gallop to within 10 metres of the visitors’ tryline.  On both occasions though, Sarries’ scramble defence was exceptional, leaving the hosts with just a couple penalties, sandwiching an effort from Owen Farrell (after Census Johnston was pinged at a scrum), to show for the efforts.  The score was only 12 – 8 at half time, but you got the sense that all the momentum, and all the power, was with the home side.

Any hopes of a respite for the English side were swiftly kicked in the can though, as Toulouse re-emerged from the changing rooms with renewed intent in the second half.  Louis Picamoles and Chiliboy Ralapelle in particular were making yardage against Saracens, and the Londoners were starved of possession for the entire 3^rd quarter.  However, their defence remained as stingy as ever, and there was an odd sense of growing frustration amongst the crowd, despite the growing lead, as Doussain could only add another 3 points on the 50 minute mark even though his side had been dominant in possession and territory.  That sense of frustration deepened as the fly half was off target with a drop goal attempt and a penalty over the next 10 minutes, but the visitors were beginning to get desperate themselves, as they made extensive changes to try and change the side.  Significantly, James Johnston, brought in to add significant bulk against the giant Toulouse unit, was hauled off for Matt Stevens after a relatively ineffectual display. 

Saracens’ task got even harder on the hour mark, as Doussain added another 3 points and Mako Vunipola was shown yellow for a breakdown offence – the end result of several penalties conceded by the visitors under pressure.  But this Sarries side has serious backbone, and off the most meagre scraps of possession they managed to force another opportunity for Farrell, who added 3 points to bring his side within 7 points and into bonus point territory.  The only problem, though, was that the composure and skillset was not matching the spirit and bravery the visitors were showing.  Under intense pressure from an aggressive Toulouse defence who refused to yield easy yardage, Saracens ran out of ideas and players like Farrell, who had kicked intelligently and with precision early on, began making poor errors of judgements and mistakes. 

Veteran Charlie Hodgson was brought on to try and inject some inspiration, but he had no chance to do so, even though he saw a drop goal attempt miss its mark.  Instead, it was Doussain who administered the killer blow, nudging over his 7^th successful penalty to leave the final score at 21 – 11, and deny the Londoners the losing bonus point.

Toulouse looked ominously impressive.  After several years of slumber, wouldn’t it be fitting in potentially the Heineken Cup’s final year if the French giants roused themselves to reclaim the title so often held in their hands.  With brutal displays like this, it is not hard to imagine.  Saracens, meanwhile, can still qualify, and should still qualify, as a best runner up, but perhaps they will be concerned that the big reveal has gone out to the rest of Europe, and indeed England, on how they can be turned over.  It turns out that the bully can be bullied after all.

 

What else was happening in the Heineken Cup over the weekend?

Pool 1:  Leinster came from 14 points down to defeat French champions Castres 29 – 22 in France, whilst Northampton claimed a hard-fought 29 – 17 over the Ospreys in Swansea.  Neither side picked up a bonus point.

Pool 2:  Exeter continued their worrying slump in form as Glasgow turned them over 15 – 10 on the south coast, and Toulon made short work of Cardiff Blues, running out 43 – 20 winners, thanks in the main to 3 penalty tries.

Pool 3:  In the other Pool 3 fixture Connacht ran out 20 – 3 winners against Zebre to keep their faint hopes of a Heineken Cup spot alive.

Pool 4:  A late try and penalty from Clermont condemned Harlequins to a 13 – 16 defeat at the Stoop, whilst Racing Metro’s woes continued as they were turned over 13 – 19 at home.

Pool 5:  Ulster defeated Montpellier but failed to pick up a try bonus point on Friday night at Ravenhill, but the Leicester Tigers had no such trouble in Italy against Treviso.  It sets up a mouthwatering winner takes all clash at Welford Road next Saturday.

Pool 6:  Edinburgh ran out 27 – 16 winners at home against Perpignan whilst Gloucester went down 20 – 7 at Kingsholm to Munster, despite a much more spirited display.

Heineken Cup Preview - Toulouse v Saracens

Every side in the Heineken Cup has 'a plan', even if their players and coaches won't admit it.  If they're in a tough group but have genuine Heineken Cup ambitions, they'll pick out an away game that they consider to be an acceptable loss, and plan on picking up bonus points at home or elsewhere.  The only problem is that very rarely do things ever seem to go according to plan, and it causes no end of headaches for clubs and nervous-squeaks from fans.  This is part of the reason why I am so disorganised – the absence of a plan means I'm never surprised (that is in fact nonsense, it is just down to laziness).  Take Toulouse for example.  Their plan, with two 'fodder' sides in Zebre and Connaught, would be to win all their home games, win in Italy and Ireland, and maybe snatch something from England.  That would set them up nicely for the quarter finals.  So when they actually won at Wembley 3 months ago, they were not only keeping to 'the plan', they were exceeding it.  But then along came plucky Connaught, given no chance, with their own plan – which involved crapping all over anyone else's plan – and turned the French giants over in their backyard.  Toulouse's plan was in tatters.  The casual stroll through the final rounds of the Group Stage they had envisaged had now been replaced by a trouser-soilingly intense encounter with Saracens, who are now level on points.  Winner takes all stuff.

Of course, winner takes all is not exactly true.  These two sides are still in good shape for a best runners up spot at least.  But everybody knows that the home quarter final is key, and to get that you need to top your group.  Saracens march into the South of France in mesmerising domestic form, hell-bent on exacting revenge for their agonising defeat at Wembley in October.  And with both sides priding themselves on their physicality, you get the feeling that this is going to be an absolute belter.  Toulouse, the hosts, will go into this fixture off the back of a crucial win at home against the mighty Clermont Auvergne, and are sitting comfortably in 4th in the Top 14.  But Toulouse's home form has never been a problem, and that will concern Saracens fans.  With a gargantuan pack, consisting of the likes of Johnston, Maestri, Nyanga, Dusautoir and the colossal Louis Picamoles, who is leading the way in this year's tournament in terms of players 'bumped' (read 'ran over') with 22.  Indeed, it was the big set of 8 who gradually wore their English counterparts down in the initial fixture, hammering the line and making metres time and again.  Oh, and not that they need them, but they also have Mazime Medard, Hosea Gear, Yoann Huget and Gael Fickou waiting out wide, on the off chance they're needed.  It's a devastating line up – so where is the weakness?  Well, fly half has been the problem position for them.  With Luke McCallister proving woefully inconsistent and Lionel Beauxis offering as much threat as a bag of bunnies, the pivotal role has been handed to 22 year old Jean-Marc Doussain.  And in typical French fashion, he's a scrum half by trade.  Doussain is a talented young player, but that famous wolf-pack Saracens defence will be smelling blood on the 10 shirt.

Saracens, in the Premiership, seem absolutely unstoppable at the moment.  The power-packed game led by the Vunipola brothers and Ernst Joubert has now been complimented by a ruthless efficiency in attack.  Owen Farrell may not be the most creative player in the world, but he is standing flat, kicking intelligently and distributing smoothly to the players outside him.  None of the Saracens backline are flat out speed or power merchants, but each one has the brains to read the play and get themselves in exactly the right place at exactly the right time, with Strettle, Ashton and Goode amongst the best in the business at that.  It pains me to say it, but the club that invented that ear-bleedingly bad "stand up for the Saracens" with Right Said Fred are playing some exceptional rugby at the moment, having scored the most tries out of anyone this season in Europe, with a total of 17.  The one worry for the Londoners?  It sounds odd with a pack as large as theirs, but physicality does – very occasionally – cause problems for them.  It did against Toulouse and it did against Saints last year, and they really feel the loss of the wily Jacques Burger and Will Fraser, who use superior speed and technique to take the opposition's big runners out of the equation.  Ball in hand is not a problem, but in defence the big guys very occasionally hit too upright and concede easy meters.  This is a problem that cannot rear its head in France on Sunday.

Saracens' plan is simple enough – win at all costs.  Executing it may be somewhat harder.

 

Toulouse Team News

Toulouse have made three changes to the side that beat Clermont last week, all in the pack as Clement Poitrenaud keeps his place in midfield with Gael Fickou one of only two backs the bench.  Pumas lock Patricio Albacete comes into the seocnd-row ahead of French international Romain Millo-Chluski, who takes a place amongst the replacements.  In the front-row, Census Johnston returns at tighthead, Springbok hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle starts ahead of Christopher Tolofua while Schalk Ferriera is preferred to countryman Gurthrö Steenkamp at loosehead.

Starting Line up:  15 Maxime Médard, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Yann David, 12 Clement Poitrenaud , 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Jean-Marc Doussain, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Yoann Maestri, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Schalk Ferriera.

Subs:  16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Yohan Montes, 19 Romain Millo-Chluski, 20 Joe Tekori, 21 Yacouba Camara, 22 Sebastian Bézy, 23 Gael Fickou.

Key Player

Jean-Marc Doussain.  It feels like he's been around for ages but the classic French 9/10 is still a kid at 22.  He's been handed the 10 shirt in the hope that he will display better decision making than McAllister, and better execution than Beauxis.  His role will be pretty simple – to play for territory when in his own half, and to get the ball to the quick men when the fatties have generated quick ball.  How he does it with the likes of Kelly Brown tracking his every step though?  That's a question only he can answer – and it may well decide the outcome of this game.

 

Saracens Team News

Chris Wyles replaces Marcelo Bosch at centre in Saracens' only change to the side that beat Gloucester last weekend - the Argentine international misses out with a slight knock.  On the bench, loosehead prop Richard Barrington comes into the squad to replace Rhys Gill, whilst George Kruis , Ernst Joubert and Duncan Taylor are also included.

Key Player:  15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Chris Wyles, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Jackson Wray, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steve Borthwick (capt), 3 James Johnston, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Mako Vunipola.

Subs:  16 Jamie George, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 George Kruis, 20 Ernst Joubert, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Duncan Taylor.

Key Player

James Johnston.  With Matt Stevens preferred at tighthead for most of the season, it may be seen as a surprising move to start Johnston in this key game.  But when you see the size of Toulouse's pack, it's easy to see why he is in there – bulk.  Sure, Matt 'Fat' Stevens isn't exactly dainty, but Johnston weighs in at a colossal 21 stone 10lbs, which is 2 stone more than Stevens.  His role will be to anchor that scrum but also get his hands on the ball in the tight and make those crucial metres up close.  He will also play the role of 'wall' in defence.

 

Key Battle

Louis Picamoles v Billy Vunipola.  Battle of the Behemoths.  People living in Scarborough who couldn't give a flying fudge about rugby will be calling in complaining of earth tremors if these two collide.  In a game that is sure to come down to physicality, it isn't hard to see how the key battle will fall between two of the most destructive carriers in the European game.  In the London encounter, it was Picamoles who came off the bench and scored the crucial try, whilst Vunipola struggled to have an impact, being caught running far too upright on more than one occasion.  The young England international seems to have rectified that problem though, and is improving every game – this will present a great chance to measure just how far he has come.

 

Prediction

Saracens fans travelling to France are advised to pack a spare pair of underpants.  I reckon this will be just as close as the last time these 2 met, when Owen Farrell missed the posts with a last-gasp kick to win it.  It will be a battle of muscle, first and foremost, but don't underestimate the strike power Toulouse and Sarries have out wide.  This could be bone-bruising, power-packed rugby at it's best, and I'm going to side with a stunning away win for the English side.  Just.  Saracens by 1.

 

What else is happening this weekend?

Pool 1:  Leinster have enough firepower to sneak a win against Castres in the French champions' back yard, whilst it should be a similar story for Northampton away at Ospreys.

Pool 2:  Exeter will be too strong at home against a tenacious Glasgow team, and in the south of France Toulon will avenge their shock loss to Cardiff .

Pool 3:  Connacht should win the battle of the minnows at home against Zebre in the other Pool 3 encounter.

Pool 4:  Racing Metro seem like they couldn't care less about this tournament but should still win with home advantage against the Scarlets, whilst the Quins v Clermont game could go down to the wire – I'm leaning towards an away win there.

Pool 5:  Ulster and Leicester should both pick up bonus point wins against Montpellier and Treviso respectively to set a mouth-watering winner-takes-all encounter next week.

Pool 6:  Edinburgh should utilise home advantage against Perpignan and claim a win, whilst Munster should take advantage of Gloucester's atrocious home form.

Premiership Review - Northampton Saints 23 - 9 Harlequins

The anti-climax.  Everyone's least favourite type of climax.  Where the anticipation of an event leaves you reaching giddy highs, but when the moment arrives you're left with nothing but a feeling of numb despondency and, in all likelihood, a lighter wallet.  Prime examples would be attending a barbeque only to discover it was vegetarian rabbit food only, or buying tickets to see the Rolling Stones and then being taken aback as the news broke that not only Mick Jagger had pulled out due to a particularly irritating bout of crabs, but that his place had been filled by Cliff Richard.  Yep, nobody likes an anti-climax and unfortunately, aside from the very odd spark of brilliance, that's pretty much exactly what we got at Franklins Gardens on Friday night.

With the brute force and dominance of the Northampton pack (and backline, to be fair) and the slick, high-tempo offloading game of Harlequins, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this was the perfect storm for a belting game of rugby.  Of course, what we ended up with was very nearly an actual storm, as the wind and rained howled down in the East Midlands.  It was predicted that this weather would play into the hosts' hands, and that proved to be the case – although it took longer than expected to show.

It was Saints who charged out of the blocks with intent though, bulldozing up field with the menacing George North rampaging up the middle off his wing to good effect.  The pressure built and, despite strong defence from Chris Robshaw and good work at the breakdown by the exceptional Dave Ward, Saints earned themselves a penalty, which was knocked over in testing conditions by Stephen Myler.  Nick Evans responded with a well-struck kick of his own, and the score was set evenly at 3-3.  Then followed a glut of continuously set and re-set scrums, draining minutes off the clock and draining life and energy out of the usually vociferous home crowd.  A game that should have been showcasing some of England's best at power-play and offloading rugby was reduced to muddy mess characterised by the grunting of props and the continuous whistle of Greg Gardner.  Of course, I do have some sympathy for Mr Gardner – his job is to ensure safe scrummaging, and it is not his fault if scrums continuously collapse all the time – but the current situation does show that the 'new' rules for the scrum still aren't having the desired effect.

But, after 20 minutes, Harlequins sprang into life.  Robshaw was, once again, everywhere, whilst Evans was starting to vary play nicely with intelligent kicks and delicate offloads, whilst exciting winger Charlie Walker was making some promising bursts with his first two touches.  Alas, for Quins, these proved to be his only two touches of a game in which they were gradually starved of possession and opportunities.  The Quins pack though, were starting to rumble and began hammering away towards the Saints line, with Joe Marler making some good metres with the ball in hand.  The Northampton defence appeared to be stretched when, inexplicably, Karl Dickson took the ball on himself instead of passing it, and the opportunity for a try was lost.  Evans managed to kick 3 points, but they should have had more.

Saints, though, never looked truly worried, and from the restart their pack went straight back to work.  Dylan Hartley was having a rare-off day in the line out but his work in the loose was ferocious, and the pressure told when Tom Guest was yellow-carded for cynically bringing down a rolling maul that looked destined for the Londoners line.  With Courtney Lawes and Luther Burrell making good yardage, a try seemed to be just moments away, but continuously the driving maul and waves of Saints runners were rebuffed by strong defence.  Myler slotted a kick just before half time, and the score was tied at 6-6 at break.

The first half had been a scrappy affair with only flashes of invention, but Quins were dealt a severe blow when Nick Evans was forced off during the interview with a niggle, to be replaced by Ben Botica.  The difference was immediately noticeable when the young kiwi underhit a cross-field kick – bread and butter for Evans – to allow Saints to clear the pressure.  And soon there was pressure at the other end, as a poor clearance from Karl Dickson – who had a terrible game – gave Welsh behemoth George North the chance to steam-roller Charlie Walker and sprint in for a fine try in the corner, superbly converted by Myler.  The impressiveness of North's power and pace was only matched by the poor Quins kick chase – with a 17 stone winger charging into a 13 stone winger, there is only ever going to be one winner, and it was astounding that the Londoners backrow wasn't providing a secondary line of defence in the event that North broke the tackle, given that he had a 15 metre run up.

The game once again descended into a quagmire of mistakes and re-set scrums, before things finally sparked on the 65 minute mark after a Botica penalty.  A scrap between Courtney Lawes and George Robson (in which Lawes appeared to elbow Robson in retaliation to being held off the ball) was swiftly followed by a rather dainty slap by Salesi Ma'afu on Joe Marler, with fullback Tom Collins swiftly following the drama by going down under a late challenge from Tim Molenaar.  It wasn't pretty, but it was exactly what the game needed – and, in my opinion, I would have just given the players a ticking off and let that be the end of it, since the only other option would be to either sin-bin two Saints players for fighting and one Quins player for a body check.  As it were Garner and his TMO then spent 10 minutes looking at each incident from every angle before coming to the grand conclusion of….a penalty to Saints.  The energy from the crowd, and the game, had dissipated, and for what?  A call that could have been made right there on the pitch. 

Myler, who was now playing effectively on one leg with a hamstring problem, smacked over the penalty, and then the hosts made the killer blow to Quins hopes .  With 8 minutes to go and following a line-out on their own line, the visitors messed up a tapped lineout and Hartley responded quickest, claiming the ball and touching down for the try he deserved.  Another great kick by Myler left the score at 23 – 9, and that's how it stayed – despite late pressure from the Londoners and an attempted decapitation of Matt Hopper by George Pisi with a swinging arm, which led to the Samoan seeing yellow (after the mandatory 5 minute delay of going to the TMO of course).

The result leaves Saints clinging on to Saracens' coat tails in the Premiership, far away from the chasing pack.  Anti-climax indeed?  Nope, the four points were all anyone at Franklins Gardens wanted.

 

What else was happening in the Premiership this weekend?

 

Newcastle Falcons 8 – 16 Sale Sharks:  Newcastle's troubles continued as they failed to pick up a bonus point at home.  Sharks crossed through Tom Brady whilst Andy Saull scored his first try for the Falcons.

London Irish 22 – 9 Worcester Warriors:  Irish condemned Warriors to yet another defeat in this crucial relegation battle, with James O'Connor scoring all the hosts' points, including one try.

Gloucester 8 – 29 Saracens:  Saracens marched onwards by thumping Gloucester on their own patch.  The hosts managed a solitary score through Matt Cox, whilst Neil de Kock, Dave Strettle and Alex Goode all crossed for the visitors, who defended superbly despite having only 13 men on the field at one stage.

London Wasps 19 – 16 Exeter Chiefs:  A last-gasp 45 metre by Andy Goode helped Wasps to a superb victory over the Chiefs.  Scrum half Dave Lewis scored in the first minute for the visitors, before his opposite number, Joe Simpson, crossed to set up a grandstand finish.
 

Leicester Tigers 27 – 27 Bath:  Leicester once again played their get out of jail free card as a last minute try secured a draw, and could have won it if Owen Williams' touchline conversion had found it's mark.  As it were, a superb game with tries from Miles Benjamin, Thomas Waldrom and Jamie Gibson for Leicester and Anthony Watson, Francois Louw and Jonathan Joseph led to a stalemate, leaving both sides frustrated.
 

Premiership Preview - Northampton Saints v Harlequins

'Brotherly love' is an odd concept.  Don't get me wrong, I love my brother to pieces and he's a top bloke but, like most sets of siblings, it's a bond that's been built on the foundations of relentless teasing and scraps as opposed to gumdrop smiles and hand-holding.  We would be joking around one minute, but the next he would be smacking me over the noggin with my Jurassic Park Triceratops toy (horns first), or I would be serving a tennis ball into the back of his head from point blank range.  All painful at the time, all highly amusing to us now.  Of course, I don't fight with my brother at all now (although games on FIFA can get a little heated) and we get on brilliantly, but we don't really get put into a spot where one of us might lose it.  But the same can't really be said about the Dickson brothers.

As Karl Dickson replaces Danny Care for Harlequins, thanks to a niggling injury for the England man, the older Dickson will find himself lining up opposite his younger sibling, Lee, who turns out for Northampton.  Now, brothers playing against each other in the Premiership is rare enough in itself  (I can think of the Tuilagis doing it, when Andy Tuilagi was at Sale), but a pair of brothers lining up against each other playing in the same position? I stand to be corrected, but I reckon that's a first.  To make matters worse, they're both scrum halves as well, the gobbiest of all players with little man syndrome coursing through their veins.  Add to this the fact that the older Dickson struggles to get a regular club spot, whilst 'little bro' has firmly established himself in the England set up, and you get the feeling that brotherly love may go out the window for this one.

Of course, outside of the Dicksons, this remains a cracking match-up with plenty to play for and a whole host of fantastic battles all over the park.  Saints, the hosts on Friday night, have been in scintillating form on the domestic front all year, with summer signings, emerging players and great upturns in form from key players such as Lee Dickson, Stephen Myler, Courtney Lawes and Dylan Hartley.  Gone is the side that used to wallow in the self-pity of being nearly men – here is a club who firmly believe that their time has come.  The side that lost this identical fixture 364 days ago is n more.  They certainly look like title contenders on paper, even with a mini-injury crisis in the back 3 at the moment, with a host of England internationals and a dash of Samoan flair (George Pisi), a lump of American beef (Samu Manoa) and a smattering of Welsh 'gargantuan-winger' (the freakish George North).  The only concern for the East Midlanders is the absence of England flanker Tom Wood, the grafter of both his club and the international side.  The sort of player whose absence you notice more than his contributions on the pitch, Wood lends control and leadership to a relentlessly physical Northampton gameplan.  If the weather proves to be as wet and windy as it has been for most of the country, then it's hard to see this Saints pack being beaten in the tight exchanges, but if we're blessed with a clear night and Quins play at the pace we know they can, then the hosts just might miss Wood as a rallying point.

Yes, Quins may well be praying to the Gods of weather this afternoon, as they hope conditions will be good enough to utilise their slick handling and offload game, which the likes of Nick Easter and influential captain Chris Robshaw are so effective at.  The Londoners will also be hoping to able to put the ball into the hands of their in-form wide men – in particular Mike Brown and the electric Charlie Walker.  Brown has been a revelation over the last 12 months, ever-reliable under the high ball and always beating the first man in contact, whilst Walker has burst onto the scene, lighting up games with his wonderfully balanced style of running and searing acceleration.  The youngster has a big test against North today (shockingly, they're the same age…I'd love to know what North's parents fed him when he was younger…) but if he gets any space at all, he will be deadly.  The faster the game, the more it will suit the visitors.

And in the middle of all this mayhem, a battle between brute force and slick hands, will be a certain squabbling duo.  Whilst they may have been having Christmas dinner together last week, this week they will be at each other's throats – and I bet it'll be a cracker.

Northampton Team News

Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder has made three changes to the team that beat Bath.  Lee Dickson returns at scrum-half, Phil Dowson comes into the back row and Tom Collins starts at full-back.

Starting Line-up: Collins; Elliott, G. Pisi, Burrell, North; Myler, Dickson; Waller, Hartley (capt), Ma'afu; Lawes, Day; Clark, Dowson, Manoa.

Subs: Haywood, Waller, Mercey, Dickinson, Wood, Fotuali'i, Dickson, Autagavaia.

Key Player

Samu Manoa.  The colossal American is in some vein of form this year.  A stupendously physical presence in defence, the second-row-cum-number-8 has also shown off an impressive sleight of hand which has added a whole other dimension to Saints' forward play this year.  Although they are not quite at the same level as Quins just yet, they are improving all the time and Manoa is leading the way, using his strength to free his arms and flick delightfully soft passes to his support runners.  His grunt will be vital to the hosts' cause in the wet, but if the weather stays dry, he could just lead the way in beating Quins at their own game.

Harlequins Team News

Conor O'Shea makes 3 changes to the side that beat Exeter at Twickenham last weekend.  Tim Molenaar, Karl Dickson and Tom Guest return, with England scrum-half Danny Care one of those to miss out.   Care and Luke Wallace both picked up minor knocks in the win over the Chiefs, while Tom Casson had to have nine stitches to a head wound suffered in the same game.

Starting Line-up:  Brown; Walker, Hopper, Molenaar, Smith; Evans, Dickson; Marler, Ward, Collier; Matthews, Robson; Guest, Robshaw (capt), Easter.

Subs: Crumpton, Lambert, Doran Jones, Kennedy, Trayfoot, Stuart, Botica, Lindsay-Hague.

Key Player

Chris Robshaw.  The England captain never puts in a bad performance – or even an average performance – for club and country, but if ever there was a game he needed to step it up from the 7.5/10 to the 9/10, it's this one.  We know he doesn't shirk the physical stuff, so he'll need to lead his side out to face down the inevitable muscular barrage that Northampton will throw at them early on.  If they can get through the opening quarter, they can look to work their way into the game and Robshaw's work rate, intelligent rugby brain and sharp hands will ensure they'll present a threat both in close and in attack.

Key Battle

Lee Dickson v Karl Dickson.  Aside from the sheer intrigue of having a brother v brother match up in the same position, these 2 both have key roles to play.  Lee (probably best to use first names in this instance) is renowned for his service but his box kicking can be very wobbly at times – his job will be, in difficult conditions, to assist Myler in gaining field position.  It's the same story for Karl, but under particular scrutiny will be the Quins' man's decision making.  With the Londoners' instinct telling them to go wide early whatever the weather, it's going to be up to Karl to ensure that the ball in only allowed out of the pack when they're in the right places. 

Prediction

Both these sides can play the others 'brand' of rugby, Saints can offload and Quins are certainly no pansies in contact, but there's no point in denying where both side's real strength lies.  With the weather set for rain, the advantage on gameplan would appear to be with Saints – adding to the already significant home advantage they would have, being roared on by the Franklins Gardens faithful.  Quins will play some good rugby and will make a real game of it, but I'm going with the homeside for this one.  Saints by 10.

 

What else is happening in the Premiership this weekend?

Newcastle Falcons v Sale Sharks:  A northerly battle that is sure to be a gritty affair, Sale look in decent nick and should sneak a win, but I expect the Falcons to get a crucial losing bonus point.  Sale by 5.

London Irish v Worcester Warriors:  The battle between the 2 out-of-form sides was almost my game of the week because it is a real relegation crunch-match.  Warriors simply have to win…but I'm not sure they can.  Irish by 3.

Gloucester Rugby v Saracens:  Prior to this season I would have had this down as a top of the table clash.  Now it’s a no brainer.  Gloucester have been terrible at home, Saracens look irresistible.  Sarries by 9.

Leicester Tigers v Bath:  Another huge game, the Tigers have to win against one of the in-form sides to keep themselves within striking distance of the top four, or the top two.  A close one, but home advantage should swing it.  Tigers by 4.

London Wasps v Exeter Chiefs:  Wasps at Adams Park are a tough ask but the Chiefs look like a much more composed side this year and I suspect that they may sneak a win in what could be a game littered with tries.  Chiefs by 5.

RuckedOver's End of Year Awards - 2013

2014 is upon us, and I’m sure that you’re preparing yourself for an evening of well-mannered frivolity, no matter where you are in the world.  Either that or you’re sensibly necking cartons of milk in anticipation of seeing in the New Year with the customary combination of a beer-based centurion challenge, a tie around the head and an inevitable 2 am chunder.  Yes, there’s plenty to look forward to in 2014 in rugby terms as well – immediately, what is going to happen in the transfer circus with Leicester’s Toby Flood allegedly off to Toulouse – but, for now, let’s take the chance to reflect on an unbelievable year of rugby in 2013.

 

Player of the Year:  Kieran Read.  The Kiwi number 8 finished 2012 on a low, throwing an interception pass to Manu Tuilagi during New Zealand’s only defeat since the World Cup.  It appears that the All Black spent the entire off-season building himself into a relentless rage because Read has played like a man possessed throughout 2014.  His display in the match away against South Africa was one of the best displays by a forward I’ve ever seen and summed up his year – omnipresent, powerful in defence and on the carry, and with delightfully deft touches and vision to unlock the most stingy of defences. 

Runners up:  Leigh Halfpenny, for his outstanding performances for Wales and the Lions, and Francois Louw, for spearheading a resurgent South African side and carrying his clubside Bath on more than one occasion.

 

Team of the Year:  New Zealand.  Yawn.  It must be so boring, winning all the time.  They should try playing like clueless muppets half of the time, like England do – it makes it far more exciting.  However, with a 100% winning record in 2013, and doing it playing some bum-slappingly good rugby against the world’s best teams, it’s hard to argue with them receiving our Team of the Year award.

Runners Up:  The British and Irish Lions, for a first series victory since 1997, and the Chiefs, for completing the remarkable feat of retaining their Super Rugby title.

 

Dream Team of the Year:  1. Alex Corbisiero 2. Tom Youngs 3. Adam Jones 4. Eben Etzebeth 5. Alun Wynn Jones 6. Willem Alberts 7. Fracois Louw 8.  Kieran Read 9. Aaron Smith 10. Quade Cooper 11. George North 12. Ma’a Nonu 13. Jonathan Davies 14. Ben Smith 15.  Leigh Halfpenny

 

Try of the Year:  Beauden Barrett v France.  An absolutely bonkers try that saw Beauden Barrett start an attack on his own line and coast in after mesmeric offloads from Rene Ranger and Aaron Cruden.  All Blacks rugby at its best.

Runners up:  Israel Folau v Lions, 1^st Test.  Owing much to the genius of Will Genia, Folau introduced himself to Test rugby on the biggest stage.  George North v Australia, 2^nd Test.  Big George matched Folau with a try of his own, showcasing his freakish speed and power.

 

Match of the Year:  South Africa v New Zealand.   The two best sides in the world slugged it out for the Rugby Championship in what must go down as one of the greatest games played.  That even the referee, Nigel Owens, was being congratulated by both sides after the game, shows that this was something special.

Runners up:  Australia v Lions, 1^st Test.  A game that went down to the wire and ensured that shares in new underwear boomed on both sides of the planet.  Ireland v New Zealand:  The game that secured the perfect season was snatched at the death in a sensational comeback by the world’s number 1 side. 

 

Comeback of the Year:  Quade Cooper.  Poor old Quade.  Discarded by Robbie Deans and forced to watch as hapless Belieber James O’Connor failed to ignite an Australian backline against the Lions, Cooper came back into the reckoning halfway through the rugby championship and started to finally help the Wallabies find their feet once again.  A sensational display against Wales was a just reward for a player who has really knuckled down this year. 

Runners up:  Danny Cipriani.  The Sale fly-half has finally removed his head from his dark regions and is back playing rugby at Sale that has pundits clamouring for him to be reinstated in the England set up.  Mathew Tait.  Once the prodigy of English rugby, the utility back has returned from effectively 2 seasons out of the game to establish himself as the first choice full back at Leicester and once again throw his name into the international reckoning.

 

The Danny Care Sh*t Lid Award:  Goes to Danny Care.  Of course.  Luke Cowan Dickie was pushing him close but saw the light and cut off the monstrosity that was being cultivated in his noggin.  The same goes for Joe Marler.

Villain of the Year:  Warren Gatland.  The Kiwi coach of the Lions ensured he will never be welcome in Ireland again and brought Keith Woods to tears – apparently not hard to do – by dropping the Irish legend for the 3^rd and final test against the Wallabies, and selecting 10 players from Wales for the same game. 

Runners up:  Jerome Filliol.  The Stade Francais scrum half was banned for 14 weeks for spitting at Peter Stringer in a match against Bath.  In my opinion, this was one of rugby’s low points and, if I was being serious on this blog, he would take the top award.  Richard Cockerill, for being his usual ‘colourful’ self by arguing with officials and then, more recently, accusing Sale of cheating in the scrum.  Dylan Hartley.  For effectively costing his side the chance of their first Premiership title by calling Wayne Barnes ‘a f*cking cheat’.  And then lying about it afterwards.  Great captain material.

 

Hero of the Year:  Warren Gatland.  For making the correct rugby decision and dropping Brian O’Driscoll after the centre endured a mare of a 2^nd Test.  His other selections may have been questionable – Hibbard for Youngs was a head-scratcher – but you cannot question the end result of leading the Lions to a first series win in 16 years.

Runners up:  Aaron Cruden.  For nads of solid steel when slotting a tricky conversion in the last play of the game – at the second attempt – to seal the All Blacks’ perfect season.  Leigh Halfpenny.  For a near-flawless display with the ball in hand and off the tee that helped see the Lions across the line against the Wallabies.

Quotes of the Year: 
 

• “Boomfah” – Justin Marshall.  The ex-All Black scrum half runs out of human words to describe a hit.

• “Everyone hates Edinburgh! I don’t even watch them on telly.” – Stuart Hogg.  The Glasgow fullback rules himself out of contention of a vacant post at Edinburgh’s tourism board in the build up to the Scottish derby.

• “Do I resent him?  Yeah, there’s resentment there of course.  Is he on the Christmas card list?  Unlikely.” – Brian O’Driscoll.  The Irish centre reflects on the money he will save on stamps this festive season in the aftermath of being dropped for the final Lions test by Warren Gatland. 

 

Legend of the Year:  Joost van der Westhuizen.  No question.  Any sadness at seeing arguably the greatest scrum half of all time slowly succumbing to the terrible effects of motor-neurone disease is quickly replaced by the admiration of the courage he is showing throughout.  Using his time to not only promote awareness of the disease, but also to preach the values he has learned the hardest way – that of the importance of family and loved ones – he embodies all that is great amongst the rugby community.  Thoughts and prayers are with him and loved ones going into the new year.
 

Premiership Review - Saracens 49 - 10 Leicester Tigers

 

Ah the festive season.  Industrial amount of booze, bad food and parties.  Unless you’re a professional rugby player that is.  Nevertheless, Alllianz Park on Saturday was the setting for a clash between two of the league’s heavyweights in what was all set to be a Christmas cracker.  Perhaps nobody expected it to turn into a Christmas roast though. 

With the wind streaming horizontally into the faces of the visitors, you got the feeling that this might be Saracens’ half – and so it proved to be, but perhaps nobody expected them to play with such gusto and speed.  A Ben Youngs box kick was only casually chased by Matt Smith – a problem with Leicester’s territory game all day – allowing Alex Goode and Richard Wigglesworth to surge through the first line of Tigers’ defence and set up camp by the Tigers’ 22.  The speed of ball was superb and, with the Leicester defence caught alarmingly narrow, quick hands allowed young winger Jack Wilson to squeeze over in the corner for the game’s opening try.  A wonderful kick by Owen Farrell in gale-force wind made the score 7 – 0.

There was no escape for the visitors, either through their own doing – in the form of poor chasing on Youngs’ box kicks – or through nature’s, with Ryan Lamb only ever to make minimal distance with his attempted clearances into the wind.  They were kept pinned back in their own half through superb kicking from Farrell and Wigglesworth, and with the likes of Billy Vunipola and Kelly Brown carrying strongly around the fringes, the hosts had a total grip on the game.  Farrell added another penalty, but Leicester were lucky to avoid conceding more as their defence struggled to realign in the wake of Saracens’ lightening clean-outs in the rucks.  Lamb eventually got the Tigers on the board with a well struck penalty on 25 minutes, before Farrell responded shortly afterwards with a 3 pointer of his own.

With Tigers having no possession or territory of note in the game, it was hard to see where they could create opportunities from.  Luckily for them, Owen Farrell had a burst of Christmas spirit and generously presented it to the visitors, taking an age to clear his lines and allowing the impressive lock Graham Kitchener to athletically charge down the kick, regather and touch down beneath the posts.  Out of nowhere, Leicester were back in the game.  But not for long.  Kitchener, who had been a rock for Leicester in the set piece and defence before his try, hit Farrell late, causing Barnes to check the incident on the TMO.  It was one of those cases where, by the letter of the law, it was a yellow card, but in my opinion the laws are wrong.  It was a penalty for the late hit – although it was not malicious, as Kitchener was already committed – but it was in no way a yellow card, which was dished out for the most marginal lift by the Leicester man.  The fact was it wasn’t dangerous – just a very hard hit – and Farrell landed on his back.  Nevertheless, Barnes correctly obeyed the laws and yellow carded the second row – and what a crucial moment that turned out to be.  Down to 14 men, Leicester came under pressure from a rolling maul which crabbed ominously infield.  From that position, Farrell switched play from left to right, allowing Chris Wyles to feed Chris Ashton for a simple run in.  Where the man meant to be marking him, Miles Benjamin, was, I have no idea – possibly already trotting down the tunnel for halftime – however, the main issue with the score was the alleged forward pass that the TMO took about half an hour to rule on.  It was one of those cases where the viewpoint on whether it was forward or not depended on what angle you viewed the pass from – there were good arguments either way, but Barnes sided with the attacking team.  Farrell missed the conversion, but Sarries took a commanding 18 – 10 lead into half time.

Leicester, despite the last try, wouldn’t have been disappointed though with that scoreline – especially in the light of the fact Richard Cockerill had claimed that the wind was worth ‘15 – 17 points’.  Perhaps it was, but it certainly wasn’t for Leicester.  The pack started to rumble early on to try and wind down the clock for Kitchener’s sinbinning and build some pressure, but when Wayne Barnes bizarrely penalised Youngs for throwing the offside Steve Borthwick out of the way, the chance was lost and instead, Sarries charged up the pitch and claimed a great try of their own.  Following another strong maul from the pack, Wyles made good ground in the midfield, before quick recycling allowed Vunipola to crash through a gaping hole to go over from 5 metres out.  It was superb work by the Londoners’ pack, and abysmal by the Leicester side, with Austin Healey pointing out on TV coverage that the gap in the defence was due to Jordan Crane and other Leicester forwards walking back to the defensive line whilst the Saracens men charged past them at full tilt.

Leicester’s problems went from bad to worse as Terence Hepetema, on for Matt Smith at half time, made the unwise/moronic decision to attempt to tackle Vunipola with his face.  Unsurprisingly, he came off second best, and Leicester were forced to bring on winger Adam Thompstone in the centres as cover.  The Leicester pack, though, reinvigorated by the introductions of Tom Youngs and Marcos Ayerza, began to claim territory and started to batter the Saracens line with a succession of powerful rolling mauls, but Saracens were feeling particularly scrooge-like, presenting an impenetrable wall of defence which just would not be breached, with the likes of Ernst Joubert and Jamie George outstanding.  Time and time again, the Tigers were foiled by Borthwick and co.

The hope of gaining something from the game seemed to drain out of the visitors and, after Owen Farrell had been stretchered off following a bang to the head, Saracens delivered the knock out punch.  Neil De Kock easily outpaced Gibson round the back of the scrum and delivered a sumptuous scoring pass to substitute Jackson Wray to pick up Saracens’ bonus point try.  Further humiliation was on the cards for the Tigers though, as Sarries spent the last 10 minutes administering a thorough Christmas stuffing (sorry).  Following a yellow card to Thomas Waldrom, the hosts claimed a penalty try from a scrum before Ashton claimed his second, picking a smart line off an inside ball to dive over from close range, taking the final score to 49 – 10, and Leicester’s heaviest premiership defeat.

Saracens rightly enjoyed finishing their early Christmas roasting in the knowledge that they had sent out one hell of a statement.  They didn’t just beat the Tigers, they broke them – I have never ever seen a Leicester side give up, but with 15 minutes to go, that’s what they did.  Sarries were clinical, fast, aggressive and powerful, whilst Leicester were resilient in the first half before becoming abject Christmas Puddings in the second.  The lack of backbone in the final quarter of the game will ensure that Christmas spirit will be scarce at Welford Road this year.  As the memo from Richard Cockerill reads – Christmas is cancelled.