Heineken Cup Preview - Saracens v Toulouse

Despite being predominantly a rugby fan, I do have to admit being partial to other sports.  I will usually religiously watch anything that appears on TV and try most sports with relish, albeit with varying degrees of success (from poor to embarrassing).  That can range from NFL, to golf, to tennis, to cricket.  I’ve even been caught watching Australian league netball before, although the explanation that I was interested in the sport didn’t seem to convince my girlfriend.  I do though, like plenty of Englishmen, have a soft spot for football.  I can’t really watch it anymore, due to a combination of my team languishing in mid-table in the Championship and the fact that I hurl my shoe at the screen every time some ponce squeals and rolls around holding his ankle when somebody brushes past him.  But I do enjoy playing it and I do break the ‘no watching football’ rule for England.

Of course, watching England in football has been about as entertaining as a grass-growing contest over recent years, and that’s something anyone who has watched Saracens can relate to.  But, over the last few games, we’ve seen a transformation – an attacking verve that combines speed, intelligence and directness to the extent that it finally looks like the players are enjoying themselves.  And that too is true of Saracens of late.  So perhaps it’s appropriate that the Londoners continue their transformation from snooze-inducers to exponents of total rugby at the home of a side who have equally turned around their fortunes in the entertainment – and success – stakes.  Wembley is the venue for Saracens’ showdown against European heavyweights, Toulouse.

And I don’t mean heavyweights metaphorically, either.  Their fly half, Luke McAllister, weighs a pretty solid 95kg, whilst number 8 Gillian Galan - starting ahead of Louis Picamoles – weighs a colossal 120kg.  That’s just an indication on how Toulouse are approaching this game – raw power is at the forefront of everything they do.  With Yoann Maestree and Census Johnston lurking in the pack as well, this a set of forwards who will arrive at Wembley with the express objective of smashing their opponents off the park – route one style.  The selection of Poitrenaud’s kicking game ahead of the wonderfully talented Fickou at centre tells you all you need to know – Toulouse want territory and forward dominance.

That’s not to say that Saracens are fairies in comparison though.  Unless you’re referring to nightmarish, bulldozer fairies in the shape of the Vunipola brothers that is.  The thought of taking on this gargantuan French pack will be one to relish for the England men, but they’ll be backed up by a sharp mix of power and guile, with Schalk Brits and Ernst Joubert both smart operators in the loose.  The set up Saracens have gone for in the pack suggests that they will expect to match the visitors physically, but they also want to run them off the park. 

So Wembley, once again, is the place to be tomorrow night.  I may usually throw myself into most sports, but I wouldn’t be keen on being in the middle when these two packs collide...

 

Saracens Team News

The hosts, who beat Connacht 23-17 in their opener, make four changes for the four-time champions' visit on Friday.   Jacques Burger, Alistair Hargreaves, Richard Wigglesworth and Duncan Taylor are all included in the starting XV.

Starting Line up:  Goode, Ashton, Wyles, Taylor, Strettle, Farrell, Wigglesworth, M Vunipola, Brits, Stevens, Borthwick, Hargreaves, B Vunipola, Burger, Joubert.

Substitutes: George, Gill, Johnston, Kruis, Brown, de Kock, Bosch, Tomkins

Key Player

Billy Vunipola.  I personally think it’s worrying for England that Sarries don’t trust his ball control at the base of the scrum, but just having him on the park – even at blindside flanker – is a massive boost for the Londoners.  With a chest the approximate circumference of the meteor that starred in Armageddon and ridiculous tree-trunk legs, the big man is nigh-on impossible to stop on the gain line.  He’ll be facing up to a formidable and experienced Toulouse side though and, with both sides aiming to batter each other up front first up, the Australian-born England international will be a key figure in the front line of that battle.  Yardage is the order of the day.  

 

Toulouse Team News

Toulouse recall former All Black Luke McAlister and second-row Yoann Maestri to the side that beat Zebre.  Maxime Medard switches to full-back with Clement Poitrenaud at inside centre, whilst Luke McAlister and Jean-Marc Doussain come in at half-back.  Thierry Dusautoir returns the starting XV at openside flanker, whilst Schalk Ferreira and Census Johnston are the new props.

Starting Line up:  Medard, Huget, Fritz, Poitrenaud, Gear, McAlister, Doussain, Galan, Dusautoir, Nyanga, Tekori, Maestri, Johnston, Tolofua, Ferreira.

Substitutes: Ralepelle, Steenkamp, Montes, Lamboley, Millo-Chluski, Vermaak, Fickou, Picamoles

Key Player

Luke McAlister.  The former All Black is another with thighs apparently inherited from Godzilla (his nickname is Quadzilla), but it’s also fair to say that the Toulouse man has a fair drop of subtlety in his game.  With a howitzer boot, and sharp offloading game, it’s the fly-half’s running ability that mark him out as a real talent.  With power like a backrow – to the extent that Will Greenwood retired after being hit by him in 2005, because he looked up expecting to see a number 8, and instead saw a fly half – McAlister offers a unique threat with ball in hand that draws in defenders and creates space for those outside him.  Farrell will have a real test on his hands to keep the All Black quiet.

 

Key Battle

Jacques Burger v Thierry Dusautoir.  Despite the mouth-watering battles all over the park, the sight of these two grizzled warhorses going toe to toe may not win any beauty contests, but it sure will be explosive.  Burger has started the season in superb form, picking up man-of-the-match awards with monotonous regularity, whilst Dusautoir has also began to find the standards that saw him awarded the IRB Player of the Year in 2011 after a disappointing time last season.  Both are phenomenally aggressive around the park but also possess a classy technical side that see them cause no ends of problems if there’s even half a sniff of an offload.  And that, in a war between two sets of battering rams, could well be the difference. 

 

Prediction

It’s been documented pretty heavily of late that the French sides don’t travel with, but if playing Saracens at Wembley doesn’t get you up for it, then what will?  The French ooze class throughout their side but Sarries have looked in ominously good form this year and will fancy their chances – even if they are coming up against their sternest physical test of the season so far.  If the scrum can hold up against the powerful operators in the Toulouse front row, then Sarries should be able to play territory well enough to cause the visitors some problems and grab a crucial win.  Saracens by 8.

 

What else is happening in the Heineken Cup this weekend?

 

Pool One:  Leinster should have too much at home against a Castres side still not looking all that eager at participating in the Heineken Cup.  Northampton, meanwhile, should do the business against the Ospreys at Franklins Gardens.

 

Pool Two:  Cardiff face a real uphill battle against Toulon at home – especially if they play like they did in the first half against Exeter – and would do well to get anything out of the game, whilst the Chiefs face a tough visit to Glasgow where the Scottish side will be confident of getting their first win of the tournament.

 

Pool Three:  The other fixture in Pool 3 sees the unfancied Zebre and Connacht face one another in what should be a tight game – and Zebre will be confident of a first Cup win.

 

Pool Four:  Scarlets will face a tough home assignment against Racing Metro, but the French side will be expecting four points from that fixture – as will Clermont, who host the woefully out of form Harlequins on Sunday.

 

Pool Five:  Leicester will be confident of bouncing back from defeat with a home win against Treviso on Friday night whilst Ulster should find a trip to Montpellier just a step too far for them.

 

Pool Six:  Munster had a shocker last weekend but will be a different animal at home – as Gloucester should discover at their cost.  Perpignan, meanwhile, will be hopeful of a win at home against Edinburgh.