They say lightening doesn't strike twice. But what about thunder? Anyone who was at Twickenham 12 months ago
will be able to recall a rumble that shook all of European rugby as Saracens,
slight underdogs against the free-flowing men from Clermont, delivered a
crash-course in offensive defence, bullying the ball-carriers mercilessly and
burying the men in white's morale long before the final whistle confirmed their
crushing defeat. 46 – 6. Who saw that coming? The beauty of European rugby is its ability
to create rivalries with the intensity of derbies across the borders, and
that's what's happening with Sarries and Clermont. They have already met twice this season in
the group stages, where the English side took the spoils at home in the first
round before being squeezed out in the return fixture at Stade
Marcel-Michelin. It's 1-1 for this 'series',
and it's literally winner takes all on Saturday, as they meet in the semi-finals again - this time in Saint-Etienne.
Clermont can boast with some accuracy to have been
(unofficially) the best side in Europe over the past 4-5 seasons. I say unofficially, because they have
actually won diddly-squat, as the technical term goes, in that time. They've been to a couple of finals and the
knockout stages, they've even looked at various points like the ultimate
exponents of 'total rugby' and utterly unplayable – but they always seem to
choke. It's hard to imagine that when
you see the way they cut loose against Northampton a fortnight ago – they were
only playing the reigning English champions after all – as they ran out 37 – 5 winners,
thanks to a performance of physical dominance and breathtaking speed and
accuracy in attack. The man of the match,
that day, Nick Abendanon, will be licking his lips at showcasing his skillset
to Stuart Lancaster again, especially seeing as he was a key factor in the two
teams' last meeting back in January, darting over for a crucial try.
But Abendanon is
just one of many potent threats that the visitors will have to keep an eye on –
lose track of Nalaga, Fofana or Davies at your peril – but that's not say that
Sarries don't have threats of their own.
Billy Vunipola has been imperious this season both in attack and defence,
improving his work rate all over the park without losing that brutal
explosivity that generally leaves a trail of destruction – and bruised – egos in
its wake. Saracens will know, however, that
they have one weapon that can defuse all of the attacking flair that Clermont
have in their ranks – defence. Last
weekend they shut down a (limited, admittedly) Leicester side without breaking
a sweat, and a year ago on 'that day' at Twickenham, it was a similar story –
ball carriers were engulfed by a wave of black (led by Jacques Burger) before
they even had a chance to get going. A
stream of big hits like that don't just keep a team at bay, it destroys their
ambition and pass their momentum straight onto the defence.
So Saracens will be bringing the thunder, and Clermont
will be bringing the lightening. We
should be in for one hell of a storm.
Clermont
Auvergne Team News
Clermont welcome back their big guns after their surprise
home loss to Oyonnax in the Top 14. Having
been rested after their demolition of Northampton in the quarter-finals, Wesley
Fofana, Julien Bonnaire, Nick Abendanon, Napolioni Nalaga and Brock James all
return to the starting line-up. In the
centres, Jonathan Davies is a familiar figure to most on this side of the
channel, but the French outfit are missing experienced forwards Thomas Domingo
and Fritz Lee.
Starting Line-up: Nick
Abendanon; Noa Nakaitaci, Jonathan Davies, Wesley Fofana, Naipolioni Nalaga,
Brock James, Ludovic Radoslavjevic; Vincent Debaty, Benjamin Kayser, Davit
Zirakashvili, Jamie Cudmore, Sebastien Vahaamahina, Julien Bonnaire, Julien
Bardy, Damien Chouly (capt).
Subs: John
Ulugia, Raphael Chaume, Clement Ric, Julien Pierre, Alexandre Lapandry, Morgan
Parra, Camille Lopez, Aurélien Rougerie.
Key Player
Nick Abendanon. I
personally thought that the calls to have him returned to the England set up,
made captain and knighted for services to rugby (or something like that) were a
tad premature after his admittedly superb display against Saints last week, but
there is no doubting the talent in Englishman's boots. His acceleration and balance has never been
in doubt, but his intelligence in support also sets him apart as being one of
the top attacking threats in the tournament – however, he will be facing a very
different test on Saturday. Saracens are
the exponents of the finest kick-chase game in Europe and there is no doubt
that his size, concentration and…er…balls will be tested as Hodgson,
Wigglesworth and potentially Farrell pepper the backfield searching for
territory…and mistakes.
Saracens
Saracens have named England fly-half Owen Farrell on the
bench for their Champions Cup semi-final against Clermont. Farrell returns to the Saracens' match-day 23
for the first time since he suffered a knee injury three months ago. Saracens, looking to make the final for a
second year in a row, will be without captain Alastair Hargreaves and Jim
Hamilton replaces him in the second row while centre Brad Barritt takes over
captaincy duties. There is also a start in the back-row for exciting prospect
Maro Itoje. Flanker Jacques Burger – who
terrorised Clermont in last year’s semi-final with some ferocious tackling – is
back from suspension.
Starting
Line-up: Alex Goode; Chris Ashton,
Marcelo Bosch, Brad Barritt (capt), Chris Wyles; Charlie Hodgson, Richard
Wigglesworth; Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Petrus Du Plessis, George Kruis, Jim
Hamilton, Maro Itoje, Jacques Burger, Billy Vunipola.
Subs: Schalk
Brits, Rhys Gill, James Johnston, Kelly Brown, Jackson Wray, Neil de Kock, Owen
Farrell, David Strettle.
Key Player
Maro Itoje. If
you're looking for possibly the next big thing for the England pack after the
World Cup, this should be the first place you look. Not only is the 20 year old back-row-cum-second-row
a phenomenal athlete, but he's also a natural leader, having led England to
under 20 success in the Junior World Cup and captained Saracens to an A-league
victory last year. He's impressed with
his appearances off the bench so far this season, but this match is on a
different scale to anything he will have experienced before. The sheer physicality of the hits and the
pressure of the situation will hit him as soon as the whistle blows – the question
is, how will he handle it? Welcome to
the big time, son.
Key Battle
Julien Bardy v Jacques Burger. We all know what Burger did to Clermont last
season; members of the French side that day probably still have nightmares
about it. The hosts will know that
Sarries' only chance of causing an upset and coming away with a win will be to
shut down their attack early, to hammer them behind the gainline and to force
them to kick hurriedly or, worse, panic.
Clermont will be braced for an onslaught, but they know that they need
to get the leader of the Wolf Pack on a tight leash, and that's where Bardy
comes in. The big Portuguese
international is a mobile and physical presence, but he will need watch Burger
like a hawk and try to tie him up for as long as possible in breakdowns – the longer
Burger is out of the game for, the more comfortable and effective Clermont will
be.
Prediction
Saracens may not have been quite at their best this season
but you know that they will always have a big game in them, as they showed last
year – and they don't come any bigger than this. They will believe, there is no doubt about
that, but Clermont will have a lot of pent up anger themselves in relation to
that debacle last year. I expect them to
meet the physicality full on and beat Sarries at their own game – only after a
mighty arm-wrestle, mind. Clermont by 9.
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