Tigers v Sarries Final Match Report
By JK
May 29 2011
We came, we saw, we probably didn't quite deserve to conquer! - The early parts of the first half were predictably attritional with both sets of forwards going at it hammer and tongs and Saracens looking slightly sharper – more likely to score a try.
A break from the impressive Neil De Kock almost led to the opening five-pointer but he was hauled down short of the line and a penalty was conceded when Ben Youngs was adjudged to have manually scooped the ball back from the ensuing ruck.
The referee went straight for his pocket to flourish a yellow card and YBY was able to benefit from ten minutes’ repose. Whilst I have no real judgement to make on the offence itself (the view from Mountsorrel wasn’t great, even with the benefit of ESPN!), I can’t remember ever seeing a yellow card for a first ruck offence of the match or the first in a particular attack. Still, them’s the breaks and it must have been blatant for Barnes W. to react like that. You do feel he was putting down a marker for the rest of the game following recent criticism of his card policy.
As it transpired, Tigers didn’t seem to suffer too much from his absence, equalising with a penalty of their own and then going ahead at six-three, both scores courtesy of the boot of Toby Flood. The lead was short-lived as Saracens pulled one back to get to six-all.
The game’s only try followed as the impressive Schalk Brits made a midfield break and set up James Short to squeeze over in the corner despite the despairing attempt of Scott Hamilton to drag him into touch. On another day, Scott might have got him but Short had missed a similar opportunity in the semi- against Gloucester and was more careful this time to finish accurately. Brits had already taken a massive hit from Martin Castrogiovanni and was clearly keen to show that he had shrugged off the impact. He proved to be a menace for the rest of the game.
A further exchange of penalties meant that Saracens maintained their try advantage at half-time with the score at 16-9. Drop-goals-were-not-us with a wide attempt from Alex Goode proving no more fruitful than a surreal attempt from Horacio Agulla!
Tigers looked a little sharper in the second half and notched more penalties than their opposition to head into the last part of the game within one score, albeit crucially a try, even unconverted. A short period towards the beginning of the half though proved the game’s turning point where two fairly simple penalties were missed by Toby Flood followed by a penalty clearance which criminally failed to find touch.
Tigers never really looked like scoring the try which would have proved to be a lifeline with really just one promising-looking break from Alesana Tuilagi to show for their mid-game efforts. Almost clear, he was hauled down from behind by that man Schalk Brits.
Calls for a yellow-card to be awarded to Agulla for a deliberate knock-on were well wide of the mark in my view – he tried the interception and messed up!
Flood’s final successful penalty with about five minutes left put the Tigers within range at four points down and suddenly they had the momentum and were pressing Saracens’ tryline to find the score which would have broken the Fez-men’s hearts for the second year in succession.
The four-point margin meant that a three-point penalty score would not be enough with eighty minutes up so Tigers had to keep pressing through the forwards, advancing inch by inch.
The men in black held out and a penalty conceded by Tigers with a joyful boot into the stands by Saracens meant that it was all over. Congratulations to them.
So what went wrong? Well, Tigers didn’t quite have what it takes to break down a superbly regimented Saracens defence at the end and credit is due to them for their defensive effort, slightly better even than Saints in the semi- who cracked at the end to ship a try. Had even one of Toby Flood’s missed kicks gone over, it would have been a very different endgame and a penalty in overtime from in front of the posts might have been enough to snatch an unlikely victory. Both kicks going over would have given Tigers the lead and chasing the game could have been tough for Saracens.
The best thing we could probably do is sign Schalk Brits from them! He was awesome in attack, crucial in defence and magnificent all round. A deserving man-of-the-match and great value for a 10/10 rating from Stephen Jones in the Sunday Times.
A Tigers victory would indeed have been very unlikely though. To be honest, Saracens looked sharper throughout and Flood and Youngs seemed to be some way below their best. Saracens got in amongst the Tigers at the lineout, never allowed our customary scrum dominance and their defence was magnificent for the whole game, especially in the closing minutes and seconds. Last year’s heartbreak had clearly prepared them to be more careful this time and it clearly showed at the very end when they maintained their focus. Tigers misfired and Saracens played to their usual consistently high standard. They have been criticised as boring but they will care little today. A result is a result - we learned that many years ago in Leicester and we’ve ignored (and even revelled in) similar criticism over the years.
Saracens are going to feel like worthy winners – one try to nil - given also that they beat Leicester three times this season (despite protests about absent internationals), won more games and didn’t lose in the last dozen or so matches which is hard to argue. They have had the rub of the green with few international call-ups and playing Leicester twice during international periods but they played what was in front of them, especially yesterday, and came out on top. I had thought they would struggle this season without Justin Marshall and Glen Jackson but they played the system, set an effective plan and followed it to the letter.
Even playing badly, Tigers would have beaten any other premiership team yesterday. I do feel that when both teams play at full-strength and at their best, Tigers would have more winning days than losing ones against Saracens. The problem is that yesterday was not one of those days. Saracens played at or very close to their best, denying the Premiership’s top try-scorers even the luxury of one try, and Tigers some way below theirs. Truth be told, it’s some time since Tigers have been at their best for a full game, the semi-final against Saints aside.
Yesterday’s game and previous games against Saracens, Gloucester and London Irish have shown worrying signs. Like the Leinster game, we finally came up short yesterday when it mattered against a team who showed up some of the weaknesses: hooker for one, truly incisive backs (the absent Manu aside) for another, off-form half-backs (since they came back from England duty) for yet another and a bit of a lack of plan B when plan A isn’t quite coming off.
We’re still the best club in the land with our own stadium, profits, no sugar daddies and our premiership-topping position; others (yes, even Saracens) will still aspire to our position but a few small changes are going to be necessary to re-establish our complete dominance. Evolution, not revolution and I’ve no time for the inevitable “Sack Cockers!”, etc. calls.
Fair play to Saracens for not really allowing us to get into our stride yesterday and all season, setting up their dream final however much we might dislike the play-off system. Now who’s got Schalk Brits’ agent’s phone number?
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:06:07:22:59:11 by Stephen Bath.
The challenge for us now is to emulate the Tigers by continuing at this level for many seasons in a row; undoubtedly we still aspire to your standards.
See you next season; I look forward to continuing our rivalry...
