Saracens vs. Northampton Saints Preview
Saints Alive
By saracens4life
February 10 2011
I think our rivalry with the Saints over the last couple of years has been fascinating. There has always been the slightest sense of a local derby, but until recently no more than that. How it has all changed: the ‘no-try’ at Wembley which would have given Northampton the win, the contentious Tiny contract affair, the request to put a Giant Fez on the lift tower and us sacking their fortress twice at the back-end of last season has added an edge to our encounters.
You can add to this, the players celebrating the victory too vociferously for the liking of captain Dylan Hartley, who has also been in the news recently, albeit for completely different reasons. In the last few months, however, relations between the two message boards have become more amiable in the absence of any such controversy. Rest assured, though, hostilities will be resumed on the pitch come 12.30 on Saturday.
The players, whatever they might say, will have had one eye on this game, beautifully set up as a clash between 2nd and 3rd in the Premiership, for nearly three weeks now. These are two teams most definitely on the up, albeit with the Saints slightly ahead in terms of silverware, success in Europe and contribution to the England senior squad. Sarries at their best, though, can beat anyone, as they showed at the end of last season with the holy trinity of East Midlands victories, and the character and togetherness of the current squad is plain for all to see. There is little doubt that both sides will rise to the occasion on Saturday, with the result likely to be a huge physical confrontation and plenty of thrilling running rugby.
There isn’t quite the same aura of invincibility around the Saints this time round though: Harlequins’ thoroughly impressive 16-13 victory at the Gardens, against a side packed full of the internationals that will be missing on Saturday, showed that Mallinder’s men do have a capacity to lose their concentration, and they seem to have lost the all-conquering dominance around the breakdown that they enjoyed earlier in the season.
The front row, as we have come to expect, combines fearsome scrummaging power with some electric dynamism and skill in the loose, even in the absence of club captain, and Sarries’ favourite, Dylan Hartley. Soane Tonga’uiha, another Sarries’ favourite, weighing in at a not inconsiderable 130 kg, will line up alongside Brian Mujati, the ex-Springbok prop of similarly modest dimensions. Sarries will need little introduction to this pair, with the raw strength and sometimes incomprehensible offloading skills of the Tongan sure to cause problems for any defence, and the aggression and surprising explosiveness of the South African bound to knock a few lumps out of any opposition player. Perhaps less familiar will be Brett Sharman, understudy to Dylan Hartley, who will be sandwiched between these two hulking figures; Sharman offers pace, ball skills and reasonably good set-piece work to a front row with an ominous quality and balance to it.
Behind them, in the absence through injury of local lad Courtney Lawes, Christian Day is certain of one starting birth, and will presumably act as the lineout technician, a role which could be match-defining, given the notable absence of Tom Wood; as well as his set-piece work Day offers a tremendous work rate in defence, and will compliment the enforcer-type second row, be it Kiwi Mark Sorenson, ex-Cherry and White Adam Eustace, or new arrival Dan Vickerman. Whispers from the Gardens suggest that Vickerman, a 52-time capped Wallaby, is a sizeable weapon, both literally, standing at well over 2 metres and just under 120 kg, and in terms of his contributions on the pitch. Given his recent lack of time, I would expect him to start on the bench, but he is yet another string to the Saints’ already well-endowed bow.
The battle of the back rows will, as usual, be absolutely crucial, and two-thirds of the Green Black and Gold usual marauding trio will be present on Saturday: ex-Falcon Phil Dowson, who will skipper the side having been released for the weekend by England, and the seemingly faultless Ulsterman Roger Wilson. The youthful and exuberant Calum Clark is likely to complete the unit at 7, bringing plenty of dynamism and energy, but also probably a few kicking opportunities for young Owen, and Mark Easter, highly-rated on the Saints’ message board, will probably take up the bench spot. The Saints pack, having been under the tutelage of Dorian West for a few seasons now, has become a fearsome unit, tending to combine a destructive set-piece with dominant breakdown work and supreme physicality on the gain line. Sarries will need to be at their best to match them.
Behind the scrum, Welsh international Ryan Powell, solid but uninspiring, will take the No. 9 berth in the long-term absence of Lee Dickson, who would usually bring a bit more snap, and a lot more lip, to the Northampton machine. Stephen Myler, as is Jim Mallinder’s custom, is nailed-on to wear the 10 jersey, with Shane Geraghty, probably feeling quite battered after his ice-cold welcome back to his former club London Irish a couple of weeks ago, on the bench. Myler will probably still be having nightmares about his cock-up in the dying seconds of last year’s semi-final, but he is a percentages player and will bring an element of control to the Saints’ game. His goal-kicking is inconsistent, but on his day he can slot anything.
Outside them, you know what to expect from the Saints centre-pairing. Despite the views of many Saintly supporters, I can see little more than the crash-bang-wallop game from James Downey (1.93m and 104kg) and Jon Clarke (1.88m and 96kg). It may be simple, but it is also pretty effective, with the Irishman in particular rarely failing to cross the gain line. Sarries will get little change through the middle of these two, but may get more profit from the wide game that we saw against Sale last week, trying to expose the lack of pace in the Saints’ midfield.
The Saints’ back three, despite the absence of wonderkids Foden and Ashton, are a potent unit, with ex-All Black and firm club favourite Bruce Reihana taking one winger spot, and Northampton born-and-bred Paul Diggin, so often a bogey man against Sarries, opposite him. The rock-solid 21-year-old Greig Tonks, complete with safe hands, astute running lines and a siege-gun boot, will make up the XV.
On the Sarries side, Deon Carstens, if he is back from injury at all, will not be match-fit, so I expect Rhys Gill to keep his place, backed up by either Carstens or the impressive emerging talent Jared Saunders. Jamie George, despite having performed so admirably in the last two weeks, is likely to be relegated to the bench this time round, making way for the newly-wed and hopefully revitalized Schalk Brits (congratulations to him, by the way!), and he will add a whole new dimension to our already multi-faceted attacking structure. I expect Carlos Nieto to start, given the scrummaging prowess of Tonga’uiha and Matt Stevens’ lack of match practice. Stevens, though, I am sure, will make an excellent impact player. The front row will need to step up to the mark on Saturday if we are to win, and I am sure Alex Sanderson will have been focusing his attentions on the scrum machine in training this week.
In the second row, in the expected absence of captain Steve Borthwick, I expect Hugh Vyvyan to partner Mouritz Botha, needing as we do the experience and level-headedness of the ex-Newcastle man, who will move to 231 Premiership appearances on Saturday, just one behind leader Simon Shaw. Botha has been an absolute revelation over the last two years – a player who never has a bad game, always brings unbelievable physicality and commitment, and must surely be pushing for a place in the England setup. US Eagles lock Hayden Smith has been in equally fine form and will be unlucky to be demoted, but his tireless work in defence and ever-improving carrying game will be hugely important in the last 20 minutes.
The back-row will probably see the return of Andy Saull to take the place of the emerging talent Jackson Wray. Saull’s raw pace and breakdown work will combine with the physicality and fearlessness of Namibian captain Jacques Burger and the ball skills and control from likely captain Ernst Joubert. It is the same fearsome trio who took us to within minutes of the Premiership title last season, and their role will be crucial on Saturday in terms of dictating the pace of the game.
At half-back, I have been partially won over by the argument of starting with Richard Wigglesworth over Neil de Kock, with the former’s kicking game and controlling influence on the tempo a real asset for us. If we were start with the England Saxons No.9, I would expect de Kock, 5-times capped by the Springboks, to come on quite early as he has quicker service and will better suit our new-found all-action running game. Outside him will be the much-debated Owen Farrell, who, despite his vociferous detractors, has shown real maturity this season and has proved his ability to control a game with his tactical kicking, and last week his ability to ignite the running game of the backs outside him. His place kicking is still a little shaky, but we will have both Wigglesworth and Goode on the pitch should a replacement kicker be required.
In the centre I expect the return of Mr. Reliable Brad Barritt to 12, with Rocket Rodd Penney continuing outside him after his recent return from Aironi. Rodd looks like he has never been away and was clearly delighted with his last-minute try against Sale. Barritt will be the defensive rock and physical presence needed to counteract James Downey, but his distribution game will also be crucial if we are to continue putting width on the ball to the same extent as last week. The return from a hamstring injury of Michael Tagicakibau is expected, and he could make an important impact off the bench, either at 13 or on the wing.
With the news that David Strettle has been released back to us by England, I would expect the same back three as last weekend, probably the strongest we can field. Chris Wyles is an extra fullback as well as a fantastic finisher; Strettle is one of the form wingers in England at the moment, with his elusive feet and lightning acceleration always causing problems for defences; Alex Goode showed glimpses last week that, after an injury-plagued season, he was starting to regain the magic from the end of last season, both on counter attack and when coming into the line as first receiver, which he did on numerous occasions.
Overall, I think it is fair to say, a clash of the titans. The Saints will come out firing after a recent spell of, by their own high standards, indifferent form, and fired up by a strong desire to gain revenge over us. They will look to physically dominate our pack, which is probably smaller on paper, and win the battles of the gain-line and the breakdown. We will go into the game full of confidence, with the Franklins Gardens fortress-factor not much of an issue for us and two good LV Cup displays in the last fortnight. We will need to play the game at a high tempo, giving space to runners such as Goode, Brits, Saull and Strettle, but, crucially, we will need to match the Saints’ physicality.
The two teams are close to inseparable, but I predict, for no particular reason other than gut instinct, a narrow Sarries victory. May the best team win…
See you all at the Gathering!!
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011:02:15:22:46:10 by Kat..
GO SARRIES
PNH
Hope whatever the outcome, its due to better play and the current friendly relations can continue between Saint and you Saracens...
Lets hope the Ref isnt useless too. Would actually like a fair and "honest" contest in the scrum.
Looking forward to Saturday even more after reading this.
A true clash to savour.
Go Sarries!!
See you for breakfast, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm bacon!!
Cant call this one!
Quote:Shaddo
you know us better than we do ourselves
Given the number of arguments I've had on your board, I should hope so...
Thanks to all for the comments.
We'll certainly have to maintain the intensity levels we showed last week if we are to keep a foothold in the match.
Question is though, when will St Rettle realise he's been playing for the wrong teams?
![[:wor kid:]](/phorum-5.1.15/mods/smileys/images/13.gif "[:wor kid:]")
Quote:The Bard
Someone once commented that the difference between terrorists and redheads was that you could negotiate with terrorists!
From one redhead to another - my ode to the Big Red (with Sound and an tiny ickle bit of swearing);
video: [url][/url]
"All the ladies agree it's a fact, once you've gone Ginge you can't go back"
Only joking, top report S4L."Darkness washed over the Dude - Darker than a black steer's tookus on a moonless prairie night. There was no bottom."
"The unpredictable Andrew Small will have a whistle. The result of the game may hinge on which team blags him into using it"
"Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it."
-- Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161-180 A.D.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011:02:11:22:51:56 by Paul Flatt.