Saracens vs. London Wasps – LDH – Match Preview

So here we go again…returning to the scene of our memorable victory over Leicester in last season’s Premiership Final, the Men in Black, predicted by many to retain their crown in the 2011-12 season, head down to Twickenham this Saturday as Part 2 of the infamous London Double Header.

In Sarries’ way stand their local(ish) arch-rivals London Wasps, a club which has had to undergo major transformations in both the playing and the coaching departments in a desperate attempt to return to the heights of the Dallaglio era after a couple of seasons of, at best, mediocrity. The arrival of Welsh, ex-Newport coach Paul Turner should ensure that the wide, expansive game of Tony Hanks’ reign, and which suits so well the pace and exuberance of the Wasps’ outside backs, is retained. On the flip side, the appointment of Dai Young as Director of Rugby from Cardiff is clearly in an effort to reconstruct the oft-dismantled Wasps front five and inject some of the mental toughness of the Wasps glory days, the absence of which has been so detrimental recently. An ex-international tighthead does seem to fit the bill for overseeing this type of refurbishment, but looking back at Young’s Cardiff Blues side, it was these precise aspects that were lacking there as well – it is crucial to Wasps’ chances in this campaign that Young has done his job well.

On paper if nothing else, there is actually quite a lot to separate these two sides. Sarries return to action with the title of ‘Premiership Champions’, while Wasps’ final position of 9^th was not an unfair reflection of their season. The Men in Black seem to have strengthened their squad considerably, with the biggest loss, Noah Cato, replaced by the experienced, ex-Bath poacher Joe Maddock, and the likes of Charlie Hodgson and John Smit added into the mix. This has inevitably led to various tiresome allegations of breaching the salary cap, but realistically all it means is that we’re going to pretty difficult side to beat. Wasps have also improved their squad, on balance, but over the season their greater challenges will lie in the coaching department. They have an exciting crop of English youngsters, such as Joe Launchbury, Christian Wade and Elliott Daly, combined with older heads such as Marco Wentzel, Joe Worsley and Nicky Robinson. In the short-term though, they have been severely weakened by injuries and international call-ups, losing big names such as Taulafo, Shaw, Simpson, Waldouck and Varndell.

Realistically they might look to hold their own in the front row – with an expected first-choice trio of Payne, Webber/Lindsay, Broster – and Wentzel will look to work his magic in the lineout. In the back row though, the recent injury-enforced retirement of Dan Ward-Smith will be a huge blow, and with Tom Rees sadly looking as if he might be going the same way, and with Worsley on the sidelines, Wasps are really scraping the barrel. John Hart will most likely skipper the side from No. 8, with the likes of Launchbury, Billy Vunipola and new signing Jonathan Poff able to fill in. It could well turn out their deficiencies in this area render the back line talent redundant if the breakdown battle is as one-sided as it seems on paper.

If, however, Wasps can secure some good quality ball, their midfield has the potential to release some potent wide runners. New signing Nicky Robinson, almost Sarries’ nemesis in last year’s semi, is a quality distributor, as is Riki Flutey, even if the latter is in such poor form he couldn’t even get into the England World Cup Squad ahead of Shontayne Hape. Christian Wade and our own Richard Haughton have pace in spades on the wings, and Hugo Southwell is more than solid at the back. In short, Sarries’ easiest strategy to nullify the Wasps’ threat would be to shut them down completely at the breakdown, and sever the axis between the pack, scrum half Nick Berry and fly-half Robinson. A failure to do that could result in some stern tests for the Men in Black defence.  

Predicted Line-Up for Wasps:

15. Hugo Southwell; 14. Richard Haughton; 13. Chris Bell; 12. Riki Flutey; 11. Christian Wade; 10. Nicky Robinson; 9. Nic Berry

1. Tim Payne; 2. Rob Webber; 3. Ben Broster; 4. Marco Wentzel; 5. Richard Birkett; 6. Joe Launchbury; 7. Jonathan Poff; 8. John Hart (capt.)

16. Lindsay; 17. Castex; 18. McIntyre; 19. Cannon; 20. Vunipola; 21. Davies; 22. Davis; 23. Mayor

For their part, Sarries will arrive at Twickenham hugely confident in their own abilities, and after a solid if not overly-inspiring pre-season, they will fancy their chances on Saturday. The defence, even in the absence of the likes of Brown and Burger to international duty, will still be fearsomely organised and tenacious with Barritt and Botha (both unlucky, in a strange sort of way, to be playing for Saracens on Saturday) at the helm. The lineout, an area where Wasps had no end of problems last year, will still be masterfully marshaled by Borthwick and Joubert. And the scrum, despite the loss of Matt Stevens to the England squad, will still be held strong by Gill, Nieto, Carstens and Du Plessis.

It is in attack, though, where Sarries will be looking to develop their game most at the start of this season. The attacking quartet of Goode - the full-back with the best spatial awareness and the best close-quarters footwork in the league - Strettle - statistically one of the Premiership's best attackers last year, and looking sharp in pre-season - Short - full of pace and power, an unstoppable try-scorer - and Brits - who needs no introduction - is the envy of pretty much any other English club, and, amazingly, will be intact throughout the World Cup. If the strengths of these four can be harnessed, a process which may be made easier by the arrival of Hodgson from Sale, Sarries could become a devastating attacking force.

Predicted Line-Up for Sarries:

15. Alex Goode; 14. David Strettle; 13. Adam Powell; 12. Brad Barritt; 11. James Short; 10. Owen Farrell; 9. Neil De Kock.

1. Rhys Gill; 2. Schalk Brits; 3. Carlos Nieto; 4. Steve Borthwick (capt.); 5. Mouritz Botha; 6. Justin Melck; 7. Andy Saull; 8. Ernst Joubert

16. Jamie George; 17. Deon Carstens; 18. Petrus Du Plessis; 19. George Kruis; 20. Jackson Wray; 21. Ben Spencer; 22. Charlie Hodgson; 23. Joe Maddock

It would be easy to expect too much from this game though - it must be remembered that Wasps won't be as weak as they look on paper, and there will inevitably be some rustiness. I think a win has to be expected, with respect to our opponents, and some glimmers of good things to come would be very welcome.

The anticipation for the new season is building nicely...COME ON YOU SARRIES!!