Was it worth it? Sarries v Exeter LV Cup 23rd October

This was my first visit to Vicarage Road this season, having spent the early part in a forlorn trek across New Zealand at the RWC. It did feel a bit of one extreme to another; my last game was the New Zealand v Argentina ¼ final at Eden Park with 60,000 others. The LV Cup in front of 4,500 was a somewhat different experience but at least the beer was infinitely better!

However, the rugby ‘juices’ were flowing after an absorbing RWC final and I approached the game with a real sense of anticipation. It was also pleasing to see two fairly strong teams named by the respective coaches and Saracens welcomed back some of their World Cup contingent. Saracens made one change to the original line-up with Nick Auterac replacing Matt Stevens on the bench.

Sarries got the game underway in warm autumnal sunshine and showed a desire in the early stages to keep the ball in hand and go through the phases. This was rewarded with a penalty decision from referee Andrew Small for a late tackle. Owen Farrell chose to kick for goal but his attempt from theExeter10m line, 15m in from left touch, drifted across the front of the posts.Exeter’s first chance of points came from a similar penalty opportunity when Jackson Wray was penalised for blocking a kick-chase. The kick from Gareth Steenson drifted wide of the posts and the first 10 minutes had passed by scoreless.

The early stages were largely played out between the 22m lines and Sarries finally had the chance to put some pressure on the Chief’s line when Farrell kicked another penalty deep into the 22.Exeterstopped the initial catch and drive but as the ball was moved in field Farrell put through a deft grubber kick that bounced perfectly into the arms of Adam Powell to score under the posts. Farrell added the extras and Sarries had the lead 7-0 after 15 minutes. The quality of the game was rather summed up by the restart, which Steenson put directly into touch. Sarries were unable to make any headway from the scrum on halfway and the game became a bit of a kicking contest – not a very good one at that. It was also concerning to see Richard Wigglesworth limp off after 20 minutes to be replaced by Ben Spencer.

Exeterfinally started to put a few phases together and made their way deep into the Sarries 22. When Kelly Brown was penalised for hands in the ruck 5 metres from the line, Chris Bentley took a quick tap and crashed over to scoreExeter’s first try of the afternoon.  Steenson converted and we were all square again at 7-7 after 23 minutes. Yet another penalty decision from referee Small gave Farrell the chance to restore the lead after 26 minutes. His kick from the 10 metre line, just left of centre, sailed straight through the middle of the uprights to make the score 10-7.

The rather fractured and indisciplined nature of the game was summed up after 28 minutes when Sarries were penalised for ‘chatting to the ref’. This was particularly disappointing as they were comfortably in control of the ball on the edge of their own 22. I believe Andy Saull may have been the culprit (apologies if it wasn’t!) but regardless, Steenson slotted over the kick and we were even again at 10-10.

Sarries were forced into another change when Jackson Wray was replaced by Matt Hankin on the half hour mark. Given his injury woes of last season, it was a sad sight to see Wray limping down the players’ tunnel, his ankle wrapped in ice. The injuries certainly didn’t help the nature, or quality, of the game; although Kelly Brown showed he was fully committed to the cause – not sure he appreciated the knee to the groin though, or the physio’s attempt to treat him.

Five minutes from half time Farrell kicked another penalty deep into the right hand corner; again the ball was worked through the backs across field and Rodd Penney dived into the opposite corner for Sarries second try. A fitting score as Rodd was, somewhat belatedly, celebrating his 100^th appearance for the men in black. Farrell continued his good work with the boot as he slotted the conversion from close to the touchline.

The half time whistle went with Sarries leading 17-10; not a great first half and the general feeling was ‘lots of intent, not a lot of intensity’.

Sarries made their third change of the afternoon when Hankin failed to re-appear after the break and was replaced by the ever popular Hugh Vyvyan.Exeterwere quickest out of the blocks and reduced the arrears to 17-13 with another Steenson penalty after Sarries were penalised at scrum time. Farrell restored the 7 point advantage after 45 minutes with another well struck penalty from wide on the left.

The game continued to have the feel of a pre-season friendly about it and Sarries made further changes as Deon Carstens was replaced by Mako Vunipola and Duncan Taylor made way for Alex Goode. Mr Small was kept busy with a range of infringements from both teams and a swift interchange between the backs earned Sarries another penalty for offside. Farrell once again landed an excellent kick from wide on the left to make the score 23-13 after 55 minutes.

The introduction of Charlie Hodgson for Kameli Ratuvou raised the hope of some rugby breaking out asExeterstarted to ring the changes in their line up too. The largely ineffectual kick fest and running at defenders continued although there was some notable work from Kelly Brown, Hugh Vyvyan and Hayden Smith.  Sarries extended their lead even further after 60 minutes, following another offside infringement, as Farrell slotted the kick from 40 metres out.

The game was proving to be costly for Saracens though as they lost yet another injury victim; this time Petrus du Plessis left the action with a nasty looking injury to his upper arm and was replaced by England U18 prop Nick Auterac.

It wasn’t until the 63^rd minute thatExeter again threatened the Sarries line but good defensive work prevented the score as the attack was bundled into touch 7 metres from the line. This seemed to spark Sarries into life and an excellent kick-reclaim from Vyvyan set up a quick counter attack; Farrell kicked deep into the Chief’s 22 and the chasing Penney blocked the attempted clearance. There was a noticeable increase in the tempo of the game and Sarries were rewarded for some aggressive defence with another penalty five metres inside their own half. It was slightly disappointing to see Farrell opt for the kick at goal but his effort sailed straight through the posts with ease to give a score of 29-13 with less than 10 minutes to go.

Excellent work again from Vyvyan on halfway led to a Sarries turn over; the quick chip kick from Goode bounced kindly for Farrell who was able to run in unopposed to score by the posts – he added the conversion for 36-13.

Sarries now went in search of the bonus point try and it wasn’t long coming. George Kruis started the move deep in his own 22 and the ball was worked back to the left wing where Andy Saull carried the ball deep into Chief’s territory. Sarries cleared the breakdown quickly and the most popular, and dare I say unlikely scorer for a length of the field try, saw Vyvyan touch down to claim the bonus point. The grin on his face and delight of his teammates was a sight to behold. The chorus of ‘Huuuuuugh’ broadened the grin even further as he pumped his fists in celebration. Farrell added the extras to give a lead of 43-13 with five minutes remaining.

Chiefs got their second try of the afternoon when good work down the right wing saw an inside pass to Myles Dorian who ran in under the posts. Steenson’s quickly taken conversion made the final score 43-20.

A good win but at what cost? Sarries suffered several injuries and as the full time whistle blew, Hodgson was receiving treatment to his left hand; it was heavily strapped as he left the field. We can only hope than none of the injuries prove to be as serious as they looked.

Teams

Saracens; 15 Joe Maddock, 14 Rodd Penney, 13 Kameli Ratuvou, 12 Adam Powell, 11 Duncan Taylor, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 1 Deon Carstens, 2 Jamie George (capt), 3 Petrus du Plessis,
4 George Kruis, 5 Hayden Smith, 6 Kelly Brown, 7 Andy Saull, 8Jackson Wray,

Replacements; 16 Harry Allen, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Nick Auterac, 19 Hugh Vyvyan, 20 Matt Hankin
21 Ben Spencer, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Alex Goode

Exeter; 15 Myles Dorrian, 14 Mark Foster, 13 Josh Tatupu, 12 Phil Dollman, 11 Nic Sestaret,
10 Gareth Steenson (capt), 9 Pat Phibbs, 1 Ben Moon, 2 Simon Alcott, 3 John Andress, 4 Chris Bentley
5 James Phillips, 6 Dave Ewers, 7 Ben White, 8 Chad Slade

Replacements; 16 Neil Clark, 17 Ben Rogers, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Aly Muldowney
20 Charlie Walker-Blair, 21 Junior Poluleuligaga, 22 Bryan Rennie, 23 Jack Nowell

Referee; Andrew Small

Attendance; 4,501