Sarries still have much to learn.

By King Zak
April 29 2013

Saracens 12 – 24 Toulon - I sit here, reflecting on the Heineken Cup semi-final defeat to Toulon; bottle of arsenic to my left, razor blades to my right. I am well aware that rugby and Saracens are not the most important thing in the world, but this defeat was all too depressingly familiar. Ultimately, we were soundly beaten by a team whose individual talent was far superior to the collective team ethic of Saracens.

It was a promising start as Sarries took an early 3-0 lead, courtesy of an Owen Farrell penalty following the first of several attempts to decapitate Vunipola. However, a recurring feature of the day was Saracens inability to deal effectively with the restart, and an indiscretion by Stevens immediately gave ‘Golden Boy’ an opportunity to draw level. The darling of English (and French) rugby made a difficult kick look simple and in so doing set the tone for the game.

Another area of weakness that became apparent during the early exchanges was Sarries inability to compete at the breakdown. The loss of Will Fraser was always going to be a challenge, but in Danie Rossouw,Toulon had the stand out backrower. Ably assisted by Fernadez-Lobbe and Masoe they were a constant threat to Saracens in both attack and defence. Their work rate, enthusiastically endorsed by referee Rolland, gave Jonny sufficient opportunity to keep the scoreboard ticking over in Toulon’s favour.

Farrell made the most of the opportunities that came his way but there was a distinct feeling during the first half that Sarries were doing all they could to just hang on in the game. Intense and enthralling as the game was, there was little by way of entertaining rugby until Toulon managed to work a gap for Giteau. The Wallaby international was given a couple of feet of space and took a huge chunk of territory; he was also alert enough to see Delon Armitage racing up on the wide left and put a cross-field kick into the corner. The bounce of the ball beat the fullback but, unseen by me at least, M Rolland adjudged a late tackle on Giteau resulting in yet another three points for Wilko. As half time approached, with the score at 9-12, Sarries had one last chance to regain parity. It was right at the edge of Farrell’s kicking range and the ball drifted to the left of the uprights. Going in all square would have given the men in black a huge boost but despite their best endeavour, I was left with the feeling that Sarries were second best.

The second half followed the pattern of the first; Sarries penalised and three points for the ‘charmed’ left boot. They were given a glimmer of hope when another attempt to remove Mako’s head resulted in 10 minutes rest for Rossouw and three more points for Farrell. 12-15, 30 minutes remaining. Finally, Sarries made some headway, with Vunipola leading the charge. One bulldozing run created havoc in the erstwhile staunch Toulon defence. As he headed toward the try line it seemed like he may actually go all the way, only to be brought down 8 metres short. The ball was quickly recycled and after several phases Sarries had worked space on the left wing. Farrell chose to spin a speculative 20 yard pass towards Kelly Brown in the wide channel. He caught the ball and touched down in the corner but it was no surprise to see M Rolland indicate that the pass had gone forward. A golden chance blown! An error compounded a couple of minutes later by yet another Sarries penalty and 3 more points for Wilkinson.

The game was not just taking its emotional toll; Strettle, Barritt and Joubert all left the fray with leg injuries, Barritt’s appearing to be the most serious.

The introduction of Hodgson sparked Sarries best moments of the game and with 15 minutes to go they appeared to be the dominant force. Trailing by 6 points there was a real feeling that this was the moment to strike. They battled away in the Toulon 22, placed there by some excellent tactical kicking by Hodgson. However, as with the earlier opportunity, when the chance came they were found wanting. This time it was a forward pass to Wyles on the left wing which thwarted them in what proved to be the last real opportunity.

Sarries indiscretion allowed Toulon to move deep into the Sarries half and it came as no surprise when Jonny did his thing with a trade mark drop goal. That effectively ended the contest; another Wilko penalty merely rubbed salt into what was becoming a very deep wound.

The most disturbing aspect was the way Sarries lost their composure and ultimately their ‘rugby head’ during the last 10 minutes. They tried to force impossible passes; looked for gaps that didn’t exist and finally looked a well and truly beaten team. Not something you could say very often about this particular group – they’ve lost games before, but never looked beaten in this way. It will take some hard work to rediscover their self belief and winning mentality if they are to offer a realistic challenge in the Premiership.

It’s hard to pick out many positives from a Saracens perspective. Yes, the players worked very hard (but that’s to be expected). Mako had some excellent moments and did his growing reputation no harm at all; Goode too had some inspirational moments, particularly during the last 20 minutes. But overall the best team and better players won. In all the key areas of the game,Toulon were the better. The scrum and lineout were close calls, but Toulon were always able to generate more control and power when it really mattered. I didn’t think there was too much to choose between Wilkinson & Farrell until the defining moments of the game – each time experience and calmness won out for the ‘senior’ generation.

Wilko was man of the match; not something I would particularly disagree with but the Toulon back row as a unit should really have got the award.

Have Sarries moved on from the Clermont defeat last year? Well, they probably have, but so have several other teams, Toulon being one. It will be an intriguing final and possibly not the foregone conclusion many may think. This is a very talented Toulon team who, when they play as a collective, can be a match for anyone.

Finally, I did find it amusing post-game as the PA announcer wished Toulon good luck for the final in Dublin and then played ‘Highway to Hell’!!!

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Joel Tomkins, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth; 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Schalk Brits, 3 Matt Stevens,

4 Steve Borthwick ©, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 6 JacksonWray, 7 Kelly Brown, 8 Ernst Joubert

Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Carlos Nieto, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 George Kruis
21 Neil de Kock, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Chris Wyles

Toulon: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Rudi Wulf, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Alexis Palisson ; 10 Jonny Wilkinson ©, 9.Sébastien Tillous-Borde ; 1 Andrew Sheridan, 2 Sébastien Bruno, 3 Carl Hayman, 4 Bakkies Botha, 5 Nick Kennedy, 6 Danie Rossouw, 7 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 8 Chris Masoe,

Replacements : 16.Jean-Charles Orioli, 17.Gethin Jenkins, 18.Davit Kubriashvili, 19.Joe Van Niekerk, 20.Steffon Armitage, 21.Maxime Mermoz, 22.Frédéric Michalak, 23.Jocelino Suta.

Referee: Alain Rolland

Attendance: 25,584

Sarries still have much to learn.

Posted by: TheSaracens.com (IP Logged)

Date: 29/04/2013 14:41

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Thanks King Zak for the Toulon match report.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013:05:07:09:35:54 by TonyTaff.