Zebre v Camels, an interesting contest
King Zak
By King Zak
December 9 2013
For those viewing the game from the comfort of their living room, local hostelry or Allianz Park, I suspect this looked like a lovely sunny day in Northern Italy; well, the sun may have been shining but the temperature was barely above freezing. There was a reasonable Sarries following who had gathered in small numbers at Birreria Vecchie Maniere (highly recommended for beer lovers) on Friday night and swelled to about 250 by match time.
We were made to feel most welcome pre-match by Amatori Parma Rugby. We also had the pleaseure of Nigel Wray sitting amongst the ‘faithful’ too, which is always nice to see.
Sarries got the game underway and went straight on to the offensive. The early pressure was rewarded with a penalty after 8 minutes which Hodgson converted from just to the left of the posts. The opening exchanges had set the pattern for the game – Sarries were in total control, Zebre tackling anything that moved with vigour and determination. It was a hugely resiliant effort from the home team despite being unable to obtain any possession. Indeed, it wasn’t until the hour mark before they managed to get into Sarries 22 with ball in hand.
Another feature of the early stages was how slow Saracens were in moving the ball – this combined with a distinct lack of off-loading in contact led to de Kock frequently being caught in possession. There was a suggestion that Zebre were rarely onside at the breakdowns and perhaps M Gauzere was unable to see the offending player due to the Zebre’s ‘camouflage’ (thanks Keith!).
Sarries focus was very much on trying to blast their way through the Zebre defence and it was George Kruis who crashed over from 5m out to score the first try. Charlie added the conversion and Sarries led 0-10 after 15 mniutes. The lead was extended 5 minutes later by another Hodgson penalty and Zebre’s woes were compounded by kicking the re-start straight out. The scrum was an area where Saracens were fully dominant with Richard Barrington very much to the fore. Since his arrival from Jersey he has developed into a very useful acquisition and continues to improve each game. He was also prominant in the loose and regularly used to crash the ball upfield – an excellent ‘find’ for Sarries.
The second try arrived on 24 minutes. Another Sarries penalty was kicked to touch for a lineout just inside the Zebre 22 – a smartly taken throw allowed Joubert an unchallenged run to the right corner. Hodgson missed the conversion but the game was going pretty much as Saracens would have wished.
Things were not getting any better for the hosts though, who lost No8 Vunisa to the sin bin for coming in at the side/ diving over the top/ hands in the ruck (delete as appropriate). Following Sarries third scrum penalty Zebre decided to change their hooker, D’Apice being replaced by Manici – it made little difference.
The third try arrived after 31 minutes courtesy of an excellent break by Goode from halfway. He was finally brought down 8 metres out but managed to get the ball away to Wyles to score despite the efforts of Iannone. Charlie was back on target and the lead was now 0-25. Zebre were then reduced to 13 men when Bergamasco was sent to keep Vunisa company on the naughty step. It seemed certain that the bonus point try would arrive with such numerical advantage but Sarries were starting to lose their composure and pattern, compounded by some poor decision making. There was clear opportunity to keep the ball moving and stretch the defence but the ‘big’ runners were too easily isolated and excellent defensive work managed to turn the ball over and relieve the pressure. A half time score of 0-25 was probably a fair reflection of the game, with Sarries barely getting out of second gear.
Zebre finally won a penalty just inside the Sarries half on 43 minutes and they had no hesitation in making sure they didn’t end scoreless by asking Garcia to have a shot at goal. His kick was bang on target and seemed to lift the home team who were intent on winning the second half.
The usual plethora of substitutions started to arrive around the 50 minute mark. It would be wrong to say that it disrupted the Sarries flow, because by then there was none. If they’d slowed the ball down any more the game would literally have ground to a standstill. This is one of the most frustrating aspects to watching Saracens. They have all the pace and skill you could ask for, but frequently a reluctance to play at the necessary tempo to utilise those skills. One moment that perhaps summed up the game, and gave me a chuckle, was when Billy went to catch a high ball. It was a good box kick and one of the Zebre chasers was closing in on him. I think it was de Kock who shouted to Billy to ‘jump’ to catch the ball. Well, he attempted to but I fear the force of gravity was too much – he manged no more than 3” off the ground, dropped the ball, allowing Brits to get ‘smashed’ as he tried to clean up the mess.
It seemed like the 4th try had arrived on 55 minutes when Strettle went in under the posts only for the TMO to adjudge that Bosch had been guilty of blocking to create the gap for Strettle. Oxon Sarrie made a very valid point that you are supposed to use Zebra crossings and that as we’d been so ‘road safety conscious’, the try should have been awarded!
The disappointment of missing out on the try did at least seem to spur Saracens into action and a legitimate try duly arrived shortly afterwards. A flowing move involving Hodgson and then a break by Goode with Ashton on the receivng end of the inside pass to score to the left of the posts. It was probably the best moment of a rather turgid game and merely emphasised what could be achieved if the desire was present. I confess from my vantage point it looked like the last pass may have been forward but M Gauzere had no such concerns.
Ashton too grabbed his second try of the game on 68 minutes before Zebre had the final say. It was great to see Ashton running attacking lines that are so difficult for defenders to stop and arriving on the shoulder of a breakaway to offer the necessary support to turn a half chance into a score.
The home side evenutally gained some reward for their effort; firstly an interception by Orquera split the Sarries defence resulting in Duncan Taylor spending the remainder of the game in the sin bin. Shortly afterwards, a bullocking run from Vunisa, latching onto a break by Quartaroli, saw him race clear of the defence from 40m out to score. Replacement fly half Orquera added the conversion to give a final score of 10-39.
From a Saracens perspective I guess it was a case of mission accomplished, although it will have to be repeated next week in the reverse fixture. As a spectator though, there were long periods where the game had no direction or shape - almost entirely due to Saracens own making. I thought M Gauzere refereed the game pretty well and at least he was clear with his signals so we could see why he had given a particular decision.
Joubert was awarded Man of the Match, not something I would argue with but special mention should be made of Barrington, Goode, Wyles and Ashton. This is a tricky fixture period for Sarries. They have ‘big’ games coming up against Leicester & Toulouse but can’t allow their standards to slip as they chase another bonus point win next week at Allianz on Saturday.
As for Zebre, well life really is a struggle but one they’re prepared to battle for. We met up with Fabio at his ‘Galloway’s’ restaurant one evening. He explained the difficulty they’ve had trying to create a team out of nothing and the constant battle for public recognition against a back drop of wall-to-wall soccer. (There are 13 Sky channels dedicated to wendyball!!!). He’s very proud that the academy are producing players able to move into the first team; the full back Palazzani is one such player – I thought he did very well in such a one-sided contest. As for Sarries other ‘Old Boy’, well Kameli had a tough day at the office, which pretty much sums up Zebre’s current situation. I really do wish them all the best for the future, they deserve it!
The evening concluded with another warm reception in the Parma clubhouse and dispersal to the bars and restaurants of Parma – can’t remember what happened after that!
Zebre
15. Gullo Palazzani, 14. Leonardo Sarto, 13. Kameli Ratuvou, 12. Gonzalo Garcia, 11. Giambattista Venditti, 10. Tommaso Iannone, 9. Alberto Chillon, 1. Salvatore Perugini, 2. Tommaso D'Apice , 3. Luciano Leibson, 4. Quintin Geldenhuys, 5. Marco Bortolami (capt), 6. Mauro Bergamasco, 7. Nicola Cattina, 8. Samu Vunisa,
Replacements
16. Andrea Manici, 17. Andrea de Marchi, 18. Luca Redolfini, 19. Mike Van Vuren, 20. Emiliano Caffini, 21. Luciano Orquera, 22. Roberto Quartaroli, 23. Giiulio Toniolatti
Saracens
15. Alex Goode; 14. Chris Ashton, 13. Chris Wyles, 12. Duncan Taylor, 11. David Strettle; 10. Charlie Hodgson, 9. Neil de Kock; 1. Richard Barrington, 2. Schalk Brits, 3. James Johnston, 4. Steve Borthwick (c), 5. George Kruis, 6. Billy Vunipola, 7. Kelly Brown, 8. Ernst Joubert.
Replacements;
16. Jamie George, 17. Jared Saunders, 18. Matt Stevens, 19. Eoin Sheriff, 20. Jackson Wray, 21. Richard Wigglesworth, 22. Owen Farrell, 23. Marcelo Bosch
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013:12:16:10:18:06 by TonyTaff.
Just realised I missed a paragraph out!!
FWIW,
As for Zebre, well life really is a struggle but one they’re prepared to battle for. We met up with Fabio at his ‘Galloway’s’ restaurant one evening. He explained the difficulty they’ve had trying to create a team out of nothing and the constant battle for public recognition against a back drop of wall-to-wall soccer. (There are 13 Sky channels dedicated to wendyball!!!). He’s very proud that the academy are producing players able to move into the first team; the full back Palazzani is one such player – I thought he did very well in such a one-sided contest. As for Sarries other ‘Old Boy’, well Kameli had a tough day at the office, which pretty much sums up Zebre’s current situation. I really do wish them all the best for the future, they deserve it!
The extra bottle of Chianti was probably responsible for the omission!
Nous sommes l'armée noir et rouge !
Usually get a flowing game when M. Gauzere has the whistle, though he misses a lot, and often makes game-changing errors. We dodged that particular bullet, but I note that ERC have decided to appoint Rabo-country refs to games between Rabo and English clubs - we get Dudley Phillips on Saturday
It's a long time since Sports network paid anything!
Regardez mon visage. Suis-je bovvered?
Ah, the advantages of Sky plus!!
Nous sommes l'armée noir et rouge !
Quote:Well in the east stand the sun shone and it was warm until the last quarter when the sun set. I sat there by accident but didn't want to move when I realised everyone else was in the shadeKing Zak
.. the sun may have been shining but the temperature was barely above freezing
