COME IN NUMBER 9

Throughout the years I have known them, Saracens have been particularly blessed with quality scrum halves. One only has to think back to Kieran Bracken, Justin Marshall, Morgan Williams, Peter Stringer. Neil De Kock, Ben Spencer and Richard Wigglesworth have steered the ship over the past few seasons. Neil retired, Ben moved to Bath and now the last of the “3 Musketeers” is also moving on. But we couldn’t allow the departure of perhaps the greatest of the 3, Richard Wigglesworth, to go unmarked.

Wiggy is the Peter Pan of the squad, apparently never growing any older! He joined Sarries in 2010 from Sale Sharks for whom he had played for 8 years and made 156 appearances. It was obvious from the start he would fit in well, afterall when Brendan Venter signed him, he had learned his lines: “Everyone can see something special is happening at Saracens, on and off the field, and I want to be part of it.” Who would have thought then he would be with Sarries for 10 years and make 250 appearances for the club. At the age of 37 (going on 21) he still feels his playing days are not over! Primarily regarded as a scrum half, Wiggy can also play Fly half and especially in his younger days, he was quite at home in the 10 shirt. I believe he even played the role on at least one occasion for England.

Wiggy was already a Premiership Champion when he came south to London, having won the 2005/6 Final with Sale Sharks. That experience undoubtedly served him well because that season he helped Sarries to their first Premiership title, defeating Leicester Tigers 22-18. Famously, Wiggy and Neil de Kock tossed a coin to see who would start and who would come on after 50 minutes. Wiggy lost the toss but was there playing his part in that heroic defence which finally gave Sarries victory. His performance for Saracens earned him a recall to the England team and he represented his country 4 times during the World Cup in New Zealand. Sadly on his first game back for Sarries, he suffered an ACL injury which led to him missing most of the season.

It is widely believed that Wiggy was responsible for bringing another legend to London from the North West. Former Sale team-mate Charlie Hodgson joined Saracens the following season allegedly after a couple of beers with Wiggy. The 2 teams met in January and a week later Charlie had signed up. Wiggy even taught Charlie his lines: “there really is something special happening in north London, and I'm looking forward to being part of it." Of course Sarries already had a promising young fly half by the name of Owen Farrell. Playing alongside such an experienced 9 was of huge benefit to young Faz and Wiggy was undoubtedly a big influence in his rise to superstardom.

Wiggy’s longevity was undoubtedly in part down to his partnership with Neil de Kock. Saracens were fortunate to have 2 brilliant experienced scrum halves on their books, both not getting any younger, but because Mark McCall was able to use them both sparingly, he squeezed out a few more years from both of them. Wiggy started the 2015 Premiership Final, this time with De Kock on the bench. By the following season, De Kock was taking more of a back seat and Ben Spencer had come into the mix. Wiggy started both the Premiership and the Champions Cup Finals, (de Kock getting 13 minutes at Twickenham) but he played almost the entire game in Lyon with Spenno coming on right at the end when the game was won.  By the time de Kock retired in 2017, Wiggy was sharing the number 9 shirt with Ben Spencer and it seemed that the baton would pass to the next generation but Wiggy wasn’t ready to be put out to grass yet. Once again he played all but 1 minute of the (victorious) Champions Cup Final followed by the entire (loosing) semi-final against Exeter the following week. He may have been almost 34 but I doubt if anyone on the pitch was fitter.

2018 saw Wiggy win his 5^th Premiership title followed by his 6^th in 2019 (when he replaced Spencer from the bench just after half time). His biggest contribution though probably came a couple of weeks earlier when Sarries beat Leinster to retain their European crown. Once again Spencer started the game but it was Wiggy’s insight from the side lines which is said to have changed Saracen’s approach and ultimately won them the game.

With all the challenges of last season, Wiggy has got on with the job – not just his job but he has embraced the task of bringing along a new young fly half in Manu Vinupola just like he did with Owen all those years ago. In fact when they appeared together last October at Welford Road, they broke the record for the greatest age difference in starting half backs in Premiership history:- Wiggy was 36, Manu 19 and the age difference a mere 16 years 330 days!

Wiggy made his final appearance for Saracens against Bath at Allianz a couple of weeks ago, captaining the side to that nail-biting draw (which ultimately denied Bath a play-off place). Of his time with the Club he said “I’ve loved it. I’ve loved being part of the group. I’ve probably laughed every day. I’ll miss everything. I’ve loved having bonds with those players that have left and those who are still here. There’s been a lot of passion in what we have done which has created the memories. When you’re all really into it and are desperate for something and a cause then the feeling when it goes well is great, and vice versa when it doesn’t go so well it really hurts. I think you can’t take the hurt for granted because you don’t want to be one of those teams or players that when you lose games it doesn’t really matter. I think we’ve made the group and the team matter. From Nigel down, everyone is really bothered about what we do and how we do it”.

Wiggy’s skills at managing a game are unparalleled. He is the supreme master of the box kick. His control over the course of a game has been central to Saracens’ success during his time at Allianz. He may not have quite the darting pace of Spenno but that ability to be the General on the battlefield was priceless. Wiggy and Spencer complimented each other well – their slightly differing styles offering different opportunities to the team. Being a left-footer, Wiggy also offered a lot of additional options kicking from hand.

Wiggy represented his country 37 times, with his most recent appearance coming in November 2018 when he helped England defeat Australia. His international career spanned over a decade.

Deservedly, Wiggy holds the all-time Premiership Appearances record, playing 288 times for Sale and Sarries and who knows, there could be more to come. He says he isn’t ready to hang his boots up yet! Wiggy was already beginning to diversify and he went to the 2019 World Cup finals, not with England, but as coach to Canada. He had already been coaching part-time down at Ealing Trailfinders and last season became Attack coach at the club. Hopefully that fabulous rugby brain will be put to good use moving forward as he gains experience in his coaching role. But he said in January he intended to keep playing while his body would let him. Whether he will go to Ealing or whether a top flight club will snap him up for one last season, who knows.

The season is not yet over for Wiggy though, along with a number of his Saracens team-mates, he has been called up to play for the Baabaas against England this weekend, something he clearly relishes:- “This feels such a fitting way to bring this season to a close, it will be a real honour to run out in the Black and White against Eddie’s England side. 2019/20 has been a strange and challenging time for us as players, but capping it off by becoming a Barbarian is something I will look back on with great pride.”

Wiggy’s contribution to English Rugby was recognised this year when he was awarded the Rugby Players Association Special Merit Award

Wiggy will be much missed next season. The departure of both him and Spenno feels like the end of an era, a great era. But it is also an opportunity for the likes of Tom Whiteley and Aled Davies to step into his huge boots. Tom Whiteley said “He’s someone I’ve looked up to massively since I’ve joined the club. He’s helped me in more ways that he’ll probably know. He’s been an unbelievable person to look up to and work with. To be able to fill that shirt and fill his boots with what he’s done for the club would be amazing. If I can do half what he’s done I’ll be a happy man in my rugby career.”

Go well Wiggy and thanks for everything you’ve done. You’ll always be welcome down Barnet way.