Coronation Day at the Stonex

I last watched a coronation on TV in 1953.  Today I watched another, but it didn’t go quite as smoothly as that earlier one, not least because, in 1953, the Archbishop of CanterbWray didn’t drop the crown at his first touch and didn’t have to retire to the vestry for a breather, scarcely before the Queen had taken her seat.  Equally, in 1953 there were no rival claimants to the throne turning up and determined to spoil the party.

I was glad to see that my personal team selection was 100% correct, for all the the reasons that MMC listed in his interview before the game. However, the first thirty seconds did set the tone, 0-7 after 30 seconds, with a penalty try and Jackson Wray in the bin. ETF looking very ready to take the game to their hosts, unlike last week, when, as hosts, they were content to let their guests take over the party. In truth, for the first 33 minutes, a disinterested observer might have thought that the two teams had swapped shirts. ETF were clearly dominant, playing with skill and commitment that belied their supposed bit-part role. Sarries were out of sorts, out of sync with each other and playing the worst that I have seen from them in serious competition since that hammering by Clermont a few years ago. They were badly rattled by the opening play and its outcome, and were very slow to put it out of mind. A reply, an east three-pointer for Owen, did little to settle the nerves, and that was soon cancelled out, 3-10. This oddity of Sarries badly rattled by a side of competent but journeymen professionals lasted for exactly 33 minutes. A suggestion of a turning point came then. Two ETF players offside gave Owen a free clearance from about 20 metres in the Sarries half and about equidistant from both touch lines. Good kick, strong set up in the line-out, and the ETF defence were unable to hold out. It must have been disheartening for ETF to see that each action successfully to defend their line simply revealed that three or four other heavy threats remained. Owen converts and the score is 10-10 and time for a break.

I know not what MMC says to the troops on these days when all is going wrong and nobody is in good heart. Even referee Luke Pearce seemed at times to be affected by the down-beat mood. As David Flatman said in his commentary, it is unlikely that Mr Pearce and Owen will be inviting each other out to dinner any time soon. At times, I do wish that the ultra-competitive Owen could understand that he is not in competition with the match officials. Perhaps a kinder referee would march Sarries back ten a few times and help Owen to cure himself of his tendency to bicker. However, with the oranges, or perhaps lemons for some, sucked, and tea drunk, a very different Sarries emerged for the final 40 minutes of the season. Nobody expects ETF to score 61 unanswered points in this final half, but everyone yearns for something to celebrate rather than a half to be ground out and ended with relief.

The half begins with an emphatic early marker, a powerful driven try, moled over at the last, to give the lead for the first time. Then, at around 50-55 minutes in no particular order, a red card for Mike Rhodes, sadly unnecessary, as he threw his shoulder into a double-tackle already done and dusted by Aled Davies and Jackson Wray. The entire contingent of Lions and South African prop departs the field, leaving the bench more or less emptied. The two circumstances deliver an entirely different Sarries mind-set. At the first scrum, the new front row, Alec Clary in particular, demolishes the ETF pack, and from now on we see the team that is familiar to us, slick, efficient, disciplined and ruthless. Five tries follow, one after another in quick succession, Nick Tompkins and Sean Maitland in particular, joined by an energetic Duncan Taylor, taking advantage of the tiring legs that cause defensive frailties. The ETF scrum is thoroughly under the cosh, leading to a yellow card for ETF’s tight head. A penalty try is the immediate follow-up from the penalty, taken as a second scrum. I am never certain about the protocols on these occasions, but it did seem that the only reason for not awarding a simultaneous second card was the total disintegration of the defending scrum, with no possibility of apportioning individual blame. It is clear that the Sarries bench front row is a formidable unit in its own right. It is also pleasing that Ralph Adams-Hale was largely responsible for a try, with a break that burst clear through the Ealing left side defence, followed by a deft pass to Alex Lewington for a clever out and in switch that left green-shirted arms grasping thin air. Just caught on the line, Alex pops the ball out of the tackle to a supporting Tom Whiteley, who makes the final touchdown with an acrobatic flourish.

I was pleased to see Manu Vunipola on the field. His has not been an easy season, spoiled at the beginning by the influence of those who should have known better, then being side-lined by MMC’s need to play the top guns as the season evolved into a must-win marathon. He certainly takes his chance now, distributing, defending and kicking from hand and foot to good effect.

The final act of this season’s Championship is for Ealing, a try at the death. Not a thing of great beauty, irrelevant in the scheme of things, but a modest consolation. Left unconverted, the final score reads 57-15, and the aggregate points over two games are 117-15. Are Sarries really that much better than the only other Championship side with realistic Premiership aspirations?

I did not watch the presentations after the game, but already my thoughts turn to the coming season. Sarries may or may not take up where they left off, but the ambition will doubtless be there, and we may presume that a place at the European top table for the following season will be the minimum objective. A new main sponsor at that level, a new stand, and hopefully lots of new supporters, will all be part of the journey. Kelly Brown, a happily returning favourite in these parts, seems destined to replace Alex Sanderson as the Sarries match-day pitch-side voice, economical with words, but all of them worth hearing.

Saracens: Goode, Lewington, Daly, Tompkins, Maitland, Farrell, Davies, Mako Vunipola, George, Koch, Itoje, Swinson, Rhodes, Wry, B Vunipola.

Replacements: Woolstencroft, Adams-Hale, Clary, Hunter-Hill, Christie, Whiteley, Manu Vunipola, Taylor

Ealing Trailfinders: Johnsotone, Daniels, Bodilly, Howard, Kewrnohan, Willis, Hampson, Whyte, Malton, Millar Mills, De Wee, Casson, Al-Jiboori, Thompson, Smid

Replacements: VAn Vureen, Gibbons, Thiede, Linsell, Uzokwe, Burns, Johnston, Dugmore

Mike Rhodes ended his time as a Sarries player in sad circumstances, Tom Whiteley in happier ones. We say farewell to others, welcome to a few and welcome back to several.

Overall, the squad for the coming task looks as strong as we could hope. This list seems to be the definitive one:

Players Out - Permanent

HK - Jack Singleton - Gloucester

FL -Mike Rhodes - ??

SH - Alex Day - ??

SH - Tom Whiteley - Bristol Bears

C - Harry Sloan - Agen

WG - Ali Crossdale - Wasps

FB - Will Hooley - ??

Returning Loans

LK - Nick Isiekwe (3 Yr) - Northampton

FL - Ben Earl (2 Yr) - Bristol

FH - Max Malins (2 Yr) - Bristol

C - Alex Lozowski (1 Yr) - Montpellier

C - Nick Tompkins (At least 1 Yr - rumour an extension signed in 2020) - Dragons

FB - Alex Goode (2 Yr) - NEC Green Rockets

Players In

TP - Marco Riccioni (2 Yr) - Benetton Treviso

SH - Ruben de Haas (2 Yr) - SA Cheetahs

SH - Ivan van Zyl (2 Yr) - SA Bulls

Despite all the encomia lavished here, and sometimes elsewhere, on the coaches, players, Pioneers and others, I reserve my final paragraph of this my final report for 20-21, for Lucy Wray. She has taken on her dual role as patronne and CEO in the most difficult of circumstances, both for the game as a whole and for Saracens in particular. Her recent letter to us confirmed what we knew already: the Saracens family, in sport, education and charitable activities, is in good hands.