Saracens players in the 6N - A deep dive

Saracens Players in the Six Nations: Analysis Strap yourself in, folks! This is a deep dive into Saracens players and their performances for their respective teams in the Six Nations. It’s fair to say the players have had mixed fortunes. The English contingent has shone recently after an excellent home win against France, a narrow away loss to Ireland (still managing to secure a losing bonus point) and what was a cagey Calcutta Cup encounter, a win nonetheless though. Meanwhile, Tompkins and Sanjay have been less fortunate. The latter is now injured, and Wales conceded 65 points in two games. Despite a near shock of the century result against Ireland in Cardiff, things are not looking too rosy for them. Ireland had a man sent off and played very poorly until around the 65 minute mark. They appeared bereft of ideas and utterly shellshocked against France, with only marginal improvement against a strong Italian side. With fixtures against Scotland, and England still to come—arguably two of the stronger teams in the tournament—Wales may struggle to take any points from the 2 remaining matches. On a more positive note, Marco Riccioni has been enjoying some international game time with Italy, and it's fair to say he is impressing both coaches and fans alike. Having made his international debut eight years ago at the young age of 19, and with current first-choice tighthead prop Simone Ferrari nearing 31, Marco could be in line for a starting role in the near future.  

England Contingent

Jamie George – The ex-England captain hasn’t had much Six Nations game time recently, coming off the bench in both the wins against France and Scotland. He played a key role in steadying the shaky lineout against France (was that a full pack issue or a problem with LCD at hooker?) and offers invaluable experience. Perhaps Steve Borthwick is keen to ensure multiple options at hooker in case of injury or last-minute changes, opting to spread his bets.

Jamie’s lineout stats speak for themselves. I couldn’t find an official source, but I honestly can’t remember watching a lineout fail when he has been throwing in.

Theo Dan – Like Jamie, Theo hasn’t had a huge amount of game time to showcase his talent. Featuring for just 35 minutes in the second half of the Ireland defeat, he added dynamism in attack and his usual defensive presence around the ruck. At just 24, he has plenty of time to develop into England’s starting hooker when Jamie George retires. My only concern is his scrummaging ability—international scrummaging is on another level compared to club rugby, and I wonder if he’s had enough exposure at that level yet.

Ben Earl – Need we say much about Ben? He has been superb in every game so far, putting everything on the line for England. I did see a statistic that he has missed 11 tackles in three games, but I think that speaks volumes about his defensive workload. While he’s not known for huge hits, he patches holes in the defensive line brilliantly and consistently makes impressive carries over the gain line. It’s just a shame we haven’t seen this version of Ben in a Saracens shirt as often. Hopefully, his excellent recent performances will translate back to club form in time for The Showdown 5 in three weeks time.

Elliot Daly – We’ve only seen Elliot feature off the bench in both the France and Scotland games, but it’s fair to say he has had a positive impact in both—especially with his match-winning try at Twickenham. The line he ran off Finn Smith’s shoulder was phenomenal! He was solid in both attack and defense against Scotland, nullifying the threats of Duhan van der Merwe and Kyle Rowe. Hopefully, he gets more game time against Italy and Wales. We haven’t yet seen his biggest weapon—his monster left boot—but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a 60m Daly penalty soon.

Maro Itoje – Having taken on the England captaincy, it would’ve been easy for Maro to fall into what I call the Dylan Hartley trap—losing the key attributes that made him such a great player. For Hartley, that meant going from constantly being in the referee’s ear, being a key leading figure on the field etc to becoming near-anonymous on matchdays. For Itoje, it could have meant losing his breakdown disruptiveness, lineout brilliance, and incredible ability to steal possession. Thankfully, he’s maintained all those traits. While he still concedes the odd silly penalty (he does have some DUH moments!), Maro has found a solid balance between engaging with referees and not annoying them—something that couldn’t be said for a certain Mr. Farrell!

Alex Lozowski – Despite his England call-up, Loz hasn’t had any game time so far. Frustratingly, Borthwick continues with the Slade/Lawrence centre partnership. Unfortunately, I highly doubt he’ll feature much (if at all) in this Six Nations. It’s becoming an all-too-familiar struggle for Loz at 13. Even with Slade’s poor Premiership form and limited attacking impact for England, he still gets picked. Maybe his big left boot is the key reason Borthwick prefers him, given England’s heavy kicking tactics—they’ve made 84 kicks from hand in the France and Ireland games alone, the most of any Six Nations side.

Tom Willis – Many England fans have been thinking finally! as Tom Willis got his first England start after putting in monstrous performances for Saracens in both the Premiership and Champions Cup. Having started all but one game for Saracens this season, scoring four tries, and at just 26, he could become a key figure for England moving forward. He offers a lot of the qualities Caelan Doris possesses, and maybe it’s just me, but I see a lot of similarities between the two. Incredible carrying ability, superb game awareness and knowledge and scrummaging superiority. He could be the complete package for an 8.

Despite coming off in the Scotland game due to a failed HIA, he is still one of England’s top three ball carriers (alongside Earl and Genge) in the 6N. If Willis continues this form, he’ll be in contention for the Lions No. 8 shirt alongside Doris soon.

Welsh Contingent

Nick Tompkins – It hasn’t been an easy time for Nick. With Wales under fire for breaking their record losing streak and Warren Gatland’s departure, it’s always the senior players who take the most heat. Tompkins has become a mainstay in the Wales setup, but whether all the chaos is affecting his club form remains to be seen. One thing is certain: we don’t want the mess in Wales to break him before he returns for the rest of the Premiership season.

Liam Williams – Sanjay suffered a knee injury in the opening match against France. Had it not been for Owen Watkin’s injury, I reckon Gatland would’ve subbed him off earlier. His situation has worsened since—he missed the Italy game due to swelling in his knee, and it seems unlikely he’ll return soon.

Italian Contingent

Marco Riccioni – Marco has maintained his usual high standards for Italy. Coming off the bench in their win over Wales and their loss to Scotland, he was fortunate to miss the hammering by France. Hopefully, he’ll get some minutes against England next weekend, where he’ll likely face Ellis Genge and the so-called Baby-Faced Assassin, Fin Baxter. Marco’s scrummaging has improved significantly, and I’m excited to see how he holds up in the set-piece battle on Sunday.

Academy Call-Ups to England

With so many internationals away, an analysis of the U20 and U18 players (as well as Tobias Elliott, who played for England A) would take too long. However, here are the Saracens academy players involved:

U18

• Ben Morrow
• Zac Finch
• Alan Poku
• Mathew Branch Holland
• Marlon Farouk Roy

U20

• Olamide Sodeke
• Jack Bracken
• Angus Hall

England ‘A’

•        Tobias Elliott
•        Phil Brantingham
•        Hugh Tizard

Well done to all involved! We’re lucky to watch so many talents (not just the internationals, but all our wonderful players) representing Saracens both at StoneX and across the rugby world.

Thank you for all for reading this far, and congratulations on not falling asleep! Trust me, this article took me as long to write as you to read it!

Enjoy the rest of the Six Nations, and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!