We're Back

On a fine and sunny Easter Saturday afternoon, just over 8,000 supporters made the journey to StoneX for the first time in a while (1st February, to be precise) to watch what was a tasty encounter between a rested Sarries team and a Gloucester side coming off the back of an impressive away win in Montpellier, followed by a hammering from Bath. 

One new concept the PRL has introduced is a designated away end for travelling supporters. I’d be interested to hear what those at the stadium think about this. Personally, I don’t feel it adds much—if anything—to the game or the league itself. Given some young Gloucester ‘supporters’ chose to verbally abuse Fergus Burke, branding him a not-so-good version of Owen Farrell and nearly got themselves kicked out, I’m reminded of what Nigel Owens once said: “This is not soccer.” As a West Ham United fan myself, I can see both sides of the away end debate. But I firmly believe the intermingling of opposing supporters is what sets rugby apart from football—the hooligans’ sport played by gentlemen, as some would say. 

Now, waffle over. On to the action. 

First Half 

Gloucester kicked off through Santiago Carreras with strong winds swirling around the ground. Gloucester fumbled their first opportunity to score, thanks to an erratic lineout throw from ex-Sarrie Jack Singleton. They were, however, the first to draw blood on eight minutes with a lovely attacking move from the backs. Gareth Anscombe sent Carreras away down the left wing. A kick back inside from Morris caused chaos for Ben Earl, and Chris Harris was able to regather and dot down under the posts. 0–7 to the Cherry and Whites. 

Saracens responded immediately. The ball squirted loose from a ruck on the Gloucester 10m line and found its way to RotimiSegun. He needed no second invitation to unleash his dancing feet, evade George Barton’s tackle, and score in the corner. Burke missed the conversion, but after 10 minutes, the game was alive. Disappointingly, Marco Riccioni was forced off with an ankle injury just a quarter into the game. I later saw him in the Tiki Tonga video wearing a boot—not good at all. Wishing him a speedy recovery and hope he’s back soon. 

Saracens’ defence was up for the challenges posed by a lively Gloucester backline, shutting down both a sniping run from the evasive Tomos Williams and the aforementioned Carreras. It was Saracens who next troubled the scoreboard. Nick Tompkins—who I feel has become something of a forgotten man from a Sarries perspective—ran a beautiful line off Burke’s shoulder, skipped past Harris, and broke the Gloucester defence. Barton couldn’t make the cover tackle, and Tompkins spun out of it smartly to dot down untouched. 12–7. 

Sarries were nearly in for their third, but thanks to some intelligent scramble defence and pressure from Harris, it stayed 12–7. Then, against the run of play, Gloucester struck again. Carreras picked off a Tompkins pass in midfield and had the pace to sprint home from around 50 metres out. With a straightforward conversion, Gloucester had their noses in front again—12–14. 

Gloucester had a golden chance to extend their lead just before half-time after Ben Earl was penalised for not supporting his weight at a ruck, but they chose to kick to the corner. Their dysfunctional lineout failed again, and Sarries survived. A topsy-turvy half, to say the least. 

Second Half 

It only took four minutes into the second half for the Men in Black to find the whitewash again. In true Wolfpack style, Theo Dan rumbled over from the back of a maul to put Sarries ahead—19–14. Elliot Daly made an outstanding try-saving tackle to deny George Barton at the 50-minute mark, and it was Sarries who scored next. A near carbon copy of the earlier maul try saw Theo Dan cross again. Burke converted, making it 26–14. 

By now, momentum was firmly with Saracens. They had another golden chance on 65 minutes, but immense defensive work from Cam Jordan and Jack Clement denied them. The dam burst four minutes later, however, with arguably the pick of the tries. Following a box kick from Ivan van Zyl to just outside the Gloucester 22, Juan Martín González made a monster tackle, somehow reached the breakdown first, turned the ball over, and scarpered down the blindside, riding Anscombe’s tackle to score. 

Jamie George—aka “the skilful beast”—added a try of his own on 75 minutes. At 38–14, even a losing bonus point was out of reach for Gloucester. To their credit, they fought to the end but were held up by a mammoth defensive effort from a tired but resolute Sarries team. Saracens were able to capitalise on far greater possession and territory (58% possession compared to Glos 42%) and it was good to see a greater number of line breaks and clean breaks compared to previous games. Signs the attack is moving in the right direction. 

Final score: Saracens 38–14 Gloucester. A vital 5-point win to Gloucester’s 0. This win was essential and keeps us firmly in the playoff race. With Sale and Leicester both winning, we sit 5th—level on points with Sale and just 2 behind the Tigers in 3rd. 

Key Players for Saracens 

MaroItoje – Imperious in the lineout and destructive in defence. His leadership is really coming along. He just needs to maintain his breakdown presence while staying in the referee’s good books. 

Elliot Daly – His game management has come on leaps and bounds. Stepping up into a senior squad role has been vital this season. 

Tom Willis – Is there anything he can’t do? 

Looking Ahead 

We’ll need to bring our A-game to take something away from our next fixture—Sale Sharks away on Friday 25th April at 7.45pm. The AJ Bell hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for us in recent years, with only 2 wins there since 2018. But every point counts, and even 1 bonus point could go a long way toward securing 3rd or 4th spot.