It's time to Face the Final Curtain.....
By Rupert Thacker
May 30 2003
....who would have predicted this a month ago? Saracens vs Leicester Tigers, at Northampton, at 1230 on a Saturday, live on terrestrial tv, for the chance to join the European Elite next year, one-off game, winner takes all. Crazy, but true.
The end of an overly long road for players and (judging by the crowds) supporters is finally reached at Franklins Gardens this Saturday - and the contrast between the two clubs couldn't be greater. Sarries are suddenly discovering a rich vein of form and find themselves in with a chance of qualifying for the Heineken, whilst Leicester have been enduring their inconsistent ways for virtually the whole season and looking nervously to this game as their only remaining chance of top flight European rugby next year.
From a Sarries perspective, the recent improvement can be put down in the main to the pack - we always knew that the backs were dangerous and could score tries, but to score tries you have to have a base to work from. The return from injury of David Flatman, the sudden resurgence of Abdel Bennazi and the continued excellence of Kris Chesney and Richard Hill have all contributed to the pack winning good ball in the loose, holding their own in the scrum and creating that base. These four players, assuming they are all selected, are fundamental to Sarries' success on Saturday. Just don't mention the lineout.
In the backs, Buck has a selction of riches to choose from - Horan, Castaignede, Haughton, McAvoy, Johnston, Sorrell, Bracken, Williams, Little, Goode, O'Mahony.....now all he has to do is to fit them all in! No Shanks, his call to the Welsh replacements bench for their game vs the Barbarians signalling the end of his career with the Men in Black. Whoever Buck picks, a pacy but solid backline is assured.
As for the Tigers, who knows who will start for them?! Aside from Deano, of course. Rumour has it that Freddie Tuilagi will play for them rather than join up with Samoa, will Kronfeld make an appearance, just how many of their players will be fit again? Having spoken about the importance of the Sarries pack, it would be wrong not to cast a respectful nod in the direction of our opponents. Despite having a not so good season, have no doubts that Messrs Johnson, Back, Corry et al will be looking to put that right and qualify for the premier competition; they will not be wanting to play in the Parker Pen Cup at this stage of their careers. That motivation alone will be a huge factor.
For all Sarries fans, this game really is an unexpected bonus - a month ago, we were all fretting about relegation and played out that not-so-classic game against Bristol which was "key to our survival". Now, we have this great opportunity to get into the HC; no-one expects us to beat the Tigers, there's no pressure, the media frenzy will all be about "can Leicester qualify?", "is this a game too far for this Leicester team?" and we may be able to take advantage of that. Unfair comments I know, but they will certainly appear in print, on the radio and broadcast on tv.
As yet, no accurate team news has been forthcoming from either camp so it is hard to accurately gauge the key match-ups. It is fairly safe to say though that, on known form and experience, Leicester hold the aces in the pack, Sarries in the backs. On what is likely to be a hard, fast pitch at Franklins Gardens, it could well turn out to be a running game rather than a forward slog - in favour of Sarries backs, you'd think. However, I'm going for some fence sitting as I think it's too close to call. If Sarries get off to a good start, then who knows. If it's Tigers up 15-0 after 15 minutes though, it's a long way back from there.