ASM Report

By David Parry
February 3 2004

Two late changes to the Saracens side that lost at Montferrand had a strong bearing on the result that means that Saracens exit the Parker Pen Challenge Cup.

The absence of the mercurial Thomas Castaignede at ten and lineout specialist Alex Codling at lock, both through injury, appeared to upset a Saracens side that had performed well at home in recent games.

The Saracens backs lacked cohesion without Castaignede’s individualism and flair and, although he provided all of Saracens points with a 100% kicking display, Nicki Little was a poor substitute for the Frenchman. Promising back-line moves failed to materialise as Saracens mysteriously continued to miss passes and frequently knocked the ball forward in the process. Often flat or simply lacking in pace, the backs were distinctly ordinary in comparison to the likes of French international Aurelien Rougerie, whose try more or less ended Saracen’s chances of overturning the sixteen points they had conceded away at Montferrand.

Without Codling, Saracens lineout failed to function and despite a promising improvement when Robbie Russell replaced Raphael Ibanez in the second half, Saracens barely managed to win any of their own lineout ball. The gamble of throwing long balls in the lineout did not pay off, Ibanez and Russell frequently forcing Saracens to work harder to protect the ball. On occasion the ball even found its way into the hands of a bemused Montferrand player, either cutting short an attack or causing panic in the Saracens defence.

Referee Nigel Whitehouse yellow carded two players from Montferrand, the first being for the Montferrand no.5, Ed Pearce for deliberate offside early in the first half and the second for the Georgian prop Levan Tsabadze in the second half. Saracens had Craig Yandell sin-binned shortly after Pearce’s deliberate offside for fighting on the floor. Montferrand were consistently offside and a number of their players could have been carded for the offence. Mr. Whitehouse kept his cards in his pocket, however, and Sarries could only score penalties through the boot of Little. Mr. Whitehouse missing a number of fouls in key positions did not aid Saracen’s European ambitions, much to the frustration of the Vicarage Road crowds. A lack of awareness from the touch judges also contributed to what was a generally poor piece of officiating.

Sarries’ performance improved at the beginning of the second half with some effective driving through the middle of the pitch achieving considerable amounts of territory; the poor handling continued, however, with the Men in Black failing to capitalise on the advantage. Richard Hill put in some big hits, making a number of key tackles and the other King Richard on the pitch; Richard Haughton showed his pace on the few occasions he was given the ball. Montferrand’s performance was not spectacular and the Saracens defence dealt with most of their attacks comfortably. The win not enough to see them through to the next round of the competition, Saracens will be disappointed that they could not win by more. Sarries now look forward to facing an in-form Harlequins side at the Stoop next Saturday and they will hope that both Castaignede and Codling will be available for selection although the reports from Bramley Road suggest that the MiB will be without the latter for up to 6 weeks.