Saracens' New Year Resolution

By Dave Laws
January 3 2005

Some magnificent injury time defence by Saracens saw off a late Bath charge at the Rec on Saturday, to register a much needed and well-deserved win by 13 points to 6.

Olly Barkley and Glen Jackson traded two penalties each in conditions that would make any self-respecting kicker want to hang up his boots, and the solitary try of the afternoon came from Sarries winger Richard Haughton. It was Sarries' first win over the west countrymen since the first leg of the Parker Pen Challenge Cup semi-final almost two years ago.

There is nothing better than a New Year’s Day game of rugby to blow away the cobwebs (and believe me, no hangover could have survived the gale and driving rain
that persisted for most of the game), and also give an early indication of what the next twelve months will bring.

The sell-out crowd that pitched up at the Rec was full of anticipation (and in most cases the remains of the night before). Would Bath continue in
their push for a top three spot, or would Saracens overturn some of their recent dire performances and put some well needed distance between themselves and the
drop zone?

It was a crucial game for both sides, but probably more so for the visitors, as the combination of a loss and (admittedly unlikely) results elsewhere could mean the gap to the basement had eroded to just one point.

The last time Sarries beat Bath at the Rec, the old King was on the Throne. King Frankie, that is, back in September 2001. Tim Horan won the game with the last
play of the match after a thrilling 60 yard run, set up by Nick Walshe. It was also the game made famous for Keiran Roche’s sin-binning after a mere 12 seconds
of action. Walshie has since moved on to the Rec, via Sale, and has recently returned to the line-up following his own ankle injury, and a longer term
injury to number one number nine Martyn Wood. In fact, only three Sarries from the previous win featured in Saturday’s game, and of the rest, only Richard Hill is
still at the club.

So here is your (not too taxing)first quiz of the year – can you name the three? It
speaks volumes for the volatile nature of the ZP that of the 44 players on show just over three years ago, only 10 remain at their respective clubs (one of those
having left and returned), and a fair number of coaches have also been through the revolving doors in that period.

Since then a lot of water has flowed under Pulteney Bridge, and Bath have had the better of things in terms of Premiership position, and have dominated the fixtures between the two clubs, culminating in them winning the infamous “home” game at Franklins Gardens back in November by a 7 point margin. That game marked the debut of Glen Jackson, who had an immediate impact, bringing Sarries back into contention near the end and ensuring two bonus points.

On Saturday Glen was making his third consecutive starting appearance at no
10, with something to prove after his promising debut. Since then his progress has been stalled by illness and European Cup ineligibility, but also his much-vaunted place kicking has been off target, and it seems that he has hit the woodwork on more occasions than he has registered points.

Steve Diamond had said after the dismal eight-all draw with Quins the previous Sunday that he needed three to four weeks to start turning dominance into points, but if ever a New Year's Day fixture provided the impetus toput a marker down for the rest of the season, this was the time.

Sarries welcomed back Kyran Bracken and Thomas Castaignede to the starting lineup, with Kevin Sorrell and Morgan Williams moving to the bench – these the only changes from the team that drew with Quins. However, the late withdrawals of both Cobus
Visage and stand in skipper Alex Sanderson meant that Bens Broster and Skirving made their first starts for a while.

Bath, racked by injuries, have brought in scrum half Andy Williams from the Ospreys for a second stint at the club, and any injury list that includes Martyn Wood, David Flatman, Mike Tindall, Robbie Fleck, Jonathan Humphreys, Spencer Davey and others is not one to be envied. There was still plenty of experience in their side though, with Matt Perry and Olly Barkley back from injury, and the formidable second row pairing of Danny Grewcock and skipper for the day Steve Borthwick. Frikke Welsh, Sarries tormentor in chief at Franklins, partnered Brendon Daniel on the wing, the latter making it a trio of ex-Sarries turning out against their old club.

The driving rain which began shortly before kickoff was made worse by a wind that varied between swirling and howling, but a swift visit to the training paddock put us under no illusions that Sarries would be complaining about the conditions. As the team got themselves together for their huddle, a broad Mancunian accent could be heard bellowing across the Rec – “Right lads, forget the conditions and let’s get
stuck into these ….” Well, as this is a family show I leave you to decide what was said, but let’s just say it was not complimentary to our hosts. A few choice
words from Matt Cairns followed about what to do in the rucks, and it looked that despite the blow of the double late withdrawals, Sarries were here to do business.

The first two blasts on Roy Maybank’s whistle were to signal the start and end of an immaculately observed one minute silence in remembrance of the terrible
events in the Indian Ocean. It was a stark reminder that whatever the outcome of the game, whatever the discomfort of the crowd in the dismal weather, there are all too many who have much more than the result of a rugby game to worry about. Good luck to Bath in their hope of breaking their ground collection record.

The opening exchanges were enough to make any Sarries supporters head back across the bridge into town for a consoling beer, as Bath drove an early lineout into the Sarries 22 and Olly Barkley slotted a resulting penalty from 30 metres – not a difficult kick but not made any easier by the conditions.

Glen Jackson gave no indication of a good afternoon to come with the boot, when the ensuing kick off must have broken a ZP record for the shortest distance travelled by a re-start. If it went four feet into Bath territory it went a mile, and Bath
gratefully accepted the scrum, from which they were awarded a free kick. So not the most auspicious of starts, but Jackson soon found his kicking boots, drilling some beauties down the right touchline to relieve the Bath pressure.

The Sarries lineout, which has been going well of late, was often off target, with a
few wayward throws from Matt Cairns, and another free kick going to Bath for a delayed throw in. A fine 50 metre run by Olly Barkley deep into Sarries territory looked dangerous until Bath knocked on, and once again Jackson cleared the lines with a beautifully judged kick.

Sarries were beginning to exert pressure of their own, and despite the depletion in the scrum, the replacements were managing manfully, and wheeled a Bath scrum to gain the put in. Jackson continued to mix up play with a variety of up and unders and cross field kicks, the best of these taking Sarries to the Bath 5 metre line.

Some promising positions were squandered due to the aforementioned line out woes and
Bath were able to clear either by line kicks or penalties. However, a wonky throw of their own gave Sarries a scrum on the Bath 10 metre line, and Thomas Castaignede, making his first league start since the drawn game at Newcastle, made his first telling contribution of the afternoon. As he appeared to fumble a pass, two tacklers descended upon him, but somehow he managed to get the ball out of the double tackle to Dan Harris, and seconds later Sarries had a penalty just inside the 10 metre line when Bath forwards went off their feet at the resulting ruck.
Jackson stepped up and made a mockery of his recent kicking form, and the scores were level at 3 all after 23 minutes.

Sarries were defending well, with Kyran Bracken turning over a promising Bath attack, and returning play to their 22, but the backs were also making good ground into Bath territory, and the general standard of rugby was far better than either recent form or the conditions would have indicated. Haughton and Vaikona made some telling yards, and the backline seemed to have a bit more of a spark than of late.
Ben Skirving was making nuisance of himself in the loose, despite not having had much action recently, and Dave Seymour was his usual self, putting himself everywhere for the cause.

Now no Bath/Sarries contest would be complete without a bout of fisticuffs between Messrs Bracken and Grewcock, and on the half hour the inevitable happened. The sight of Danny hanging onto Kryan’s leg as he tried to get back to a ruck suggested another mismatch, but the smaller man won the day, putting in a few slaps, (which even Brian Moore would have approved of) to the head of his former flat-mate.

Bath continued to press and took the ball deep into the Sarries 22, and in an effort to keep the ball alive, Brendon Daniel forced one pass to many and Ben Skirving latched onto the ball. Sarries cleared, but were awarded a penalty due to over zealous use of the boot by Grewcock. Jackson’s kick took the ball from one 22 to the other, but before the restart could be taken, a limping Ben Broster was replaced by Nick Lloyd.

In first half injury time, after some more good pressure by Saracens, Castaignede once again proved what the backs have been missing of late, and kept a dying move alive with another lovely ball out of the tackle. Sarries moved the ball left into Bath territory, and a few swift passes later the ball was with Mark Bartholomuesz on the right. The full backtook it on before off loading to the supporting TC, who headed off for the Bath line, before putting in Richard Haughton in the corner with an overhead pass for a wonderfully worked try. Showing great presence
of mind, Haughts managed to get around under the posts, making the afters a formality for Glen Jackson. Barkley’s kick off went straight out, but Sarries were
unable to take advantage, and went in at half time with a deserved 10 – 3 lead.

By now, the poor souls in the uncovered parts of the ground (and there are more at the Rec than on most grounds) were grateful for the plastic macs handed out by those nice people at Sky Sports, and the scene was more reminiscent of a trip under Niagara Falls than a rugby match. Any vestiges of the previous night's excesses had
long since been blown away, and presumably some poor unsuspecting village near Bath had just been getting over New Year when the collective hangovers of 10,500 souls landed slap bang on top of them.

There was no let up in weather as Glen Jackson started the second half, but mercifully his kick was better than his first restart. Some early good work by Cairns and Bracken was undone when TC knocked on, but Sarries had started the second half as they finished the first, in Bath territory. Jackson turned the pressure into points when he slotted his second penalty of the afternoon and Sarries found themselves 13 – 3 up with half an hour to play. Another lost lineout in their own 22 saw Sarries under pressure, and Bath gained a 5 metre scrum, but stout defence kept them at bay. At this stage, Kyran was again seen to have handbags with a No 5, but this time it was Sarries own Iain Fullarton who felt the full wrath of the scrum half at a lineout, getting a few digs in the ribs for his
pains as KB made his point.

Bath were coming more into the game, and Perry and Malone made good yards before
the ball was turned over to Sarries yet again. Sarries also squandered a great position when TC attempted a flat cross kick to put in Vaikona in the corner, but the ball barely reached the Bath posts such was the power of the wind. The mark kick was charged down and the ball recycled to Jackson, who set himself for a drop goal. As with most of Glen’s attempted DGs as a Sarrie, it was another scruffy attempt, but clipped a Bath player on the way through to Malone, and Sarries were awarded a five metre scrum when he touched down behind his own line.

Sarries appeared to knock on at the scrum but referee Maybank missed it, and awarded another 5 metre put in to the visitors, but yet another good position was turned over and Bath cleared.

Isaac Feaunati was beginning to make an impact, and the introduction of Michael Lipman galvanised the Bath back row. Feaunati made a rampaging run into Sarries territory, but another knock on turned over possession, and Taine Randell made an equally impressive run back into the Bath half. Kris Chesney replaced Simon Raiwalui on 26 minutes, and it had been noticeable that although Simon was still making his trademark “bash it up the middle” runs, he was not getting in the way of the backs this week.

The game was now becoming somewhat scrappy, which is understandable under the circumstances, and some promising Bath moves were turned over, although Sarries were lucky not to concede when the Bath back row hacked through from a scrum, and only a late soccer style intervention by TC kept them the right side of the whitewash.

A succession of penalties in the Sarries half put Bath in a strong position, and after trying for the corner, they moved infield and Lloyd was penalised giving Barkley a chance to reduce the deficit after 34 minutes.

Bath were now sensing at least a draw and maybe victory, and when Kevin Yates was pinged on the Sarries 10 metre line for coming through a ruck too early, it heralded a sustained period of Bath pressure, and it seemed inevitable that a score would come. It was only a question of whether the conversion would be out wide or in front. But Sarries held firm, and so did the discipline as Bath moved the ball wide, attempted to go through the forwards, and piled on pressure for phase after phase. It looked as though they had scored in the corner but the ball was again turned over and Sarries cleared.

On the stroke of normal time, Ben Russell made an appearance in a Sarries shirt for the first time in a while, but I’ll bet he didn’t expect he’d start the New Year as a prop. As he replaced Kevin Yates, the remaining scrums were uncontested. Whether this benefited Sarries is a moot point as the scrum had been going well, but it meant that the last 5 minutes of injury time were played with Rugby League-like scrums. At least Tevita would feel more at home!

Again, waves of blue and black were repelled by a staunch white line (well, ok, by now it was a staunch grey line), and it looked for all the world that a rare away victory would be snatched from Sarries.

It has to be said that all of this play was taking place 80 metres away, and a combination of the driving rain and your scribe getting used to wearing glasses at a game meant that some of the final action was not easily discerned. Apparently Glen knocked on deliberately, and there were some calls for a penalty try, but only a penalty was given. But as Arsene Wenger is fond of saying, “I deed not see eet” - my view of proceedings at this point resembled that little known and long lost impressionist masterpiece, Manet’s “Le Jeu de Rugby dans le Deluge”, but suffice to say, the defence held up, and after yet another turnover to the visitors, Glen lifted the ball into the Blackthorn Stand, and Roy Maybank blew his last tune of the afternoon. The team and the small but vocal band of Sarries supporters in the Virgin Mobile stand went ballistic, and suddenly the afternoon in the wet and the cold seemed well worth it.

We have been told that we need to start winning ugly – it certainly wasn’t pretty, but ugly would be pushing it. Perhaps winning like a plain old spinster is a good start. There were a number of things to take forward – the backs looked a more potent force than of late, Glen’s kicking finally lived up to his billing, and the unforced error count was certainly down on previous weeks.

The pack, minus Cobus, Axe and Hugh held their own for the most part, and other than a few wayward lineout throws the set piece was solid. Let’s just hope the front row recover for Brive – can you start a game with uncontested scrums?

So, a promising start to the New Year – what could be better than a win at the Rec? For yours truly, four points and a first pint of the year in the Salamander is not a bad way to start 2005.

Happy New Year!

Man of the Match – Glen Jackson. He looked sharper than in previous weeks, his kicking from hand was excellent, and he had his most influential game as a Man in Grey.


Oh, and before I forget - those who survive from September 2001

Sarries:
Hill, Bracken, Sorrell, Cairns (rep)

Bath:
Barnes, Borthwick, Grewcock, Barkley, Tindall (rep), Scaysbrook (rep)