News: AP: Saracens vs Northampton Saints - Match Preview
By St Dormouse
April 11 2014
First plays Second in the Aviva Premiership this weekend as Northampton Saints travel to Barnet to take on Saracens on the FezHeads' home "turf". Regular COYSDC correspondent, St Dormouse, takes a look ahead to the game...
SARACENS vs NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
AP: Sunday, 13th April 2014 - 2pm (BT Sport)
ALLIANZ PARK, BARNET
MATCH PREVIEW
My Lords, Layyydeees and Gentlemen, please be seated for the headline event of the weekend here in North West London, featuring the two top heavyweights of the season so far.
In the Green corner weighing in at 65 points, with 14 wins, 1 draw and 3 loses, the challengers, all the way from the green Shire of Northampton, The Gold black and green pilgrims of St James, the perennial bridesmaids, Northampton Saints. (Polite clapping and cheerful rendition of Oh Wendy)
In the Black corner bringing with them 72 points, with 16 wins, no draws and just 2 losses, the home favourites and the deepest pockets in England, the club everybody loves to hate, the Millwall of Rugby, the Boks in Red Socks it’s Saracens.
(Pantomime boos and a few cheers from their 46 season ticket holders)
We really are at the pointy end of the season now, and while either team can afford to lose this battle, there is plenty of motivation for both sides to win it.
For Saracens it is simple, win this and they have near as damn it secured a home semi final. They can rest and rotate their players and concentrate on an incredibly tough but winnable HC semi against Clermont. They can rest players in their remaining fixtures away at Newcastle, home against Worcester and away at Pooh Corner. What a luxury that would be, your final match against the reigning champs and you can virtually put out your reserves and keep your big guns dry for the knock out. Even if they lose on Sunday, Saracens are favourites to secure a home semi looking at those fixtures. While fans and players alike will want to get one over on The Saints who have won the last 4 matches between the sides, (more on that later) the management will know that there is no point throwing unfit players into the fray, as I said they will have plenty of opportunity to secure their position. However they would probably want the points in the bag so expect a full strength Team.
Although not the end of the world if we lose this one it would leave Saints in a precarious position, looking over their shoulders at a Tigers side quietly gobbling up the points as we have floundered on slippery rocks. There are 7 points between us and there is little doubt that Tigers will get 4 or 5 points at home against Wasps this weekend. They then have away matches against 2 rivals for a top 4 spot, inconsistent Quins and an emerging and confident Sale and then the aforementioned home fixture against Saracens, which could very well end up being a ‘Gimme’. Saints, meanwhile have a very tough match away against top 4 rivals Bath and 2 home matches against The NotNots and Wasps. All would be that much easier with the breathing space a win on Sunday would provide. There is also the joy of beating the pretenders to English Rugby’s elite who seem Hell bent on knocking us Aristocrats off our lofty perches. Confound the blighters!
As mentioned, since the splendid and slightly unexpected 27-13 thrashing of the upstart young pups in last year’s semi final, the 2 sides have played each 3 times . All have been at The Gardens, all have been with weakened sides and all have resulted in a win for Saints. 2 have been in the LV and although entertaining cannot really be relied on as to where the sides stand. The October league game was played during the autumn internationals and resulted in a 41-20 win with Ben Foden scoring 2 of the 5 Saints Tries. Both sides were missing their home international players but still put strong teams out and the performance that day from the Saints was encouraging to say the least. Maybe this year we have a squad that can compete for the premiership. Strength in depth, internationals throughout and a strong group of academy players ready to fill the breaches. A strong squad we may have, the question remains, do we have a first 15 good enough to go all the way? We know Saracens have, maybe this weekend will go some way to letting us know where we are.
Due to the late nature of this preview I’m going to do something unique for me. Instead of speculating and guessing (fun though it is) I’m going to wait until tomorrow and give you some proper team news. Until then I wish you sweet dreams, well unless you support Saracens...... Then Enter Sandman!
Friday afternoon and the old ticker always pumps that little bit faster as I await the team on the website. Much as expected both teams have gone pretty much as strong as they could possibly have done considering the inevitable injuries.
Only one real eye opener for me and that’s Ross McMillan at Hooker. Splendid player and all round good egg that Ross is, Mickey Haywood is without doubt Jim’s 2nd choice hooker which makes me think that the bump he took against Tigs has affected his training. Nevertheless Ross never lets us down and was superb against Sale last week. You could have had either scrum half and I would not have batted an eyelid, the same could be said for Saracens. When was the last time we had so many quality 9s on display in one match?
If Myler is up to the task, then the backs are pretty even. In fact you could say that across the board. Maybe Saracens shade the contest in the open with their front row but I think we have the better scrummagers. Day and Lawes will more than hold their own against Pretty boy Botha and not so pretty boy Borthwick, although they will need to be streetwise against the gnarled old thug’s constant sniping and whining at the ref. The back rows could be fascinating, especially the mouth watering battle between Samu and Billy. Wow just thinking about that one whets the appetite.
The Benches are strong, we can bring on Kahn, Dickenson and Dowson as well as the superb James Wilson. Will Hooley could find himself back in the deep end if Mylers Hamstring doesn’t hold but I have no problem with that, the young man needs games like this.
Saracens have a strong front row on the bench but I have confidence in young Ethan and Haywood is no duffer to bring on. Arguably they have the one man who could shut out the game in Charlie Hodgson and I have no doubt that is what he is there for.
Wyles 15 Foden
Ashton 14 Elliott
Bosch 13 Pisi G
Barritt 12 Burrell
Strettle 11 North
Farrell 10 Myler
De Kock 9 Dickson
Vunipola M 1 Waller A
Brits 2 McMillan
Johnston 3 Ma'afu
Borthwick 4 Lawes
Botha 5 Day
Wray 6 Clark
Brown 7 Wood
Vunipola B 8 Manoa
George 16 Haywood
Barrington 17 Waller E
Stevens 18 Denman
Sherriff 19 Dickenson
Burger 20 Dowson
Wigglesworth 21 Fotual'i
Hodgson 22 Hooley
Streather 23 Wilson
So how will it go? Well it seems to me that the Saints players should be in better nick, most of them having had a fortnight off and a week of warm weather training in the sunshine. There can be no excuses if we are to win this one. No ’We didn’t gel’, no ‘players getting used to each other after the 6 nations’, no ‘referee can’t tell the time!’Everybody has to be at the top of their game.
It seems to me that Saracens have forgotten their rotation policy on this occasion and having had a bruising encounter against (only) 14 Ulstermen last weekend it shows how much this one means to them, and how much they obviously respect us. I hate to say it, so I will say it very quietly and with a knife poised before my bleeding heart. “I Think Saracens will win this one”
However I thought that last May as well and look what happened then!!! Let’s go hunting then you Saintly warriors and send the marauding heathen back from whence they came...no not Watford...oh never mind.
Enjoy the spectacle everybody, let’s hope it turns into the classic it promises to be and let’s hope we can get the psychological edge to take into the final stages of the season.
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Per Ardua Ad Astra
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~ You never knowingly let the facts get in the way of the story. ~
And I agree with your assessment. Saints have lost their way a bit since crashing in the LV Final at Exeter, and Dylan is absent, so this may be too soon for them to recapture the winning habit.
But I hope we are both wrong.
*I could agree with you - but then we'd both be wrong...*