Count to 10
Marks out of 10 for Sarries' players
Count to 10
By Sarafan April 7 2008
Ever tire of insipid 'Marks out of 10' articles in the papers? Where platitudes are handed out for the great and the good of the playing fraternity - Ok, perhaps not in The Sun. By way of contrast, here Sarafan pens some thoughts before the euphoria, and beer, had worn off.
Count to 10
Ever tire of insipid 'Marks out of 10' articles in the papers? Where platitudes are handed out for the great and the good of the playing fraternity - Ok, perhaps not in The Sun. By way of contrast, here Sarafan pens some thoughts before the euphoria, and beer, had worn off.
I would say 10 for every single one of the boys but for what it's worth:
Brent: 7 Unfortunate to be injured early on, was having a solid game. Hope the injury isn't too serious?
Ratty: 7.5 Didn't get too much space to show his attacking ability apart from one mini-break. Defence was solid. Won a great turnover but then flinged it back for Wyn Jones to nearly score. Justified his selection.
SuperKev: 8 As always, put in some big hits in defence. Mr Dependable, I can't remember him making any errors. Good game.
Faz: 6 Hmm. Apparently he's out for the rest of the season. It means we lose vital experience and cover in the centres, but I, like others, thought Powell might have been a better option to start. Ball retention, as usual was sound, but the kick that got charged down took an age to get from hands to boot. Lack of pace is not made up for by a big physique and a big boot. Unlucky to be injured after all his previous troubles, but is his career coming to an end?
Del: 9 What price a place on the plane to New Zealand? Probably not much with the anti-Sarries bias (sorry I couldn't help myself)..a poor kick and a dropped high ball aside, he was fantastic. Always elusive, recycled the ball well and can't remember him missing a tackle. One great tackle and rip sticks in the memory. Stepped up to the challenge.
Glen: 8 Kicking out of hand and from the tee, fantastic. Ospreys didn't get at him like they did in Cardiff, and distribution was accurate and incisive. I still worry a little about his defence - I should think Mafi and co will target him in Coventry.
Neil De K: 8.5 This is turning into a bit of a hyperbolic post..but again, another who was fantastic. Box kicks had plenty of hang time allowing us to put pressure on the back three. Moved onto the wing and put in a brilliant try saving tackle late on. Led by example.
Cobus: 6 I don't know much about the dark arts of the front row, but was it him or Nick who was getting pinged in the 2nd half? we had the edge at scrumtime in the first half but ospreys seemed to sort it out at half time. Didn't see much of him in the loose - think Census should play next match.
Cairns: 7.5 On the plane to NZ? Line out was very good (for once) and never stopped working in defence and attack.
Nick: 7 A higher mark than Cobus because as always, he was very good carrying and rucking. Don't know what his scrummaging was like.
Vyvs: 9 Continues to grow in stature and is becoming one of our star performers this season. Unlucky to have a try ruled out (I couldnt see the screen - try or not?), but line out, attacking and defensive work were all spot on. He was ecstatic at the end, and rightly so.
Ches: 8 A truly mighty game from him. Wound up his opponents, a brutal ball carrier and always prominent in defence. Only blemish was a stupid, stupid penalty in the first half.
Gustard: 7.5 I got quite confused between him and Ches so I'm not sure if I'm being harsh or not here. Again, a great work rate and unlucky not to score at the end of the first half. Shouldn't we have had a penalty as the ref was playing advantage?
HRHRH: 9.5 A half mark off because apparently he's not fully fit and will not be so for the rest of his career. It's frightening to think how good he could have been if he was at full fitness. His rugby brain makes up for the pace he's lost, and he was just a tackling machine.
Skirvs: 8 Another good game. Managed to keep control well at the back of a slightly creaking scrum. Good carrying and good lineout work. One of the quieter forwards, but a very efficient game.
SUBS
Leonelli: 8 Well, he's not the quickest but he seems to score so I'm not complaining! A good finish and defensively very good, especially hunting down De Cock's box kicks. Well played Francesco.
Powell: 8.5 I might be being slightly generous but I thought today was a big step in Adam's career. Came on against Henson, crowd of 18,000 and played really well. Put his shoulder into every tackle, set up the try and vision and handling was really good. Another performer.
All in all well played boys!
The beer is still affecting me and I realise that these ratings might be slightly skewiff, but I Hope they give an accurate reflection of the boys' performance!
Brent: 7 Unfortunate to be injured early on, was having a solid game. Hope the injury isn't too serious?
Ratty: 7.5 Didn't get too much space to show his attacking ability apart from one mini-break. Defence was solid. Won a great turnover but then flinged it back for Wyn Jones to nearly score. Justified his selection.
SuperKev: 8 As always, put in some big hits in defence. Mr Dependable, I can't remember him making any errors. Good game.
Faz: 6 Hmm. Apparently he's out for the rest of the season. It means we lose vital experience and cover in the centres, but I, like others, thought Powell might have been a better option to start. Ball retention, as usual was sound, but the kick that got charged down took an age to get from hands to boot. Lack of pace is not made up for by a big physique and a big boot. Unlucky to be injured after all his previous troubles, but is his career coming to an end?
Del: 9 What price a place on the plane to New Zealand? Probably not much with the anti-Sarries bias (sorry I couldn't help myself)..a poor kick and a dropped high ball aside, he was fantastic. Always elusive, recycled the ball well and can't remember him missing a tackle. One great tackle and rip sticks in the memory. Stepped up to the challenge.
Glen: 8 Kicking out of hand and from the tee, fantastic. Ospreys didn't get at him like they did in Cardiff, and distribution was accurate and incisive. I still worry a little about his defence - I should think Mafi and co will target him in Coventry.
Neil De K: 8.5 This is turning into a bit of a hyperbolic post..but again, another who was fantastic. Box kicks had plenty of hang time allowing us to put pressure on the back three. Moved onto the wing and put in a brilliant try saving tackle late on. Led by example.
Cobus: 6 I don't know much about the dark arts of the front row, but was it him or Nick who was getting pinged in the 2nd half? we had the edge at scrumtime in the first half but ospreys seemed to sort it out at half time. Didn't see much of him in the loose - think Census should play next match.
Cairns: 7.5 On the plane to NZ? Line out was very good (for once) and never stopped working in defence and attack.
Nick: 7 A higher mark than Cobus because as always, he was very good carrying and rucking. Don't know what his scrummaging was like.
Vyvs: 9 Continues to grow in stature and is becoming one of our star performers this season. Unlucky to have a try ruled out (I couldnt see the screen - try or not?), but line out, attacking and defensive work were all spot on. He was ecstatic at the end, and rightly so.
Ches: 8 A truly mighty game from him. Wound up his opponents, a brutal ball carrier and always prominent in defence. Only blemish was a stupid, stupid penalty in the first half.
Gustard: 7.5 I got quite confused between him and Ches so I'm not sure if I'm being harsh or not here. Again, a great work rate and unlucky not to score at the end of the first half. Shouldn't we have had a penalty as the ref was playing advantage?
HRHRH: 9.5 A half mark off because apparently he's not fully fit and will not be so for the rest of his career. It's frightening to think how good he could have been if he was at full fitness. His rugby brain makes up for the pace he's lost, and he was just a tackling machine.
Skirvs: 8 Another good game. Managed to keep control well at the back of a slightly creaking scrum. Good carrying and good lineout work. One of the quieter forwards, but a very efficient game.
SUBS
Leonelli: 8 Well, he's not the quickest but he seems to score so I'm not complaining! A good finish and defensively very good, especially hunting down De Cock's box kicks. Well played Francesco.
Powell: 8.5 I might be being slightly generous but I thought today was a big step in Adam's career. Came on against Henson, crowd of 18,000 and played really well. Put his shoulder into every tackle, set up the try and vision and handling was really good. Another performer.
All in all well played boys!
The beer is still affecting me and I realise that these ratings might be slightly skewiff, but I Hope they give an accurate reflection of the boys' performance!
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