Perhaps they were hoping to merge the new with Sarries’ illustrious past – inducting twelve new names into the Hall of Fame at half time, but the adverse effect was to bring some of Saracens’ more recent demons to the fore. 

Where do you find a Bucking Bronco in the shape of a camel anyway? 

The first two minutes accurately set the tone for most of the day.  After fielding the restart, the ball went to Jackson, who punted downfield but without finding touch.  Nicky Robinson, Gloucester’s highly qualified fly-half swivelled to exploit a gap on Sarries’ right-wing and kicked neatly into the corner.  A solid lineout so far this season prepared few people for the nightmare opener today. 

Ongaro threw slightly short, the ball was stolen and knocked down into the hands of Gloucester’s scrum-half Rory Lawson, who scythed through the lineout and dived over in spite of desperate tackles.  Robinson converted.Sarries did not lack possession in the first half, but built few solid phases of play, preferring to kick on most occasions.  There were moments – Gloucester’s came when centres Mike Tindall and Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu made half breaks in the Saracens half.  The latter was almost clear in the 22, but was pulled down by Brad Barrit.  Saracens’ efforts were not unrewarded – one saw a penalty and the sin-binning of Lawson for killing the ball in the 22 – but they were few and far between.  Instead, the extent of Saracens’ ambition seemed to be to test Vanikolo under the high-ball. 

Gloucester were similarly risk-averse and the most exciting events of the half were the three penalties Jackson kicked to Gloucester’s two.There were worries too.  Steve Borthwick went off after only thirteen minutes, and while many will be concerned about his ribcage, it was an eye-injury apparently inflicted by Oliver Azam that curtailed his game. 

Hugh Vyvyan was a sufficiently capable replacement, but the lineout was consistently inconsistent – with Ongaro (making his first start of the season) the weak link.  Saracens were not only unimaginative in choosing to kick so regularly, but executed their plan poorly and derived few rewards.  Alex Goode, it must be said, was particularly wayward with the boot. 

“Schalk Brits, rugby player” 

The second half started well for Saracens, still at an advantage from Lawson’s sin-binning.  After moving the ball left and right several times, through forwards and backs, Jackson dropped back to knock over a drop goal, making up for an earlier long-range miss.   

Not long after, Gloucester came back with their own three-pointer.  Thereafter, the game reached its nadir.  Long, drawn out kicking duels – or rather, scraps – brought forth slow handclaps from those who still had the will to hope for better.  The lineout was still a problem, which led head coach Mark McCall (Brendan Venter is in South Africa, apparently) to replace the entire front row on fifty minutes.The difference was immediate and palpable. 

Given clean lineout ball by Schalk Brits’ rocket-propelled throw-ins, Saracens were a different prospect in attack.  In between the ten minutes of aimless kicking that roused the South Stand at least, Sarries’ forwards found their momentum and were able to breach the otherwise resolute Gloucester defence when, after several phases, van Heerden drove forward and offloaded for the irrepressible Brits to dive over and win the lead.  Indeed, Brits was a standout performer in a match short on individual flair, holding off several defenders when isolated, but the introduction of Justin Marshall also deserved mention. 

Marshall is proving to be something of a supersub, providing crisp ball, defending it in the tackle and motivating the pack.  The try owed a good deal to his speed and efficiency.

“We put a huge amount in but didn’t get a huge amount out of it.” Bryan Redpath

Sarries had snatched victory, but still had fifteen minutes to snatch back defeat, much as their ‘heritage’ and one-in-nine record against Gloucester suggested they might.  The Cherry and Whites had already had their best chance before Saracens had gone ahead.  Quick ball had given them a three-on-one and a try looked certain, only for Goode to cover half the width of the pitch and make the tackle – a terrific one at that.  Several times it appeared that Gloucester might do it, but their uninspiring kicking game was apparently hiding no other form of firepower.  Their famous three-quarters of Voyce, Simpson-Daniel and Vanikolo was singularly ill served by an atypically lacklustre forwards display.  Nonetheless, there was time enough for a nerve-wracking drop goal attempt, which Robinson missed.  Sarries’ newfound defensive resilience stood up to further scrutiny, with some of Richard Haughton’s man-and-ball tackles notable for their parity with other, bigger hitters.  Gloucester couldn’t do enough to secure their own possession, the ball was turned over and Jackson kicked the ball into touch to put Saracens top of the table. 

Oh what a feeling!The crowd of just under eight thousand will not impress the management, however philosophical Griffiths might be.  The CEO, who made an appearance at Sarries Town before the game, said that “Rome was not built in one day and Watford will not be built in a fortnight.”  He is right, but it will become a question of what Saracens can rely on over the course of the season, especially when the weather begins to effect the sense of occasion. 

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