Stadio Mario Battaglini
Riot at Rovigo
Stadio Mario Battaglini
By Prestwick
January 26 2010
Well what can I say? Third time in Italy and we're already getting standing ovations. That was the reception yours truly got when I emerged from underneath a makeshift Rovigo banner with which I had entangled myself.
Stadio Mario Battaglini
January 26 2010
Well what can I say? Third time in Italy and we're already getting standing ovations. That was the reception yours truly got when I emerged from underneath a makeshift Rovigo banner with which I had entangled myself.
No such tomfoolery was in evidence on the field of play and, as the sun shone and the temperature reached the dizzying heights of just above freezing, Saracens at least came away with an idea of how to put a team to the sword. It may not be a plan B, but it had all the makings of one.
To be honest, I had no intention of checking up to see what was happening over in Toulon town later that night, but I did know that Sarries needed at bonus point win at the very least to stand a chance of getting through to the quarter finals. This meant getting tries; lots of tries. Tries which have been pretty hard to get as of late. But this was Italy, a place, which to paraphrase Alicia Keys, "makes you feel brand new" where "there's nothing you can't do" and indeed this was exactly the attitude of a Saracens side who, obviously buoyed by the wonderful sights sounds and smells of Northern Italy, went at Rovigo with aplomb and at a pace and verve that I haven't seen in Saracens since they put Newcastle and Bath down away earlier last year.
Much has been said about the slightly clueless nature of the Saracens backs in attack in recent games, but the combination of Adam Powell and Rodd Penney, with Hougaard standing flatter, seemed to spark the right things. Also in evidence was the attacking threat which wingers like Tagicakibau are starting to show now they're bedding into the set up. Nothing showed this more than the opening try with Tagicakibau snaffling a loose ball, after some high ball comedy from Rovigo, and surging hard. Quick ball was duly obtained and flashed across to Hougaard who whipped a fast pass across to Penney. A couple of deft offloads later and Andy Saull showed speed to cruise across the try-line.
In fact, Hougaard and Penney especially worked hard to spread the ball around quickly and competently. Some good work from the ever-dependable Richard Haughton delivered a deft chip ahead from which Penney scored, soon after. Rovigo promptly hit back with a penalty, but it wasn't the stuff of Viadana legends which had almost cost Sarries dearly in seasons past. In any case, Rovigo were finding it hard to catch anything, let alone high balls and restarts, this allowed Saracens’ Ernst Joubert out wide to take advantage, and, if a number eight is beating you on his own to the restart then you have got a serious problem on your hands. Hougaard’s clever restart was caught by Joubert who stampeded through before offloading to Penney who, in turn, provided the pass to Saull who nipped in for the third.
The key here is good distribution from the fly half, quick ball, clever and accurate kicking and making those crucial passes. In this the axis of Rauluni, Hougaard, Powell and Penney worked very well but there was fun to be had for the Sarries pack. The fourth try came from good pressure which resulted in a charged down kick deep inside Rovigo's 22; with the try-line begging Mouritz Botha decided to carry a couple of Rovigo players as well as the ball on his journey into bonus point heaven. With the job done it was time for more beer and exchanges of broken Italian with broken English, with a few of the home fans!
Like the dawn of a new day though, the second half was upon us and were my eyes deceiving me? There was almost an entirely new Saracens team on the pitch. Hougaard had been replaced with Goode, Kevin Barrett replaced Rauluni and Cato took on Haughton's position out on the wing. The biggest surprise was Schalk Brits who seemed to have replaced most of the back row (actually just Joubert) as "rugby player" and elsewhere Borthwick, Ongaro, Mercey and Aguero all came off for Vyvyan, Reynecke, Skuse and Gill respectively.
It was all a lot to take in. Seeing Brits jump between number 8 and blindside flanker in the scrum was quite confusing especially after four beers and a glass of the ol' vino, but luckily the team on the field were on hand to provide some clarity.
Goode settled into the role of fly half very well and I feel he's got an incredibly bright future partnering Hougaard next season. It was one of Eddie Jones' best decisions to place Goode at full back, and now the team reaped the rewards as his lightning fast work with Penney helped put Tagicakibau in the corner for Saracens’ 5th try. By the time I had managed to pronounce poor Tagicakibau's name correctly (sorry guys), Saracens had put the 6th try away - it resulted from a surging Schalk Brits feeding Andy Saull for his hat trick. A moment of warm joy in what was turning out to be a very freezing afternoon.
The seventh try was a combination of grunt, luck and flair. A couple of good drives resulting in quick ball for Kevin Barrett who, after a darting run, almost managed to feed Powell but missed. No matter, the ball dropped in front of Goode who fed Tagicakibau a peach of a pass and the rest, as they say, is a try.
Now this is all well and good, but spare a thought for poor Rovigo. Starved of ball, thanks to Saracens running more of their ball than usual and to Rovigo booting away much of the little possession they did have, they were being reduced to competing at the scrum. Their kicker German Bustos was having a howler with the boot but, late in the second half, they finally kept some ball, and after running through the phases, Jacobus Immelman managed to sneak over for their one and only score, which Bustos duly failed to convert. There was much wild celebration, with the banging of drums and age old advertisement hoardings, to celebrate this single try.
Saracens capped off the day with a great break from Powell which put Barrett in for the eighth and final try. Actually, I'd say the day was capped off when Andy Saull treated the crowd to some superb robotic break-dancing as he held aloft his man of the match award (or at least a nice gold box he was given by someone).
So as the wine and beer flowed in the Bar Francine on the Emannuel II Piazza that night and as I, in a drunken haze, decided to tap everyone's shoulder and mumble "mmff...nice game..", I mused on the result.
The result was positive. Saracens had shown that, if given the chance, they can now take the chances offered, and that they can balance a staunch defence with attacking flair, if they so wish. They have a set of highly athletic forwards and aggressive backs as well as several superb young players coming up, in a variety of positions, to make it matter. Goode can do running and passing but yet so can Hougaard - equally well, in fact.
Toulon later that night beat Castres with a bonus point which dumped us out of the quarter finals. We can look back at the various missed chances and rue our mistakes, but this isn't the time for that as now we have to focus on the next big game in the Guinness Premiership and see if the confidence found in Italy can flourish back on the damp pitches of England emerging from winter.
Line-ups
Femi-CZ Rugby Rovigo | V | Saracens | ||||||||||||
P | D | C | T | Pos | Player | Player | Pos | T | C | D | P | |||
15 | ||||||||||||||
14 | ||||||||||||||
13 | 1 | |||||||||||||
1 | 12 | |||||||||||||
11 | 2 | |||||||||||||
10 | 4 | |||||||||||||
9 | ||||||||||||||
1 | ||||||||||||||
2 | ||||||||||||||
3 | ||||||||||||||
4 | ||||||||||||||
5 | 1 | |||||||||||||
6 | ||||||||||||||
7 | 3 | |||||||||||||
1 | 8 | |||||||||||||
Substitutes
16 | ||||||||||||||
17 | ||||||||||||||
18 | ||||||||||||||
19 | ||||||||||||||
20 | <td style="background-color: transparent; border: #ece9d8; pa |
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