By King Zak
October 27 2013

 This wasn’t a game I travelled to with great expectation, a matter reinforced by the non arrival of Ken’s lunch an hour and half after he’d ordered it. You can only imagine how ‘frustrated’ he was! 

It was also evident from the Saints fans we spoke to pre game that, following their success in the play off semi final at Allianz Park in May, they sensed this was an opportunity to make a real statement for the season.

The game got under way in blustery conditions and Saracens were able to exert some early pressure without ever looking threatening. Then, the moment we’d been dreading, a scrum on half way. Sadly, my fear became reality as the dominate Saints scrum earned a penalty and the tone was set for the rest of the game. Even having our scrum half’s ‘dad’ refereeing wasn’t going to help that situation. Myler kicked to the corner but it gave Northampton momentum and another penalty shortly afterwards was punished with three points by the ubiquitous boot of the Saints flyhalf.

Sarries rallied and earned a penalty of their own in front of the posts that Goode converted to draw level after 10 minutes. It was also noticeable that Goode was doing most of the kicking out of hand too – increasingly so as the game wore on. This raised the issue as to why Mordt was playing and, to me, was indicative of Saracens approach. Not for one moment would I suggest the team went into the game happy to lose, but occasionally, other considerations take precedence. Charlie Hodgson has been unavailable due to injury all season but, we are led to believe, is now fit and ready to play. However, I think the decision to delay his return was based on the concern that should he get injured again, there would be no opportunity to rest Farrell after the autumn internationals, ahead of the resumption of Heineken cup in December. Farrell needs a break, of that there is no doubt, and Saracens will need a fully fit Hodgson during that period. So, for ‘one night only’, Nils Mordt (playing on one leg!) got the No 10 shirt. Bosch would also have been an option, but I really think the management were happy to give others an opportunity.

A similar situation could have applied in the front row. Richard Barrington is very much learning his trade at this level and the front row is an unforgiving tutor. If Saracens had been ‘serious’ about the scrum, they could have moved Stevens to loose head and played James Johnston at tight head. But, in true Saracens style, they are happy to give players an opportunity to show what they can do and see if they have what it takes. A perfect example of this approach is Duncan Taylor. He was given his chance to play when many other clubs would have chosen the safer option of picking an established player. He has now developed into a fine centre and was arguably Saracens best performer on the day, offering about the only area of parity on the pitch. I didn’t think there was much to choose between him and Burrell; particularly bearing in mind one was playing behind a hugely dominant pack. I was somewhat disappointed that Burrell was released byEnglandthis weekend as I would like to see him start at 12 next week. Which brings me to my other favourite moan – Mike Brown!! Yes, even when he’s not playing he managed to annoy me. As it would appear he’s in line to start for England next week, Ben Foden was also released back to play – something which cost Saracens heavily as he produced an outstanding fullback performance. The absence of George North didn’t seem to have any detrimental effect on the performance of Saints back three. Neither did the loss of three forwards have any negative impact on their dominance in that area.

Anyway, back to the game. After a fairly cagey opening 10 minutes, Saints started to up the tempo and the first try duly arrived; a very well worked effort from a lineout near halfway. Saracens were a yard behind, physically and mentally, from the moment the ball was thrown in until Jamie Elliott skipped through to score under the posts; Myler duly converting.

Sarries responded well and it looked like they had scored a try of their own when Alex Goode barged his way over the try line. Interestingly, both teams seemed quite happy that he’d scored but Wiggy’s ‘dad’ decided to consult the video official. He ruled that Foden had dislodged the ball, resulting in a 5m scrum to Saints. It was a very good effort from the Saint’s man but Goode really should have scored, especially having eschewed Tagicakibau outside him. However, the chance was gone, and with it went Sarries last meaningful contribution until the game was very much lost.

Saints extended their lead on 25 minutes. Following a break for Burrell, Samu Manoa showed a turn of pace, power and guile to side-step Goode and score under the posts. It was an excellent score and symptomatic of how the game was developing. Saints all power and hunger to win, Sarries doing little more than going through the motions – they even lost a lineout!

Goode reduced the deficit to 17-6 on the stroke of halftime with another penalty from in front of the posts but it really was pretty much one way traffic. The second half picked up where the first ended – Saints domination. It wasn’t long before tries three and four arrived for the home side, both courtesy of that man Foden (I really don’t like Mike Brown!!).

The first saw him dive over in the right hand corner, at least Myler missed the conversion although he had chance to make amends shortly afterwards. It must have been disheartening to the Sarries forward pack to finally win a scrum penalty, only for Goode to fail to find touch. Saints ran it back hard, resulting in a delicate chip from Myler being touched down by Foden. Bonus point secured, game won, Saints eased off a bit and Sarries were able to take advantage as Taylor rounded off some good handling by scoring under the posts. Goode added the extras but it was brief respite for Sarries, and Goode particularly, as he failed to deal with a high ball. The Pisi ‘boys’ combined wonderfully to create the opportunity for Burrell to score under the posts.

Sarries added another score of their own when Kelly Brown was bundled over the line. It was the far end of the pitch from my vantage point in the ‘Naughty Corner’ but I got the impression it was one of those ‘tries’ that may not have been awarded had the scoreline been much closer. Goode added the conversion before Saints rounded off the scoring with another example of direct running and quick hands, allowing Ken Pisi to dive over in the right hand corner. From a rugby perspective it was a wonderful effort and encapsulated all that was good about Saints on the day – from  Sarries perspective, ‘nuff said really! Myler missed again but a final scoreline of 41-20 was no more than either side deserved.

A couple of moments in the dying stages of the game encapsulated Sarries performance. Joubert made a wonderful break, stepped past three defenders and then inexplicably threw the ball to a pursuing Saints defender as he approached the 22 – unbelievable to be honest from such a fine player. We also saw Marcello Bosch make his debut in a Sarries shirt as he replaced Tagicakibau (which led to Strettle moving from left wing to right wing and Wyles moving from centre to left wing to accommodate the Argentine). He could not have looked more lost if he’d been dumped in the middle of the Patagonian desert without a map or compass.

It was a disappointing effort from Saracens and match points of 5-0 would not have been what the management expected. It is also of increasing concern that Brits rarely manages to hold on to the ball when competing in an aerial challenge. As one of our main ‘threats’ from kick return, this is an issue that needs to be resolved rapidly. On a positive, Saracens are still top of the pile and will hope to bounce back next week against Newcastle Falcons. It is also reasonable to assume that these two teams will meet later in the season in a fixture likely to be of much more significance – that, I suspect, will be a very much tighter affair.

Oh, and Ken did eventually get his lunch, although barbeque chicken at The Beckett seemed to have morphed into fish and chips at the Gardens. Hope it was more enjoyable than the result!

Saracens: 15. Alex Goode; 14. Michael Tagicakibau, 13. Chris Wyles, 12. Duncan Taylor, 11. David Strettle; 10. Nils Mordt, 9. Richard Wigglesworth; 1. Richard Barrington, 2. Schalk Brits, 3. Matt Stevens, 4. Steve Borthwick (c), 5. Alastair Hargreaves, 6. Kelly Brown, 7. Jacques Burger, 8. Ernst Joubert.

Replacements: 16. Jamie George, 17. Nick Auterac, 18. James Johnston, 19. Mourtiz Botha, 20. Jackson Wray, 21. Neil de Kock, 22. Marcelo Bosch, 23. Ben Ransom

Northampton Saints: 15. Ben Foden; 14. Ken Pisi, 13, George Pisi, 12, Luther Burrell, 11, Jamie Elliott; 10, Stephen Myler, 9, Kahn Fotuali'I; 1, Ethan Waller, 2, Mike Haywood, 3, Salesi Ma'afu, 4, Samu Manoa, 5, Christian Day, 6, Callum Clark, 7, Phil Dowson, 8, Sam Dickinson.

Replacements: 16 Ross Mcmillan, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Gj Van Velze, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Ryan Glynn, 22 Dom Waldouck, 23 James Wilson

Referee: Tim Wigglesworth

Attendance: 13,474

It's Easy Pisi for Saints

Discussion started by TheSaracens.com , 27/10/2013 18:07

TheSaracens.com
27/10/2013 18:07

Thanks Chris, another tough one to do but it made me smile. Glad Ken got his lunch!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013:11:11:10:35:09 by Darraghgirl.

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Phil.
27/10/2013 23:07

A Saint passing through...

That's a fine read, KZ - a smashing piece of work.

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davidthesarrie
28/10/2013 09:07

Great review, painful to read though it was.

Thank you.

Onwards and upwards!

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Jim 55
28/10/2013 09:30

Harsh but fair. Thanks, hopefully see you Sunday.

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Jim 55
28/10/2013 09:30

Harsh but fair. Thanks, hopefully see you Sunday.

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riverlodge
28/10/2013 10:22

another Saint - very good read, have some sympathy with the view of Mike Brown but for different reasons.

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derbyshire fan
28/10/2013 10:39

Great write up - thanks; always good to read 'eschewed' in any piece of writing!

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ChrisG
29/10/2013 09:56

Great report, thats the game I saw.

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King Zak
29/10/2013 14:43

Thanks guys, it nice to know the scribes efforts are appreciated!

Nous sommes l'armée noir et rouge !

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Darraghgirl
29/10/2013 16:47

Talking on which we urgently need a scribe for Sunday any offers??

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