Saracens
Sarries v Saints preview
Scrum time
By Saracens4Life
May 9 2013
I’m no big U2 fan, but the following is a quote from Bono which I thought was quite interesting / relevant: “I’m a very loyal and unreliable friend”. I don’t know in what context he said that, but no doubt it will be a mis-appropriation to apply to Northampton Saints. It kind of fits, though.
For a few seasons now, we have watched this Sunday’s opposition fluctuate between the rampant and the dismal. Their forwards, capable of bullying any pack in Europe, so often lacking in bite; their back line, full of pace and power, often looking like they haven’t been on a training pitch together. They were probably in Nando’s like every other professional rugby player in England. Injuries, suspensions and call-ups plaguing their squad consistency (not that that’s an excuse). Against the backdrop of all that inconsistency, last week one of their fans dug up the amazing statistic that they had finished 4th, with 14 wins and 65 points, at the end of all the last 3 Premiership seasons.
And then you get to our recent head-to-heads, which we have dominated, to be honest. The Saints can’t seem to buy a win against a top 4 side, us included. But before you smile too much… Jim Mallinder’s men are now at absolute full-strength. They have had their eyes set on the semi-finals for weeks now, with us their preferred opponents. They are gaining momentum on the pitch. And two of the biggest stalwarts, favourites, and best rugby players, Soane Tonga’uiha and Brian Mujati are leaving the club and desperate to leave with major silverware.
For the avoidance of doubt: it is a massive challenge that awaits the Men in Black this Sunday…
The scrum will inevitably be a crucial contest. Not many make the Lions pairing of Mako Vunipola and Matt Stevens look diminutive, but the colossal figures of Tonga’uiha and Mujati manage it, and Schalk Brits concedes about 10 kilos to Saints captain Hartley. On paper our visitors seem to be stronger. But to give the Saints the upper hand at scrum time, is to give them a psychological lift and a momentum to the rest of their forward play – which at its best is rampant and unstoppable. Conceding scrum penalties is also a real kick in the teeth for our territory and pressure game.
So maybe we don’t want to do that. There are ways in which we can disrupt the dominance they will want. First, we scrummage far lower than our taller, bulkier opponents; second, we are quicker across the gap on the engage. The result of this, is either we ‘win the hit’ and get a platform for parity or even ascendancy (good), or we give away cheap free kicks and penalties (not so good). As ever with the set-piece it will be a question of focus. Mako and Matt may be wowing us at the moment with their work around the park, but we pay them to deliver in their primary job in contests like these.
The lineout is equally intriguing. In Steve Borthwick and Christian Day, we have on show two of the finest exponents in the country – who differ from Englandincumbent and British Lion Geoff Parling only in terms of their choice of club. We also have two of the best throwers. We also have two back fives packed full of jumping options – although our usual deputy, Ernst Joubert, will be sadly missing through injury. The stats through the season suggest we have the advantage (90% to 84%), but with Saints able to deploy their first-choice pack, we have two high-quality operations in competition – expect very clean ball, some scrappy ball, and some clean steals.
What is more interesting (and more important) is how each team uses the lineout. Northampton will probably have a more aggressive emphasis: as a platform for Luther Burrell to launch their phase-play, or for more complex set-piece moves; and using Stephen Myler to kick the corners and apply serious pressure to our exit strategy. Our focus will be more territorial. In the likely continued absence of Barritt and Fraser, our box-kicking will be targeted to find touch, rather than as a kick-and-chase. Therefore we will need our defensive lineout to function well so as not to give Saints easy attacking platforms. Both teams, also, will target the driving maul as a weapon, especially on the sure footing of the Allianz pitch. Alex Sanderson and Dorian West have formulated two of the most fearsome units inEuropein this department, so it will be a titanic – and very important – contest.
To be honest, given that Saints will be fresher and will have had their eyes fixed on this contest for a while now, I’d imagine we would be happy with parity in the tight exchanges. This is what we got againstUlster– a similarly weighty pack toNorthampton’s – and then we were able to outpace them in the other forward battles.
Our efficiency at the breakdown has been something to marvel at ever since Sanderson and Paul Gustard were appointed. It’s exceptionally rare that we get turned over in the ruck during phase-play, because we’re invariably the first to arrive and our clear-out technique is so good. In defence, we’ve developed the All Blacks knack of when not to commit (remember PNH’s ‘thin red line’ pic from a couple of years ago?) and when to pile in for the turnover. Without our first-choice 7 in Fraser, Borthwick and Hargreaves (along with the rest of the back 5) will need to tear around the park. Even though Saints have twoEnglandloose forwards in Tom Wood and Calum Clark, I expect any advantage in this area to go to the Men in Black.
Neil de Kock had a storming game last weekend, exploitingBath’s woefully slow realignment close to the ruck. Whenever we can get the edge in collision, his service will allow us to play at a high tempo and exploit any defensive weaknesses. Borthwick and Brown are the unsung heroes (as ever) carrying into the heavy traffic. Brits and Stevens are often the link players, popping a short ball to one of Vunipola, Wray or Hargreaves who will be coming like a derailed train (I say derailed because their running lines are so hard to pick up).
So as long as we work with efficiency and reasonable precision, we should have little trouble crossing the gain line. If you think back to the 1st half against Quins, that’s been the key to our success so far at AzP. In the backs, assuming the same personnel as last week, we will need all the space that our pack generates. Farrell is a great distributor at 12 – as is Hodgson at 10 – but his lack of running threat (compared to Barritt) gives the drift defence an easier job, cramping the space of all our outside runners. Alex Goode, still slightly off-colour to my mind, will have an important role distributing in the wide channels – and I think, if we’re accurate, the likes of Tomkins, Strettle and Ashton (Northampton’s favourite son) will break the line and create opportunities. I’m hoping for (expecting, even) plenty of opportunities to shout “boring, boring Sarries” ironically.
What can Saints offer in return? Well, they have some giant ball carriers – Samu Manoa, Courtney Lawes, and Luther Burrell (think Bastareaud but taller and quicker). They’ll obviously need stopping, and again we will miss Barritt here; I’d love to see George Kruis (if he starts) defending in midfield to counteract this. Stephen Myler takes a lot of stick from all corners, but his tactical kicking is astute (thankfully seeing as Dickson’s box-kicking isn’t up to much) and his narrow and wide passing are both more than competent. Outside him, they have the enigmatic George Pisi, who can either be brilliant or anonymous, and a fairly lethal back-three of Ken Pisi, Ben Foden and try-machine Jamie Elliott.
So two sides who like to play with territory and can be dangerous out wide; if we can do the job up front – and that is a big if – I would back our superior defence, even with our absentees, to be the difference. There’s a good chance it will come down to goal-kicking too, which would be a nice contentious post-match discussion.
It will no doubt the most ferocious and intense game we’ve seen in the new stadium, and Sarries need to get their mental preparation spot on because the Saints will be desperate.
With that in mind, maybe we could even try to out-shout the visiting supporters…even if it means a massive loss of personal integrity by joining in with the “dirge”…
Enjoy the game, everyone.
Digg
Delicious
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon09/05/2013 14:49
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013:05:20:11:27:37 by TonyTaff.
Successful hills are here to stay
Everything must be this way
Gentle streets where people play
Welcome to the Soft Parade
🌻🌻🌻
I do hope the wind drops before sunday, otherwise it could be a bit of a lottery.
Will be a great contest and if we get the right result the Sarries Express is leaving at 18.30 so we will have time to celebrate! (Or drown our sorrows if we don't)!
for me it will be interesting to see how de kock plays and whether initially he (+charlie) look for territory. to these eyes (but on tv) he has looked vastly sharper and put much better pace on your game than wrigglesworth, seemingly creating much more by way of attacking opportunity.
whatever the tactics, it seems very unlikely this will be a dull game, and i'm really looking forward to an allianz park 'experience' and hopefully the usual good chats with fezboys & girls.
safe travels to all, things crossed for a sunny day, enjoy the game, may the best team etc etc.
Semi-final weekend, Living Rugby
Quote:Quins Lad
As a quins fan you have absolutely nothing to fear. We were cruising at 22-5 and management decided to take players off which invited a northampton comeback. Myler's kicking was woeful, their defence looked suspect and didn't offer much in attack.
hmm...
More Saracens headlines
- END OF SEASON POLL AT LAST
- PWR Semi Final and Final 2025-26 Report
- Saracens Women v Ealing Trailfinders PWR Final Report
- Saracens Women v Ealing Trailfinders PWR Final Preview
- MARK McCALL, AN APPRECIATION
- Saracens Women v Exeter Chiefs Women PWR Semi-Final Report
- Exeter Chiefs v Saracens Premiership Report
- EXETER v SARACENS: please post match related content here
- SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST