Bye Jonny

By King Zak
May 26 2014

So, ultimately, Sarries fell short of winning their first European trophy to an outstanding Toulon team. In recent years Saracens have fallen to French teams when they, metaphorically, have been 'beaten up'. Frequently they have been unable to cope with the physicality and power of the opposition and left wondering how they can compete.

In the semi-final victory over Clermont they showed that they have learned to deal with those threats and are without doubt a force to be reckoned with at European level. In the Final, they largely matched their opponents in the physicality stakes, even gaining the upper hand in the scrum – so long an achillies heel against the ‘big’ teams.

A look through the Toulon team sheet was sufficient to emphasise the task facing Saracens. It is a team worthy of any international line-up and one that would give any international XVs a serious game. And then of course there was, arguably, the greatest England player ever making his final appearance on a British rugby field. Jonny Wilkinson is already assured of Icon status in England – after this victory I suspect he is valued to a similar level in France too.

Finals are often settled by a defensive error, a slice of luck, or a piece of individual brilliance. On this occasion, Toulon’s victory was based around outstanding defence, a small slice of luck and two moments of brilliance. Sarries are renowned for their resolute defence; their ability to stop the opposition behind the gain line and literally ‘knock them’ off their stride. On Saturday, they met their match in this department too.

From the outset the sides traded blows like two super-heavyweights, one crunching tackle followed by another. Not one player on either side took a backward step. I’m still not sure how Brits managed to get up from one stunning ‘hit’ from Rossouw. Sarries early domination was rewarded with a penalty converted by Farrell before Toulon finally got into their stride. Their first sustained attack was met with equally sustained and physical defence – and so the pattern for the game was set.

Wilkinson may well be the ‘darling’ of England rugby, but one has to wonder how Australia would benefit in having Matt Giteau back in their ranks. His supporting play to Wilkinson was outstanding and it was his quick thinking and reactions that led to the first try. His kick through bounced kindly for Mitchell on the right wing and somehow, as the winger threw the ball back inside, Giteau was there to collect and score in the corner. It was simple, it was brilliant and it was the difference between the two sides. Inevitably Wilkinson added the conversion and then slotted a trademark drop goal. As several commented afterwards, it was almost identical to ‘that’ kick in 2003. Sarries missed a couple of long range penalties, one each by Farrell and Bosch, as the game struggled to find any real pattern or attacking shape.

Sarries got back within four points early in the second half courtesy of another Farrell penalty, shortly cancelled out by ‘Jonny’. Then, another moment of brilliance. Toulon were in possession in their own half; Farrell put huge pressure on Wilkinson who managed to get his pass away just in time to Bastareaud. He managed to evade the tackle of Bosch (I think!) and suddenly had open field in front of him. It was the first occasion in the game that any back had a position from which to make real ground. He quickly made 20 metres before passing to Smith, rampaging down the right wing. He in turned passed inside to Lobbe and as the defence came across he passed back outside to Smith who completed a remarkable try. Wilko did what Wilko does and later added another penalty to give a final score of 23 – 6. A bigger winning margin than last year’s semi-final but it certainly felt like a much more competitive and closer game. That said, it’s also fair to say that Saracens never really looked like breaching the Toulon defensive line. The same could also be said for Toulon who scored on two of the three occasions they did get through the ‘grey wall’.

Saracens have undoubtedly grown and developed this season, individually and as a team. There were monumental performances throughout their ranks, none more so than Captain Steve Borthwick. He will be a great loss to Saracens both on and off the field. Their discipline was excellent – another significant improvement on previous encounters with the ‘big’ teams. Billy carried extremely well, occasionally though getting isolated and allowing Stefan Armitage a chance to show what England are missing. Man of the Match went to the former Sarrie but I personally would have gone for Smith or Giteau. I did find it amusing that as the stadium announcer started to announce who Man of the Match was, all cameras focused on Wilkinson!

This defeat will clearly hurt Sarries deeply (as will the announcer referring to them as ‘gallant losers’ I suspect!) and they will have to work hard this week to lift themselves for the Premiership Final against a very strong and buoyant Northampton Saints side.

Finally, a word for referee Alain Rolland. In his final game I thought he controlled the game well in what was a pretty disjointed affair.

Toulon: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Jonny Wilkinson (capt), 9 Sebastien Tillous Borde, 8 Steffon Armitage, 7 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Juan Smith, 5 Danie Rossouw, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Xavier Chiocci. Replacements: 16 Jean Charles Orioli, 17 Alexandre Menini, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Ali Williams, 20 Virgile Bruni, 21 Maxime Mermoz, 22 Michael Claassens, 23 Jocelino Suta

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode; 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle; 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth; 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Schalk Brits 3 Matt Stevens, 4 Steve Borthwick (capt), 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 6 Kelly Brown, 7 Jacques Burger, 8 Billy Vunipola. Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 James Johnston, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Neil de Kock, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Chris Wyles.

Referee – Alain Rolland