A WELF OF TALENT AWAITS


By Behind the Bench
March 17 2016

With the "cavalry" due back with perfect timing for the massive home clash against Exeter Chiefs a week on Saturday, it's a good time to take stock of where Saracens are at present. But for the calamity at home to Wasps, and a narrow defeat to Northampton Saints, which could have gone either way, Sarries remain on course for the top two, although with their lead at the top trimmed.

But before the showdown with the Devon side is the still formidable proposition offered by Leicester, despite Saracens' decent record against them in recent seasons. Tigers have lacked consistency, and local commentators are billing this as a "must-win" game given the tightness of the challenge for the top four. It's probably not quite as crucial for Saracens, although victory here would be a massive step towards nailing down a top two finish against a side who remain capable of putting together a late season run, as they have done many times before. Back in January, an outstanding display by the Saracens pack in very damp conditions in NW4 yielded an unprecedented trio of penalty tries, as the Tigers were beaten 26-6 and the hosts snared a try bonus point, in an excellent exhibition of using the correct gameplan for the context. 
 
In the ten games since, across the Premiership and Europe, Leicester have won six and lost four, with the loss of Dan Cole and Ben Youngs to the England side, but otherwise being able to field a side with far fewer adjustments than Saracens, and boosted by the not-inconsiderable return of centre Manu Tuilagi from injury. A season of transition may seem at first an odd label for a side which won its European pool and is still very much in the top four frame in the Premiership, but the 30-27 home win over Northampton Saints perhaps gives it some credence. Slick handling put on tries for Matt Smith and Owen Williams, and though this sandwiched a more "conventional" Leicester try from a lineout drive by Lachlan McCaffrey, the 21-0 lead established well inside the opening half hour showcased the new flowing rugby the Tigers have attempted this season and the consequent improvement in the potency of their attack. However, the defence went missing after that, as Northampton used their power and capitalised on mistakes to draw level at 27-27, as the match was only settled by a late Freddie Burns penalty. After that, a 47-7 home win over Benetton Treviso to seal top spot in the European pool was decidedly more straightforward, in which they got full value for their forward dominance, assured handling and some crafty kicking by Burns, which set up two tries. They lost their final pool game 36-21 at Stade Francais Paris after a bright start. 
 
An altogether tighter game saw the Tigers eke out a 19-18 win at Gloucester, not always a happy hunting ground for the East Midlands side, although, despite the scoreline, they had a clear advantage in attack, making far more ground, clean breaks and offloads, and claiming three tries to two, though still trailed 12-0 in the match after making some errors. Burns had struggled from the tee, but set up the first try for the visitors with another clever kick, and it was only a last gasp conversion by Tommy Bell which won it. With the RBS 6 Nations underway, Leicester hosted Sale Sharks at Welford Road, and fell to a surprise 10-3 loss as they failed to make inroads in difficult conditions. The blip continued with a 26-14 loss at an improving Newcastle Falcons, despite the Tigers going 6-0 in front, and they took too long to find their attacking edge, despite a second half try from Laurence Pearce, and then they were edged out 25-19 at Harlequins. The losing streak was comprehensively broken by a pair of vital home wins: excellent backline play and making the most of territory secured a 47-20 win over London Irish, whilst Exeter were edged out 31-27, thanks to some incisive counterattacking, but after holding an 18 point lead at one stage, the finish was almost too close for comfort. A 36-24 defeat in the "new" derby at Wasps brings the story up to date, and proved it is not just Saracens who have struggled against the direct and powerful running style of the Coventry side, as the visitors missed 26 tackles. 
 
Saracens, then, face another game which could go either way. Leicester's key strength is their backline, which has shown great creativity, excellent support play and a real threat when possession is turned over, much like Sarries in some respects, whilst Burns' kicking game may cause the visitors some problems. However, they will take great confidence from the home game which saw them overcome a strong pack, albeit with a first choice XV themselves, but the key factor will be Saracens' accuracy in defence, given that the timing was slightly out against Wasps and Sale, leading to an above average number of missed tackles. That said, Sarries have the players to cause the Tigers problems too, especially given that their defence has been relatively generous, so a powerful centre partnership could be a key factor in bringing the ball forward and making ground given the hosts' struggles against Wasps. In contrast, the kicking game, used heavily last week, and which tends to fall to Ben Spencer in open play, as well as from the tee, when he is partnered with Nils Mordt, should be treated with caution, given that the hosts are able to threaten from deep in their own half. It may make more sense to try and retain possession and gradually make ground whilst trying to capitalise on that susceptibility to direct running as shown last week.
 
Leicester tend to interchange the positions of 11 to 15 quite frequently, which underlines their flexibility and adaptability, although the centre combination of Jean de Villiers and Tuilagi will probably be unavailable, so Matthew Tait should start at full back, with Adam Thompstone and Veriniki Goneva occupying the wings, and Peter Betham slotting into the centre accompanied by Matt Smith. Burns and Jono Kitto should form the half back combination. Forwards wise, Marcos Ayerza and Logoov'i Mulipola should be either side of hooker Harry Thacker, with Michael Fizgerald and Dom Barrow making up the second row, and a back row comprising of Tom Croft, McCaffrey and Ed Slaater. For Saracens, Ben Ransom should return at full back, with Mike Ellery and Chris Wyles on the wings, and Marcelo Bosch with Brad Barritt in the centre. Mordt and Spencer should continued at fly half and scrum half respectively. Into the forwards, and a front row of Richard Barrington, Jared Saunders and Petrus du Plessis appears likely, with Hayden Smith and Alistair Hargreaves in the second row, and a back row of Michael Rhodes, Will Fraser and Samu Vunisa. 

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A WELF OF TALENT AWAITS
Discussion started by TheSaracens.com , 17/03/2016 10:00
TheSaracens.com
17/03/2016 10:00
Thanks as always Gerard



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2016:03:29:19:27:42 by Darraghgirl.

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