Saracens
What A Stunning Premiership Showdown
By Behindthebench
October 6 2016
Saracens vs Wasps, Aviva Premiership Rugby, Sunday 9 October, Allianz Park. Small wonder given the respective pedigree and form of these respective sides that this is being billed as a title decider, just six games in. In truth, that's an exaggeration given the infamous home defeat to Wasps in February just being a peculiar blip on the way to Saracens' double via a European semi-final win over the same opponents. What it did confirm was that Wasps are the most exciting attacking side in the competition, on their day, and their day has been more frequent of late. In their pomp, when they were winning Premiership and European titles, they mastered the ability to win one-off games, much as Saracens have done now, and providing a multi-talented squad is managed to its full potential, which shouldn't be an issue, this is the final piece in the jigsaw which Wasps need to navigate in the coming campaign given their pair of semi-final losses last season.
In the festive 26-16 win at Coventry last season, a debate emerged between the relevant camps about Saracens' effective kicking game and assured defence which penned the home side back and successfully blunted an attacking game which weeks previously had accounted comprehensively for Toulon in the Champions Cup. Allied to razor sharp counter attcking, Sarries pounced on home mistakes to earn a comfortable win. The Six Nations period coincided with the Valentine's Day hammering in NW4 in which what still a strong home line up were effectively embarrassed. The close season saw the departure of legendary flanker George Smith and full back Charles Piatau, who switched to Ulster, but this hasn't affected the continuity of the side, even with James Haskell also being absent through injury, as Guy Thompson and Thomas Young have continued their progress alongside Nathan Hughes. One of the most eye-catching captures of the Premiership close season was the return of Danny Cipriani from Sale, with centre Kyle Eastmond arriving from Bath, hooker Tommy Taylor switching from Sale and lossehead Marty Moore an intelligent capture from Leinster. Kurtly Beale and Willie Le Roux are still to come, so the challenge for the experienced Dai Young will be who to select from what is effectively the Premiership's strongest squad.
Exeter played Wasps five times last season, beating them on four occasions, and only denied a clean sweep by a dramatic late score in the European Quarter Final at the Ricoh. So when the Chiefs took a 17-8 lead at the break, it looked ominous, but gradually, the home side rediscovered their running game to prevail 25-20 as Dan Robson and Taylor claimed second half tries. A rare win at Leicester even saw a bonus point as some incisive attacking yielded a 34-22 win, as the Coventry side came out on the top in an even game, whilst the third match saw ten tries piled on in a 70-22 demolition of Bristol at the Ricoh Arena: 745 metres made, 16 line breaks and 25 defenders beaten demonstrated their dominance. However, it was another facet of their game which earnt a second successive success at Franklins Gardens as Wasps recorded a 20-15 win thanks to a relentless defensive performance.
Bringing the story up to date, Wasps game on Sunday produced a 47-18 hammering of Harlequins, but the scoreline didn't tell the full story, as Quins only trailed by eight points at the break, and made substantially more ground, passes and runs (although, tellingly not as many line breaks), to the extent that Wasps made twice as many tackles. However, proving that efficiency is no longer just the preserve of Saracens, they collected seven tries, with a mixture of close range finishes and some well worked moves with impeccable support lines and keeping the ball alive with some slick offloading. However, despite the impressive margin of victory, they did drift into a kicking game at times, which fails to play to their strengths, as the running game is far more of a challenge to the best of defences, with the number of missed tackles by Harlequins being the decisive factor. Saracens are coming off a satisfying win too, and though Bristol have had a nightmare start, the visitors gave a thoroughly professional performance to keep their line intact, and was equally encouraging to see Matt Gallagher and George Perkins involved in the 23 as the strength in depth continues to apply as the new faces slotted into a cohesive display, Chris Wyles slotted in at full back, whilst Alex Lozowski added to a reputation growing by the day with two tries.
Undoubtedly, it will be a challenge Saracens will be sure to relish, although the underdog tag, as now with Wasps, has long been disposed of, as a tantalising appetiser for the Autumn Internationals too. For all their quality, Wasps can still tend to make unforced errors at times, even on Sunday, but their maul defence appears to be back to its best. The kicking game needs to be well judged, as kicking long to the likes of Rob Miller, Christian Wade or Elliott Daly wouldn't seem to be the best option given their prowess from deep. In contrast, the contestable box kicking from Richard Wigglesworth may be a better option if combined with attentive support when possession is won. However, the threat posed cannot be underestimated, as a side which has scored 26 tries already carries threats from all around the pitch.
Before predicting the line ups, a reminder of how fragile careers can be with lock Alistair Hargreaves announcing his retirement due to concussion and Wasps' back row Sam Jones suffering a broken leg in training this week. Good luck to them both. There will probably be a number of changes from the Ashton Gate line up in the back line, with Alex Goode returning at full back, with Mike Ellery remaining on the right and Wyles switching to the left. Marcelo Bosch and Brad Barritt should reprise their centre partnership, with Lozowski and Wigglesworth resuming at half back. Into the forwards, and the front row should again be formed of Mako Vunipola, Jamie George and Petrus du Plessis, with Maro Itoje and George Kruis as the lock combination, and Michael Rhodes forming the back row with Burger and Billy Vunipola. For Wasps, Rob Miller should continue at full back with Wade and Josh Bassett on the left wing, outside Daly and Jimmy Gopperth, who retains his influence and kicking duties from this new position. Cipriani will be at fly half, whilst Robson has edged ahead of Joe Simpson in the race for the scrum half berth.In the forwards, the front row should feature Matt Mullen, Taylor and Jake Cooper-Wooley, with Joe Launchbury potentially returning from injury at lock, alongside James Gaskell. The revised front row could include Young, Thompson and Hughes.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016:10:17:17:47:42 by Darraghgirl.
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