By Innings
April 26 2021

Perhaps the most eagerly-awaited Sarries game of the past twelve months, and one of the most important in the club’s history, was never going to be a light-hearted romp.  

Ealing came to the Stonex, (three-quarters of a stadium and one quarter a building site), with bragging rights; after all, very few clubs beat Sarries home and away in the same season. However, this was a very different occasion, not a couple of pre-season friendlies dressed up as a four-way cup competition, with only three entrants and not even all the games played. Today is about the reality of a much-truncated season, with only ten games in which to make the play-offs and then those two games in which to decide who goes into the Premiership. Ealing Trailfinders had gone off at a blistering pace, played six, won six, each with a 4-tries BP. Doncaster had gone down at home last week to a very different Sarries side from the one that took part in the Trailfinders cup, but still sat comfortably in second place, with five solid wins. Sarries had a simple choice today, win big, BP included, and they’d be sitting on Doncaster’s heels with a game in hand, but lose today and getting to the play-offs would very possibly be out of Sarries’ hands, leaving them dependent on Doncaster losing to Ealing on the final weekend.

Mark McCall is taking no chances, and the side today is perhaps the very best available to him. All the big-name players are selected, and the bench is stacked with talent, right through to Duncan Taylor covering the back five positions. The Ealing Trailfinders, ETF, seem to have stayed with those of the two pre-season games, except in the two or three instances forced on them by injury.

The RFU seems to be paying Sarries the compliment of appointing top-level referees for our Championship fixtures, and Craig Maxwell-Keys has the whistle today, of which more later.

ETF want to show their mettle from to first moment, and for three minutes are in a teeth-rattling ascendancy, all energy and action. A penalty attempt is their reward, but it slides away, giving Sarries a first look at the visitor’s patch of the pitch. Pressure here gives Owen Farrell a chance to open the reckoning, with a following but swirly wind. No mistake, and Sarries are on the board, perhaps a bit against the run of play. This season, Sarries are not handling re-starts as crisply as they should, but nonetheless they work upfield and press against a very willing ETF defensive wall. I cannot claim foresight, but the speed of thought and movement in these two or three minutes lead me to think that this could be a long afternoon for the visitors. From a breakdown, crisp pass from Aled Davies, equally crisply on from Owen to Jamie George, for some reason seemingly to be inside centre for the moment. Jamie breaks for the well-defended line, but the ETF defence must close ranks to cover this danger, despite which a simply ridiculous right arm appears to flip backwards to a surging Elliott Obatoyinbo. He in turn holds for half a pace, fixing the last ETF defender by looking at him as he makes to run. However, an excellent no-look pass sees Alex Lewington with perhaps five paces to run in, past a despairing ETF attempt to get across to him. Owen handles the wind , from the touchline and the score is 10-0.

Both sides are pressing, forcing penalties out of their opposition, 10-3,13-3, 13-6. At about 20 minutes, Sarries are squeezing in the corner, where a scrappy maul splinters, leaving a gap for Sarries. Vincent Koch is at the front of the drive, to fall over the line. Owen converts, and the lead is now a more realistic 14 points. ETF are playing well, but Sarries have so many carrying options that the ETF forwards are at full stretch, and with no denigration of the back division, their backs as a unit are simply not good enough individually or as units to handle the running threats posed by Elliot Daly, Alex Lewington and Sean Maitland in particular, with Owen passing as crisply as we know he can, selecting well from the many options that are always available to him.

A bit of relief for EF as the half ran down, with a penalty try from a driven maul, well-constructed by a well-drilled unit, only stopped by a collapse engineered by Jackson Wray, earning him first dibs on the half-time oranges. Owen takes another penalty, continuing a good run. Half-time at 23-13, with ETF yet to enjoy the benefit of the wind on their backs.

The second half sees several of the Sarries main men turning up the heat. Aled is a constant threat, in hand, passing and with the boot. Maro Itoje is growing in stature with each phase, marauding, carrying, playing scrum-half for one move, and tackling. When I say tackling, it does not quite indicate the probability that several ETF players will now be fully aware of the difference between tackled by a competent Championship player and by a stand-out second-row player on the most recent Lions tour. Jamie George seems to be playing alongside his identical twin; one or other of them is everywhere and all at once. Mako and Billy are proving to be a pair of highly effective bulldozers, with sheer willpower and strength driving them through tackles over and over again. We expect Sarries forwards to be comfortable distributors as well, and they are not disappointing us today. ETF are not looking quite so fresh by about 55 minutes, the penalty count has given Owen two more three-pointers, and Sarries the first glimpse of the realistic expectation that the two more tries needed will not be long-delayed.

The third try would have been classic Sarries, penalty takes play to the line-out at five metres, drive and try. The difference is that this time the try is technically scored in open play; the ball popped out of the side of the maul, Vincent is on hand, scoops up and scores his second, for the effort of taking perhaps two paces to reach the line. As the commentators suggested, after the evening’s celebrations, socially distanced and remote, that has probably become an heroic sprint in from the 22, but points is points. Owen obliges again, and again this is from the pitch-side in a swirly wind. The gap is at its widest now, 34-13, but the best try of the day is yet to be scored. Farrell, deep in the Sarries half, to Daly, who makes a defence-bamboozling break deep into ETF territory. Aled is with him at every step, and Daly times the pass perfectly, leaving Aled time to remove one boot, presumably to aid running, and execute a rolling touchdown that would doubtless receive high marks for artistic interpretation. Jamie arrives moments later, and ceremoniously returns the discarded footwear.

ETF now benefit from an Elliott O bad misjudgement. He receives the ball comfortably inside his 22, unopposed, and makes to run out of defence. However, he seems to change his mind and launches what would have been the clearing kick of the entire English rugby season, placing the ball into touch on the full, on the ETF 5-metre line. Unfortunately, his change of mind had carried him out of his 22 before kicking, and ETF have the line-out on the Sarries 22. Good line-out, penalty, quick tap and go, ETF’s second try.

At about now, Owen makes a very telling intervention. ETF have given away another penalty, and as Owen passes Mr Maxwell-Keys he comments, in a tone that expresses only mild interest: “Ref that’s 21 penalties they’ve given.” The ref replies that he’ll referee as he sees fit, but oddly, the next ETF penalty yields a yellow card, as does the one after that. After the game, twenty-three penalties and two yellow cards suggests slightly more disciplinarian refereeing than would the earlier reality of 21 and no yellows. The commentators, of course are fascinated that Owen has the exact number of penalties at his fingertips, but everyone knows that Owen has the ability to turn attention to detail to his advantage. It seems to me that ETF were fortunate not to spend more of the game short-handed, a referee less committed to keeping the game going might have made life a great deal more difficult for them.

Playing 13 against 15, ETF are bound to give away a final try, a good run by Andy Christie, one of the almost entire bench of substitutes used by the last ten minutes, which at the last gives Nick Tomkins the little matter of a couple of not-convincing tacklers to avoid before a long-arm stretch gets the fifth try. Final score 48-20.

Vincent Koch is the Shawbrook Bank player of the match. Our new sponsors will not have been disappointed to have seen their name carried so well on Sarries’ backs. Although nobody would begrudge Vincent’s moment, he was ran close by Elliot Daly, in particular, who was the stand-out performer in a very solid backs division. Todays’ Daily Telegraph had Elliot’s performance as their main rugby story, an unusual circumstance for a player in the Championship after a weekend of a full Premiership programme.

Interestingly, elsewhere, our last regular home season opposition, Ampthill overturned Cornish Pirates at the Mennaye. The fairly local Ampthill club would be disappointed not to be able to bring support to our ground, but things might have changed by then.

And whilst writing up Sarries’ weekend, we can also celebrate that Saracens women achieved a solid win away over Loughborough Lightning. The win gives them the certainty of top-place finish in the League. Another Tyrrebly good day for the club.

It was pleasing to see that the West Stand really has gone to whatever nirvana awaits demolished concrete structures. It reminds me again how fortunate we are to have the owners who invest in Sarries. It helps that the players are doing their utmost to justify Lucy’s faith in the club. We can only look forward to showing our support in person as soon as we are permitted to do so.

And the good news continues. It appears that Mark McCall and his staff have committed their futures to Sarries long into the future. It appears that MMC and Rob Baxter, the two outstanding coaches in England rugby, are both more interested in their clubs than in the snake-pits of international coaching.

Saracens: Obatoyinbo; Lewington, Daly, Tompkins, Maitland; Farrell (capt), Davies; Mako Vunipola, George, Koch, Itoje, Swinson, Wray, Reffell, B Vunipola
Replacements: Woolstencroft, Barrington, Clarey, Kpoku, Christie, Whiteley, Manu Vunipola, Taylor
Ealing: Johnston; Kernohan, Bodilly, Howard, Cordy-Redden; Willis, Hampson; Whyte, Malton, Millar Mills, Linsell, Cannon, Murphy, Uzokwe, Smid (capt)
Replacements: van Vuuren, Davis, Thiede, Casson, Thompson, Buckley, Burns, Daniels
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys