The Heineken Cup always starts to get tasty during these December back-to-back matches – memories of the feud between Dylan Hartley and Gareth Williams at Franklins’ Gardens will surely be relived on Sunday, and the Ospreys certainly ruffled a few feathers on their visit to Thomond Park, with a certain Paul O’Connell, returning from a seven month lay-off, venting his frustration particularly unwisely and earning a red card for his troubles. Jonathan Thomas may be looking to welcome him to the Liberty Stadium on Saturday evening, as long as last year’s Lions captain escapes a ban.
What about Sarries then? There wasn’t much niggle in the game against Racing Metro last Saturday; in fact, it’s probably exactly what we were lacking as we were physically overwhelmed by a side containing a few impressive specimens – Sebastian Chabal showed exactly why he’s become such a cult hero not just in Paris but across the nation, as he was at his rampaging best, running kicks back, making crunching tackles and giving Alain Rolland an earful after every penalty. His back row colleagues, South African Jacques Cronje and New Zealander Johnny Leo’o, were not far behind, and our first-choice back row of Burger, Saull and Joubert were comprehensively outplayed. The Racing front five carried round the fringes all afternoon, making endless yards and wearing out our defence; the two second rows, Santiago Dellape and Jone Qovu Nailiko, were particularly impressive in this regard.
With the admirable exception of Mouritz Botha, who was powerful, combative and athletic before being taken off in what could only have been a pre-determined substitution, the Saracens pack were very much second-best. The line-out did not function smoothly, and the scrum was the usual mess. I would have thought that, whatever sort of team we put out on Friday, they’ll be a bit more ‘up for’ the physical encounter; if not, it may well be a long night, as Racing will be going all out for a 5-point win, sniffing the possibility of qualification or at least entry into the Amlin Challenge Cup. If we can get some level of parity in the forwards’ exchanges, there was enough promise shown last week to suggest that we could really take the game to Racing in the backs. Jonathan Wisniewski, whilst giving a masterclass in game management and composure from fly-half last week, is not someone to set a back-line alight, and Francois Steyn, despite all his talent, instinctively looks to his siege-gun boot rather than the players outside him. With Wisniewski, Steyn and the effervescent Juan Martin Hernandez all on the pitch, there normally has to be an orderly queue formed to take drop-goal attempts.
Racing’s tactics are uncomplicated but mightily effective, as we found out last week and as shown by their results in the Top 14 (3rd so far this season). And then, added to the forward power, the management from the half-backs and the supreme kicking game, comes Sireli Bobo. He may be 34, but his match-winning try last week was one of the best individual efforts I have seen at Vicarage Road, and we will have to manage the constant and very serious threat he poses.
For me, while it is important for the Sarries forwards to restore some pride after last week’s battering by squaring up to the Racing pack, we should really look at trying to recreate the fluency and magic that characterised our attacking game during the golden period at the end of last season. The pressure is now off, to some extent, seeing that qualification for the quarter-finals is nothing more than a mathematical possibility. The debate is whether we rest important players in preparation for the must-win game against Wasps at the Boxing Day Wembley extravaganza, or whether we keep a strong side out to maintain some continuity and to regain some pride in the Heineken Cup stakes. For me, the latter is the best option. I don’t think we can afford to go into the Wasps game on the back of a home defeat and then a thrashing; we need to retain what little momentum we have, in terms of performance, and try and build on that on Friday night. I would keep Farrell at 10 and Barritt at 12, and I’d imagine that Strettle will stay at 13 by default. That means we will have a pacey and exciting back-line whoever we pick in the back-three (I’d stick with Short, Cato – if he’s not crocked – and Wyles). Also, even if our forwards do step up and match the Racing monster pack, we will not beat them at their own game; I think we need to run their big, heavy pack around the pitch and cut loose in our backs. Owen Farrell has got time on the ball and he’s got good vision (remember the Ratuvou try against Bath??), and I think we should leave a bit more up to his instincts. When we were on top form last season, we didn’t look like we were playing too much of a structure with ball in hand, and I think we should try and replicate that on Friday.
Friday’s game appears to be one of little value, given our premature exit from the Heineken Cup, but I’ve got an inkling that we might just use it as our ‘Brighton moment’ – a chance for the players to just go out and play to their instincts; hopefully it will have the same effect. It is not a game with any concrete repercussions, but it could have a big psychological impact on the team as we prepare for the Wasps game.
My team would be something like this:
15. Wyles 14. Cato 13. Strettle 12. Barritt 11. Short 10. Farrell 9. Wigglesworth
1. Gill 2. George 3. Du Plessis 4. Ryder 5. Smith 6. Brown 7. Burger 8. Wray
16. Reynecke 17. Carstens 18. Skuse 19. Kruis 20. Saull 21. Barrett 22. Sharp 23. Stanley
It sounds like there are a good few of us going over and, win or lose on Friday, a weekend in Paris promises to be most pleasant. Let’s make some noise for the boys and we can still hope for a win!
