One of the biggest dates in the Premiership Rugby calendar, the annual London Double is always going to be a thrilling occasion with passionate, perfected performances of top class rugby. Hosted at the home of England Rugby, reigning Champions Saracens were the first up to take on Worcester Warriors, who have never before played at Twickenham. Dean Ryan’s men faced a side that were oozing confidence thanks to a nine game winning streak, and who were well seasoned when it came to playing in this environment. However the visitors had made a superb comeback to the Premiership thus far, most notably a victory in their first fixture against Northampton Saints. With the ‘home’ side clear favourites, it was time for kick off and to see how many points Mark McCall’s team could scald Worcester with.
Saracens London Double Victory Over Worcester
First action of the game brought captain Alistair Hargeaves down onto the hallowed turf and consequently removed from the field for a head injury assessment. Young Maro Itoje replaced him and the game was allowed to gather some pace. Minutes later a clever dummy by Ben Spencer at the base of the scrum saw him gallop towards the try line, and with Worcester players hindering his chances ahead, kicked across field for Chris Ashton to collect. A dive over the whitewash gave Saracens their first points and then embellished upon by Hodgson who made it 7-0. Worcester soon fought back with returned efforts into their opponents 22, however a missed penalty kick left them trailing.
As it was announced Hargreaves would not be returning to the field, Worcester continued to pile pressure on the Premiership Champions but indiscipline set them apart. They were fortunate that Hodgson missed a kick a posts, but were later punished by a lack of organisation when Chris Wyles sprinted down the wing and tossed the ball inside for Spencer to go over for his own try. A sensational run by the USA captain to set the scrum half up, Hodgson soon added a further two points to make it 14-0. Dean Ryan’s side began to look dismembered and outplayed by the men in black and red, and a rolling maul saw Saracens eat up ground with little contention from Worcester. A scramble for the line by McCall’s forwards led referee Ian Tempest to a TMO decision, which resulted in a ‘no try’ while Worcester caught their breath. Yet again it was indiscipline that let the travellers down, and Hodgson was sure to make it count this time, taking it to 17-0. Worcester gathered for a word whilst Dean Ryan looked a picture of disappointment.
The Warriors were eager to put some points on the board and fought to turn the ball over in Saracens’ territory, allowing Tom Heathcote to send the ball gliding through the posts. 17-3 quickly evolved into 17-6 as Heathcote booted a further penalty minutes later, although Hodgson made it 20-6 at the stroke of half time. Entering the changing room, the trailers were in desperate need of restyling their defence to challenge Saracens and pick holes to build confidence in attack.
The restart highlighted how structured Saracens were with the ball in hand – a skilled lineout pass from Springbok Schalk Brits to Lamositele was quickly returned for the hooker to side-step Jonny Arr and make up metres. Their strength in depth was also utilised for Jackson Wray to ground the ball over the line and extend the lead to 27-6, with Hodgson slicing the ball wide in a conversion attempt. Worcester tight-head Nick Schonert was led off the field for a head injury assessment after an intense ruck and replaced by Joe Rees. This fresh pair of legs kept the team’s scrum tight, although an awkwardly driven scrum left Saracens the benefactors and more importantly, with possession. Brits, again, showed his light-footedness and agility to sweep around three Worcester defenders, and subsequently set Ashton up for another try – his typical swan dive sending the crowd into a roar of applause. Hodgson secured the conversion to achieve his 2,500th Premiership point, a milestone well deserved and highly accredited.
Moments later Schalk Brits finally got over the line himself after being playmaker to so many times during the previous 55 minutes, taking the scoreboard to 39-6. Hodgson earned himself another conversion with an effortless kick, Saracens tormenting the visitors with simplistic but effective rugby. Worcester were punished with a yellow card for Phil Dowson, and it didn’t take McCall’s men long to capitalise on the one man advantage. Saracens took it to a huge 48-6 lead thanks to Ben Ransom, and whilst Worcester attempted a charge up field, the leaders had a tight defensive line and made disciplined tackles.
Joe Rees was forced over the line by his fellow Worcester forwards to squeeze another five points out with eight minutes to go, but at 48-11 there was no coming back from this almighty defeat. Heathcote’s conversion attempt unfortunately went adrift but the Warriors were till hungry for points. A last minute surge sent captain van Velze over to make it 48-16. The final whistle went as Heathcote got the conversion and the late try was almost metaphorical of the team’s performance today. There were moments that looked promising for the visitors, and phases of play not anywhere near below the standard the Twickenham is used to. But it just wasn’t enough, and whilst the Warriors were resilient to the end, Saracens outplayed and outran their counterparts. They continue their winning streak and place at the top of the table, with Maro Itoje earning Man of the Match. Final score 48-18.
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