On Saturday, Saracens overturned all the odds and now the Premiership Final awaits the fighters from North London.
Before Saturday, only four times has an away team won in the playoffs. In 2010 when Saracens inflicted the same result at Franklin’s Gardens, the match was just as brutal and Schaulk Brits pulled the whole team through the match. On Saturday it was another African, a Namibian in fact, who bashed his way through the Northampton defence and attack and kept Saracens ticking over: Jacques Burger destroyed Northampton.
The match was always going to hinge on a couple of things: discipline, tactics and a couple of special performances. Saracens managed to delvier on two out of three, which tipped the balance into their favour.
Saracens always enjoy being the under-dogs, and in fairness finishing fourth was self inflicted for them – they probably deserved a higher place finish but as the saying goes, the table never lies. As an avid supporter of the men in black, I always had a feeling they would be able to turn the tide at Northampton, although it wouldn’t have been easy despite having been sintilating this season.
Saracens took a big risk in playing Burger. They had to. He will always give away points in lack of discipline, which was evident when he gave away three points on the stroke of half time. However the hit that he inflicted meant more than the three points conceeded.
The rest of the team, carrying Burger, would have to be as good as gold, which they weren’t – Mako Vunipola gave away a Penalty Try early on, which swung momentum back to Northampton after a very good start from Saracens. But the whole while Burger and Maro Itoje bashed their way through the Northampton fifteen.
There was one moment that spelt out that Saracens were good for it and it came when Maro Itoje wrapped up and destoryed Courtney Lawes. Itoje showed the England player no respect and laid out his territory early. Burger then started to rile up the very volitile Dylan Hartley and you couldn’t help but feel that if they managed to get under his skin they were going to win the war.
Then Hartley headbutted a smiling Burger. As brilliant a player as Hartley is, when you start getting reactions like this from him, you know he is off his game. The referee decided not to punish Hartley, a surprising decision but perhaps one that wouldn’t matter.
The execution of the game plan was fantastic. Saracens kept Northampton at arms length. They made them play in their half and relied on the wonderful boot of Owen Farrell to keep them in front and to keep the pressure on Northampton.
It was a Semi-Final befitting of two brilliant teams to round off a wonderful season. It was always going to be nasty, and it was always going to brutal. Saracens go on to meet Bath at Twickenham on Friday, and hopefully Sarries bruises will have gone down and the team can recover in time for another great match on Saturday.
They will need to be at their best again as they take on Bath – who probably have one of the best midfields in the league. However there is a knack to winning cup rugby, and Saracens have the form and the history compared to a very young Bath side. Whatever the result, it is going to be a brilliant game of rugby.
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