One down, Two to go!

Saturday 17th May is my birthday. Mr DG gave me a gorgeous emerald ring and a lovely bouquet, the sun shone upon the righteous, could Sarries give me a birthday present to remember?

Allianz Park basked in the spring sunshine, the warmest day of the year so far. It was a day for t-shirts and sun cream. The crowd were colourful, the greens, pinks and blues of Quins supporters mixing with the red, white and black of Sarries. The bars were full and despite the tension of the occasion, everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Little DG’s boyfriend’s parents (if you get my drift) came to their first professional game of rugby. They had a great time! If they didn’t live down in Lymington, I think we could have another couple of Season Ticket holders!

Steve Borthwick led the team on to the park for the final time at Allianz to a huge cheer. There was a late change as Mobo withdrew and Alistair Hargreaves took his place alongside Borths in the second row. Mr Barnes blew his whistle and we were off.

Ashton showed some excellent defensive work but it was Quins who opened the scoring after 5 minutes when Evans slotted a penalty for off-side. Almost immediately Faz levelled the scores when a Quins tackler failed to release. First scrum and a dodgy offload from Billy could have put Danny Care in space but the scrum half chose to kick ahead and the danger was cleared.

Quins got upset by a potential Brits tip tackle on Sinckler which was referred to the TMO but no offence was deemed to have been committed. Farrell had a chance from in front on the half way line to put Sarries ahead when Quins went offside at the lineout but his kick hit the post. A couple of minutes later he got a second chance a bit closer when Sinckler appeared to tackle Burger without using his arms. Burger’s pretty face seemed to require a bit more attention but this time Farrell kicked the points and Sarries took the lead.

Quins seemed to be making a few handling errors. Goode showed a lovely step and turn of foot with a terrific break from his own half down the right wing but no one supported him and in the end Quins won a penalty for not releasing.

The first of 2 yellow cards against Sarries in quick succession was awarded to Bosch for what was deemed a dangerous tackle on Evans. A session of fisticuffs ensued but calmed down and Evans missed the kick. A couple of minutes later Stevens made an ill-judged attempt to intercept a ball with one hand and no hope. It was clearly a penalty but the yellow card seemed harsh as Quins were in their own 22.

Sarries were now facing 6 minutes with 13 v 15. On occasions adversity can bring out the best in a team (who can forget England v the All Blacks back in 2003). Quins won a line-out, numbers told and Evans' off load allowed Monye to cross for the inevitable try which Evans then converted to give them the lead. From the restart, Sarries dug deep pinning Quins in their own 22 and with Brad’s help winning the scrum. Billy and Ash both attacked the tryline before the ball came out to Kelly Brown. There was absolutely nothing that was going to stop the Scotland captain from scoring. He had eyes for the tryline only and had all 15 Quins been between him and the whitewash, I think he would still have got over. Farrell missed the conversion but as Bosch returned to the field, remarkably Sarries were ahead. Almost immediately Bosch had the chance to extend the lead with a long penalty but this time the booming boot was off target.

Sarries should have closed it down. The clock was almost dead and the obvious action was to put the ball in touch and go in for half time ahead knowing that after the break they would be back to 15 and would have a huge psychological advantage over Quins. Poor decision making, I think from Brits, led to another attack. Farrell passed the ball to Barritt who lost it in a tackle by Molenaar. Robshaw kicked the ball ahead. De Kock did his best to beat Brown and Molenaar but it was never going to happen and Mike Brown got the touch to put Quins ahead. Evans converted and 11-10 became 11-17.

We were definitely worried as we enjoyed our half-time refreshments. It wasn’t quite like last year when the team didn’t turn up, it was just that Quins were matching them for power, effort, skill and holding their discipline better. Sarries were definitely rattled.

The second half began with a poor kick from Mike Brown which ended up in another penalty for Sarries. Again Farrell was wide with the kick. Another chance from the scrum. This time Bosch was wide. Could we afford to be so profligate? We were beginning to wonder if all these missed opportunities would come back to haunt us.

Something like panic seemed to be setting in. The scrum, which up to now had looked solid, conceded a free kick. Passes weren’t going to hand. Ashton attempted a quick lineout but hadn’t told Bosch who knocked on. This was the old Saracens returning. Care attempted a drop goal which hit the posts but Quins were looking dangerous. Wiggy replaced De Kock. Ash redeemed himself with a lovely kick into the Quins 22. Care cleared but from the resulting lineout Sarries won a potentially kickable penalty. After some discussion the decision was to put it in the corner. Barritt collected the ball, was tackled but not held and crossed the line. The TMO agreed and the try stood. Finally Farrell nailed one and Sarries were back in the lead.

The change in the scoreline seemed to steady the nerves and we started to see the Sarries we have come to know and love. Almost immediately Farrell kicked another penalty when he was subjected to a late tackle by Wallace. Then Bosch, who was putting in an excellent performance, looked to have scored however the TMO was again invoked and this time he was deemed to have been off side from the charge down. Still, Sarries seemed to have the momentum now and the jitters had passed. Furthermore Quins were definitely melting in the unaccustomed sunshine. Their chickens were coming home to roost. It looked like the next score would be crucial.

Burger was replaced by Wray, hopefully so he can reappear next Saturday (big ask!) and Strettle went off with concussion to be replaced by Wyles. But now it was all Sarries. Finally just after the hour, and following more excellent work from Kelly Brown, Ashton picked up the ball and nothing was going to stop him. He even had time to splash-down. Encouragingly Farrell again kicked the points and Sarries were now 11 points clear.

To substitute or not is always a big call. With potentially 2 huge games coming up, McCall obviously decided it was worth the risk to take some of his aging legs off. First Stevens left Allianz Park for the last time, to a well-deserved ovation then Barrington replaced Mako. Sarries were camped in the Quins 22. Quins were forced to carry the ball over resulting in a 5m attacking scrum. Twice Quins collapsed the scrum and twice Sarries opted for another. Barnes spoke to the Quins front row but no card was proffered.

Captain Steve Borthwick left the pitch for the final time. Steve Borthwick, Gentleman, Captain, Colossus, Hero, thank you. We shall miss you enormously. Let us hope that the speculation surrounding a possible shoulder injury doesn’t prevent him from his rightful place on the pitch next weekend.

It would indeed be harsh to blame Sherriff who replace Borthwick but from the next scrum, Sarries seemed to lose their footing and the penalty went to Quins who cleared their lines. Quins tried to attack but although they retained the ball they were going backwards. Sarries won another penalty, this time at the scrum and again Farrell converted for a 31-17 lead (having demonstrated a nice bit of gamesmanship by waiting until Mr Barnes had dealt with a Quins’ injury before asking him where the kick should be taken from - which lost a good 30 seconds and gained a few yards!). Quins were running on empty as RFU player of the year Mike Brown limped off to be replaced by Rob Buchanan, the hooker. Sarries had the luxury of emptying the bench and controlled the game as the clocked ticked down. The game ended with a couple of well controlled scrums before Brad kicked the ball into touch. An excellent second half where Sarries had prevented Quins from scoring a single point while scoring 20 themselves.

Allianz Park erupted. Flags were waving everywhere. We were having fun in the sun. The season goes on, the double remains a possibility. Billy was the official man of the match. Personally I thought Bosch had a good game but the outstanding player was Kelly Brown.

So it was indeed Happy Birthday to Me!

Finally it was great to meet up with Chris (King Zak). Good luck with your cycle ride from Holyhead to Cardiff, hope you make it (not least because you’re doing the report next week!!!!).

Saracens

Goode, Ashton, Bosch, Barritt, Strettle (Wyles), Farrell (Hodgson), De Kock (Wigglesworth), M. Vunipola (Barrington), Brits (George), Stevens (Johnston), Borthwick (Sherriff), Hargreaves, Brown, Burger (Wray), B Vunipola.

Harlequins

Brown (Buchanan), Williams (Smith), Molenaar (Botica), Turner-Hall, Monye (Dickson), Evans, Care, Marler (Lambert), Ward, Sinckler (Collier), Matthews (Kennedy), Robson, Wallace (Guest), Robshaw, Easter

Scorers:-

SARACENS:

Tries: Brown, Barritt, Ashton. Conv (2) Farrell. Pens (4) Farrell

HARLEQUINS:

Tries: Monye, Brown. Conv: (2) Evans. Pen: Evans

Attendance: 9,963

Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)

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