So good to be back home....

After an 11-day sojourn across what our Gallic cousins like to call La Manche, taking in World Cup games at Stade de France, Velodrome and Allianz Riviera (and not a little food and drink in the process, it must be said) it felt good to be home again at our own cosy StoneX, particularly as we could obtain food and drink without almost interminable queues and at something like reasonable prices; it felt even better to be in our own seats again, relatively close to the action and not having to consider leaving a bit early to avoid the crush on the Metro or (in the case of both games in Nice) having to walk more than a mile to - hopefully - find a coach back to our domicile. Sarries hadn’t made the best of start to the Premiership Cup campaign, losing away to Coventry and then at home to Gloucester, while Nottingham were having a similarly fruitless time of it so far. Sarries had picked a classic “youth and experience” mixture of a squad, with the likes of Alexes Lozowski, skippering for the day, and Lewington, Hugh Tizard, Nick Isiekwe, Roti Segun and Tom Woolstencroft joining new boys Ollie Hoskins, Tom West, Tom Willis and Tom Parton plus an array of youngsters.   

Sarries started the match in a brisk and businesslike manner - clearly determined to put the previous two games behind them - and within 7 minutes the first points of the day were notched up when a deft “grubber” from Manu set up Lewington to go over in the corner against his old and indeed home-town club. Manu was unable to add the extras leaving matters at 5-0..

5 minutes later, Segun showed his ability to get crowds out of their seats as he found space near the Nottingham 40 metre line and hurtled past a startled Nottingham defence to double Sarries’ lead. Manu’s conversion was successful this time to take the score to 12-0.

Another 5 minutes had elapsed when Nottingham, having settled a little when Mee went over in the left side corner after some nice play had given him plenty of space to cut Sarries’ lead, with a missed kick leaving the Cahmpionship side seven points adrift at 12-5.

As we entered the second quarter, Sarries stepped things up and eventually on 30 minutes Knight was set up by Van Zyl to cross the whitewash under the posts, leaving Manu with a straightforward conversion for 19-5.

Just 3 minutes later, the try bonus point was secured when the very classy Parton, who already looked to me like a very good signing, set Lewington up to go close before being stopped, giving Van Zyl chance to demonstrate that Theo McFarland wasn’t Sarries’ only acrobat in diving over for our fourth, with Manu, form out wide, converting for 26-5.  

In the dying seconds of the first half the game was effectively put beyond Nottingham when a collapsed maul gave Sarries a penalty try and a 33-5 lead to enjoy over a cuppa and a slice of orange…

So far, so straightforward – the new boys seemed to be settling in well, and I was especially impressed with Tom Parton.

Sarries came out after interval and looked in a ruthless mood.

With 2 minutes on the clock, with a line-our on 5 metres giving Woolstencroft the chance to go over for Sarries’s sixth try of the day under a piledriver of a maul, Manu failing with the conversion so the score remained at 38-5.

Nottingham weren’t going to roll over, though, and 2 minutes later their very lively outside-centre, Ramage, who Premiership clubs must surely be keeping tabs on, found space and sped over the line, with Hollingsworth’s conversion closing the gap a little to 38-12.

Shortly afterwards, Lozowski broke at speed, classily drawing the Nottingham defence to him before setting up Van Zyl to amble over the line. Manu did his job, and it was 45-12 at 48 minutes.

5 minutes later, Knight barged over the line for his second score of the day, with the now steady boot of the baby of Sarries’ Vunipola clan giving Sarries a 40-point lead at 52-12.

Another 5 minutes, another try as some lovely work by Parton and Willis set up Stonham to step past a defender and dot down, Manu landing his 6^th conversion of the day for 59-12.  

Sarries were going for the jugular and on the hour my favourite score of the day from our 10 so far, by Hartley, was the culmination of a truly lovely passage of end-to-end play, Manu doing the honours to give Sarries a lead of 66-12 – somebody behind me in the East Stand shouted, perhaps a little arrogantly, that he wanted 100 points.  

Sarries, perhaps unsurprisingly, eased off a little and Nottingham, equally unsurprisingly determined to get something out of the game, scored twice in rapid succession to secure a try bonus point, both through Williams in near identical moves to take the score to 66-22 after both conversions were missed.

The game was into its last 10 minutes when Adejimi, who had earlier replaced Woolstencroft, showed that he was another in the long line of fleet-footed Sarries hookers when he powered at speed through a tiring Nottingham defence to notch up his side’s 11^th try of the day, with Manu's conversion proving to be Sarries' final points of the day as we reached 73-22.

The last word, however, was Nottingham’s when Ramage scampered onto a crossfield kick to score, Bunting’s successful conversion closing the game out at 73-29.

A dominant and attacking performance from Sarries; it was good to see the new players settling well into our pattern of play, especially Tom Parton, and excitingly we still have the pleasure to come of seeing Juan Martin Gonzalez and Lucio Cinti in the black and red when they return from the World Cup. The future feels good..

Photo courtesy of David Loxham

Sarries Line-up

15 Parton; 14 Segun; 13 Lozowski; 12 Hartley; 11 Lewington; 10 M Vunipola; 9 van Zyl; 1 West

2 Woolstencroft; 3 Hoskins; 4 Hunter-Hill; 5 Tizard; 6 Isiekwe; 7 Knight;  8 Willis

Substitutes:

16 Adejimi; 17 Crean; 18; Beaton; 19 Michelow; 20 Eke; 21 Stonham; 22 Simpson; 23 Elliott