LEICESTER TIGERS V SARACENS: post match-related comment here

It’s nearly here – no matter what happened in the pre-season friendlies or the Premiership Cup games, the season starts this weekend. On Sunday we will find out whether all that promise and all that talk of scoring “a ton” was just that – talk. We come up against Leicester Tigers at Welford Road for our first Premiership encounter of the season and they don’t come much tougher! Welford Road is never an easy place to go and play.

Pre-season Sarries managed 4/4: 2 pretty easy wins against a young Saints Team in the Cup and Ampthill, and 2 more challenging ones against Cornish Pirates and Llanelli Scarlets. What has that taught us about Brendan Venter’s Saracens? Well it’s hard to read too much into those performances. There has been a lot of promise from the backs, especially the wingers, encouraging debuts from several of the new signings including Tomas Williams, George Martin & Sione Va’enuku and a welcome return to the squad for some of our favourites like Juan-Martin Gonzalez. One must hope Brendan knows what his best team is because sure as hell I don’t!

Tigers have also had a pretty good pre-season. Like Sarries they have played 4 games (2 friendlies, 2 Cup games) and used them to give their established stars some warm-up time whilst blooding a number of their promising Academy Graduates. Their last “warm-up” was a tough win over Munster with mainly the first team setting it up in the first half and the youngsters holding up their end in the second.

Tigers have lost several players over the summer, not least George Martin (who will presumably start against his old club). Also Nicky Smith, Hamish Watson and Hanro Liebenberg. However they have brought in Aaron Wainwright, Joel Sclavi, Elliott Stooke and our very own Mako Vunipola (who has apparently been tearing up trees). They join established stars like Freddie Steward, Jack Van Poortvliet, Tommy Reffell, Adam Radwan and Jamie Blamire to name a few. There are also the likes of Ollie Hassell-Collins, Gabriel Harmer-Webb, Billy Searle, Joe Heyes, Ollie Chessum and Orlando Bailey ready to take their chances plus up and coming youngsters like Finn Canduff who is tipped as a future star.

So the fixture computer hasn’t been kind to us – but after the pre-season romps, this will be a really good test as to where we are.

As I said, I have no insight into the thoughts of the Good Doctor so this is the team I would like to see (assuming everyone is fit):

Malins, Elliott, Va’enuku, Hartley, Segun, Burke, Williams; Carre, Dan, Street, Itoje, Martin, Gonzalez, Earl, Barbeary

Good luck everyone, not hopeful for a win but I DO hope we see something new and promising for the season to come