Pack Power Returns as Exiles Well Beaten

By Jason Harris
October 11 2005

Saracens’ power at the scrum was the major contribution to this, their first win in five outings against London Irish, as Cobus Visagie and co. made life difficult for the opposition pack. The Men in Black ran in four tries to take this Powergen Cup Round 2 tie 32-13.

Three of Sarries’ tries came directly from ascendancy the set piece as Irish played more and better rugby, but ultimately could not use their lion’s share of possession.

The Men in Black were certainly in a hurry to right the wrongs of the previous weekend’s Cardiff capitulation and with just half an hour on the clock were three tries to the good.

The first was started by a massive shove in the scurm on the Irish feed. Back went the visitors and out squirted the ball. Bracken, ever alert at the base, snaffled the loose ball before opposite number Ben Willis and quick recycling saw it into the hands of outside half Glen Jackson.

Jackson’s kick ahead for was touched in flight and the bounce foxed Irish centre Rod Penney. The onrushing Kevin Sorrell was the beneficiary and went in to score his third try in as many games.

Jackson added the simple conversion and was at the heart of things for try number two; the Kiwi executed a perfectly-placed chip ahead for left wing Paul Bailey who benefited from a kind bounce to sneak in at the left hand corner. Jackson was again accurate with the goal and with just 13 minutes on the watch, Irish found themselves 14-0 down.

There then came an exchange of penalties between the two New Zealand outside halves; first Riki Flutey straight from the re-start following the Bailey try, then Jackson four minutes later.

While Irish toiled in the tight, their play behind the scrum was free-flowing with Flutey pulling the strings. However, his outside backs often let him down by failing to read his intentions or coughing up possession at vital moments.

Sarries extended their lead to 22-3 on the half hour as Bracken got his just reward for all his hustle and bustle around the fringe. A third consecutive five metre scrum trundled towards the Irish line and the scrum half emerged from the bottom of the pile on the goal line with the ball and the five points. Jackson missed the conversion out wide but questions have to be asked of referee Dave Pearson who did not award a penalty try in circumstances nearly identical to those in which he gave one to Worcester some four weeks earlier.

Irish hit a purple patch either side of the half time break, most of which was taken up with medical staff attending to Exiles prop Rob Hardwick who had been knocked unconscious in a challenge at a ruck. Whether the blow was dealt illegally remains to be seen and Sarries will hope that there was no foul play involved.

After a second Flutey penalty goal, the visitors’ dominance, with Argentinian no8 Juan Leguizamon in imperious form, was finally rewarded a quarter hour into the second period Penney rounded off a rare straight and direct move to go in under the posts and Flutey duly added the extras.

Jackson edged Sarries further ahead with his second penalty at the start of the final quarter and with their first meaningful seconld half excursion into the opposition 22, the home side wrapped up the game and the bonus point with no8 Ben Skirving picking up from the base of a five metre scrum to crash over with Jackson converting.

32-13 Sarries but Irish had not given up. Flutey, Penney and Delon Armitage conjured a move that sent the Irish no15 through but in his moment of triumph, Armitage decided to showboat rather than secure five points and as he flew through the air with the greatest of ease, the ball came loose and the try, initially given by Pearson, was disallowed.

AFter losing the ball, the Irish full back then lost the plot by punching Jackson and there was a delay of a couple of minutes while Pearson consulted his touch judges about the try and the aftermath. The net result was a penalty to Sarries, Armitage getting off with just a talking to and the majority of the 6,103 crowd somewhat bemused that no card was shown.

Armitage’s circus act was not quite complete and the home support were most pleased to see him slip and fall on his backside as he tried to field a clearance kick during injury time. This will be a game he will want to forget in a hurry.

Sarries’ management team Mike Ford and Steve Diamond were pleased with this improved performance, particularly in the scrums and line-outs, and they were also happy with the concession of just the one try; a marked improvement on recent outings.

So the Irish monkey is finally of the Sarries backs and there is still an outside chance of the Men in Black progressing to the semi-finals if they can do something they have not done in nearly a decade – win away against London Wasps.

But that game in December will not be thought about until the Christmas Trees have been put up and the focus is now upon two games that will determine the shape of Sarries’ season.

A win going into next weekend’s game against Bristol was essential, and a win at the Memorial Stadium will be likewise as Saracens will need some momentum going into their biggest game of the season so far; the visit of French Champions Biarritz in the Heineken Cup.

SCORERS: Saracens: Tries: Sorrell (8min), Bailey (12), Bracken (29), Skirving (71). Conversions: Jackson 3. Penalty goals: Jackson 2 (17, 61).
London Irish: Try: Penney (56). Conversion: Flutey. Penalty goals: Flutey 2 (13, 45).

SCORING SEQUENCE (Saracens first): 7-0, 14-0, 14-3, 17-3, 22-3 (half-time), 22-6, 22-13, 25-13, 32-13.

SARACENS: D Scarbrough; BJ Russell, T Castaignède (rep: A Powell, 78), K Sorrell, P Bailey; G Jackson, K Bracken (rep: A Dickens, 57); K Yates (rep: N Lloyd 57), M Cairns (rep: S Byrne, 70), C Visagie (rep A Liffchack 71), S Raiwalui (rep: K Chesney, 64), I Fullarton, H Vyvyan, A Sanderson (rep: T Randell, 40), B Skirving.

LONDON IRISH: D Armitage; S Staniforth, R Penney, S Geraghty (rep: M Catt, 75), J Bishop; R Flutey, B Willis; N Hatley, D Paice (rep: A Flavin, 40), R Hardwick (rep: M Collins, 40), R Casey (rep: R Strudwick, 57), K Roche, P Gustard, D Danaher, J Leguizamon.

Referee: Dave Pearson.

Attendance: 6,103.

Man of the Match: Cobus Visagie