u/EdTeeZ

(*writers note: I’ll be parking the reviews for a while unless the call up is needed, but notwithstanding I’ve enjoyed doing the last two)

As ever, it’s important to stress that this was a warm-up, and a warm-up is a warm-up. There is only so much we can learn from these games, so I’m primarily focusing on the player and positional observations: what catches the eye, and, in a few cases, what you wish hadn’t. One of the more interesting aspects of the game was just how similarly Ampthill played to us, which is hardly surprising, but made the first 50 minutes feel much more like an arm wrestle than a chess match. That changed considerably in the second half.

Warm-up observations

Even before kick-off, Tomos Williams stood out. His handling in the warm-up was exceptional and, from what I saw, he was distributing better than any other back on the pitch. Hardly surprising given that he is a Lion, but the pace and accuracy of his passing were immediately noticeable.

Angus Hall was another who caught the eye up close: he looks enormous and must have added around 5kg over the summer, without any obvious loss of pace.

Rhys Carre, meanwhile, was completely absent despite being named on the team sheet.

First half: an arm wrestle

The opening ten minutes were scrappy from Saracens, with Ampthill starting strongly. Got to shout out one of their players during that phase of the game who looked as competitive as any of ours; not sure of his name, but was wearing the number 6 jersey and seemingly having adopted the Henry Pollock look.

We looked particularly chaotic around the breakdown. There were then flickers of the quick hands and supporting overlaps that we know this squad can produce, although I thought there was a disconnect between Hartley and Tompkins. My suspicion is that both players are more naturally suited to the 12 shirt than forming a 12–13 axis together. Credit should also go to Ampthill’s scrum-half, who produced some excellent ball under pressure and helped keep them competitive.

The middle of the half was characterised by a mixture of promising attacking play and fairly substantial match rust. Toby Knight found a superb line and strolled through for an easy run-in without making contact with a defender, underlining both his pace and his size. Bracken then threw away a straightforward pass that should have created another score, while Theo’s lineout throw went forward. Whether that was rust or the effects of a short England camp, there was certainly a little heaviness to our execution. Theo soon redeemed himself by running in a set-piece move, while Tizard and Ampthill’s second row were increasingly involved in a rather more physical battle. Faz was also beginning to find his range, with some pinpoint passing towards Jack Bracken.

Ampthill scored a good try late in the half, helped by some weak Saracens defence, before we immediately responded through Bracken. At half-time the game still felt competitive, and the eventual 94–21 scoreline seemed a long way away.

Second Hal: Enter Tomos Williams

The second half was a completely different proposition, largely because of the arrival of Tomos Williams. Distribution immediately improved (to perhaps levels we’ve never seen) and his pace and accuracy were on another level to what we had seen previously.

He fed Fergus Burke exactly as you would want, then ran in an easy try himself. Further quick distribution from Williams created another score for Tobias Elliott, before he set Elliott up again with a cross-field kick. In the space of a half, Williams completely elevated the attack. He has clearly been selected for the Lions for a reason, but seeing that quality introduced into this Saracens side was still striking.

Burke was another major positive. He looked imperiously accurate off the tee, which is not something I ever expected to find myself writing, and his combination with Sione Vau’enukunu and Hall looked considerably more complete than the Faz–Hartley–Tompkins combination in the first half.

Gonzalez also went over after linking up with Tobias and, while he was visibly puffing afterwards, that is hardly surprising given the prolonged period he has spent out injured and recovering. It was simply good to see him back playing, ready for the season.

Cava was relatively quiet for much of the half but showed tremendous strength when he picked the ball up around halfway and carried through contact towards the 20-metre line.

Sione was similarly understated for long periods, although he showed good handling and quick offloading when opportunities arose. As Ampthill began to tire, however, his physical advantage became increasingly obvious. He carried straight through their defensive line for a try in the 67th minute, then six minutes later ran in another from halfway. He is electric, and I’m increasingly hopeful that this form carries over into the Prem, though it’s a busy position with the more experienced options. By that stage Ampthill were looking exhausted and deflated, and the possibility of conceding 100 points was becoming very real, which is a striking contrast to how well they had matched us in the first half.

What do we actually take from it?

The scoreline itself is difficult to draw too much from. These games are about fitness, combinations and giving players an opportunity to make an impression, and several players certainly did that. For me, the best performances came from Tomos Williams, Toby Knight, Totoa Auvuu, Fergus Burke and Sione, alongside the usual suspects in the back three.

Williams was the standout, though. His arrival completely changed the speed and quality of our distribution, giving Burke a platform to play, creating opportunities for Elliott and making the whole attack look quicker and cleaner. That is perhaps the most encouraging aspect of his performance: he didn’t simply play well himself, he appeared to raise the level of the players around him.

There are still areas that need work, particularly the front row, where I’d like to see us flex our muscles considerably more. But the broader squad picture continues to look encouraging. Hall looks bigger without looking slower, Knight raises questions about our back row options, Burke is giving me reason to trust his kicking (though he’s got a long way to redeem that) and Bracken remains one of the most exciting players in the squad.

It’s only a warm-up, but there are some very interesting pieces starting to fall into place. I’ve no doubt missed a few scores in the review and at times it was difficult viewing, but what I’ve taken from our three games is overwhelmingly positive; stacks of new commers brining values, stacks of experience squad and stacks of competition for places. Bring on the Prem!

There are some matches where the scoreline tells you everything. This probably isn’t one of them.
Saracens 96–42 Northampton was an absolute hammering, but with both sides fielding relatively experimental teams and only a handful of experienced players, I’m not sure we should be reading too much into the result itself.

What I am interested in is what some of the younger and less established players showed us — because compared with the squads of the last couple of seasons, I came away feeling that our “second team” looks considerably more sound and well grounded. Although, defensively, we appeared to have decided that tackling was optional.

A tale of two halves

The first half was a mixed bag of sloppy hands, Saracens tries (nice by Branthingham) and uncomfortable lazy defence by us.

Northampton’s press and blitz defence suffocated us. Saracens looked congested, struggled to get quick ball and, when we did have opportunities, seemed determined to give the ball straight back to them through a frankly impressive collection of handling errors.

We went into half-time 28–19 down, and I was left wondering quite what we were going to do about it.

Then came the turnaround.

The second half was almost a different match entirely. We started finding space, moving the ball with far more purpose and, suddenly, Northampton couldn’t live with us. The final score of 96–42 doesn’t really do justice to just how dramatically we made the game turn into a training exercise. A few points I want to highlight:

Vau’enuku makes an entrance

Sione Vau’enuku came on and immediately lookedlike he’d had enough of whatever nonsense we’d been watching in the first half. Two tries within ten minutes of coming on tells its own story. He brought serious physicality and impact, and suddenly there was a sense that Northampton were having to deal with a completely different proposition.

There were some enormous hits from him as well. The only thing I’d change is the celebration song. That was, frankly, shite.

Bracken is the real deal
For me, one of the biggest stories of the afternoon was Jack Bracken. He is quick. Properly quick.
I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if he walked into our starting XV on the basis of what I saw. His pace is obvious, but what impressed me more was how game-aware he looked. He seemed to see opportunities before they developed, and there was a real sense that he could challenge Noah sooner rather than later.

Watch out Tomos and Charlie, there’s a new name on the block

I went into the game thinking we had our scrum-half options fairly well established. I came away wondering whether Tom James has just forced his way into that conversation.

I genuinely didn’t think we had room for a third option at scrum-half, but if he can continue performing at that level, Bracken or Williams could have a serious fight on their hands. James played some seriously good rugby.

That is exactly what you want from a Prem Cup game: players giving you a reason to reconsider the pecking order.

Hall was my other standout
My other Player of the Match was Angus Hall.
Proper baller performance.He looked excellent throughout, kicked off the tee for us and, unless I’ve missed one, I don’t think he missed a kick. More importantly, he looked composed and confident — exactly the sort of performance that makes
you sit up and take notice. Between Hall and Bracken, those were the two players who really stood out to me.

Plenty of other reasons to be interested

Barbeary was, as you’d expect, a physical menace. He looked nervous early on, though, and there were a fair few dropped balls. That will presumably settle with more rugby, because the physical tools are very obvious.

Sodeke’s defence was another big positive for me. I genuinely think it’s better than any of our second rows bar Maro. That’s a pretty significant compliment.

I also came away impressed with Toby Knight. I hadn’t really thought there was much room for him this season, but his physicality and presence around the breakdown could absolutely give AOC something to think about.

And Vau’enuku may well be our fastest centre. I could see him challenging Tompkins if he keeps producing performances like this.

A couple of concerns / Venter needs to rethink

Max Malins has the ingredients to be a good fly-half, but I thought he looked a little blunt at times. There were too many overshot kicks and passes, and against a more experienced side those errors are likely to be punished rather more severely.

I’m also still not entirely convinced by the front row.
We look a little light there, and I’d like to see us flex our muscles more in that area. A game like this doesn’t necessarily expose those weaknesses because the context is so unusual.

Is our defence optional?

You can’t concede 42 points and pretend otherwise, regardless of how experimental the side was.

So what do we actually take from it?

I’m certainly not going to get carried away by a 54-point win over a Northampton side that, like us, was using this competition to have a look at some players. For me, this was much more of a “show me what you offer” game for Venter than a meaningful indication of where Saracens are going to finish this season.

But plenty of players showed us something.
And that’s probably my biggest positive from the afternoon.

Compared with the squads we’ve had over the last two seasons, our second team suddenly looks a lot more credible. There seems to be genuine competition for places, rather than simply a collection of bodies filling in when the first-choice players aren’t available.

Bracken is on fire. James might have just created another scrum-half headache. Hall looks like a proper player. Sodeke’s defence is seriously impressive. Knight is making a case for himself. Vau’enuku brings frightening physicality.

Defence optional. Bracken on fire. A new option at scrum-half? Big hits by Vau’enuku.

Not a bad day’s work