Saracens 17 Sale 21

Well I’m not entirely sure what to say about that beyond “what a dreadful performance”. Credit due to Sale, they were well up for it and very physical in defence and unlike us they looked like they’d run some strike moves in practice.

I genuinely can’t understand the gameplan here. I can’t remember a single strike move off first phase. Every phase was one up runners into the meat grinder of Sale’s bigger pack. Zero shape, zero guile, we couldn’t even score against 13. It seemed like we were just waiting for Williams to do something. We have Daly and Malins as playmaking 15 options, why are they not being utilised to get the ball to Bracken in particular who finally got his chance 75mins in, lo and behold he makes things happen. Our defence isn’t good enough for our attack to be this toothless. O’Flaherty’s try was an absolute howler too, dogshit kick by Ford, no one challenging in the air and we may as well have escorted him to the try line. Lastly, I get the need for territory but kicking two box kicks in the last two minutes when you are trailing is simply not good enough. Abject all over really, I can’t remember being this frustrated with a performance since the Vunipolas last home match a few years back, also against Sale. Only people to come out with some credit are Maro and Jacken.

Bristol visit next week let’s hope we experience a similar 180 in performance levels because we’ll need it against a team that have really impressed in the first two weeks and will be desperate to end a 10 game losing streak. I hope BV will be true to his word and hold players accountable because there should be some changes after that.

Ladies and gents, we are almost back! A new “prem” season about to start so here is the usual preview. Hopefully not too self indulgent, it was a long off season, so I clearly had too much time on my hands. Hope you enjoy and leave your thoughts and predictions below!

A Brave New/Old World

The biggest change to the club in a generation with Mark McCall stepping aside and Brendan Venter becoming DOR. Those who have been fans for longer than me will be able to provide more insight into his coaching but in broad strokes it would seem a slight swing from carrot to stick. In the immortal words of Peter Mannion from the Thick of It, “I’m sensing a change in management style from touchy feely to smashy testes”. Obviously it’s not that drastic and the idea that any rugby environment is touchy feely is ridiculous but I think it is the direction the squad needs at the moment. From quotes in the Telegraph and the excellent behind the scenes YouTube videos, he wants to promote fierce competition for places which is pleasing. It seemed like some senior players could be a bit too comfortable in their spots towards the end of Smally’s tenure. I also loved hearing him say he wants us to dominate, that’s the exact attitude we need to build in the youngsters. However, don’t forget BV installed the holistic culture which really distinguished us from our rivals originally in his first stint, so I’m sure there will be plenty of fun too for the guys. An interesting side plot is how long will the Doctor want to be away from his homeland and practice. Not a huge amount of information here but it seemed like when the announcement was made he was stepping in as a favour to Smally and owner Dominic Sylvester, which doesn’t seem like a long term plan. Will this impact the season negatively or allow him an intense burst that galvanises the squad? We know that approach doesn’t tend to work long term but it can set standards in the youngsters which they take forward into a new regime.

Signings

As our 3 big signings have had decent injury lay offs, everything written below should be caveated by “if he can stay fit” but I can’t be arsed to type it constantly.

Tomos Williams

A really great signing this and not one I would’ve guessed at the start of last season. I think this is the biggest jump in quality we have between previous player and new signing- in top form he’s arguably the best in the prem. His sniping and ability to pass accurately beyond the first receiver opens up a huge amount of attacking options and dovetails nicely with Burke who is more of a runner than a playmaker. The closest style 9 to Dupont/Lucu we could realistically sign.

One/two punch of Williams and Bracken is incredibly exciting and potentially very dangerous weapon for us. Williams completely changed the way Gloucester attacked and he’ll be a great mentor to Bracken. Their partnership with Burke could do what Varney and Skinner did for Chiefs last season.

Tangentially, Rhys Carre is a major focal point for the Welsh attack. We need to make more of him and hopefully Williams will help.

George Martin

Potentially one of our biggest signings in a while. If we can keep hold of him then we have someone to build the pack around as Maro gets on or should he decide to move on. Adds real tight carrying and the sort of tackling power we haven’t seen since Michael Rhodes. I’m allowing myself to get really excited by this as he’s a bit of a unicorn in the prem right now. 3rd best dominant carries across every team in the recent internationals and my word that finish v SA 😮‍💨I could see us treating him a bit like Liam Williams and managing his time so he only really plays in the bigger matches.

Alfie Barbeary

I feel this is a bit of a marmite transfer amongst some fans but I think it is a great pick up after the devastation of losing Willis. He has real potential and hopefully with a World Cup coming up he will be extra motivated. Also coming off his best overall season with a large amount of POTM performances for Bath. Between him and Martin we’ve added real physicality to the pack. I think he has more of a Billy style of carrying where he hits the deck and recycles quickly which may suit our attack a bit more than Willis who like to stay on his feet and fight for metres. Blasphemy I know and as the kids say, probably a lot of cope. For what it’s worth Willis will be perfect for UBB’s style, the absolute bastards. Hopefully our S&C team can help mould Alfie into an 80 min player challenge for the England squad.

Tom James a very good squad option and has looked sharp in preseason. He adds real to depth and competition at 9 which looks a big improvement on last season. He also has experience of playing the more attacking game we’re looking for. Top moustache too.

Sione Va’enuku gives us another extremely physical option at 12 and 13. I love his direct running style and looking forward to seeing what he can bring in the prem cup especially. Impressed hugely in preseason.

Corné Weilach is a bit of a last minute addition following Jermaine Ainsley’s contract being cancelled but he certainly has the size and pedigree of coming through the Paul Roos Gymnasium. I liked the comment from Dai Flanagan on the fezcast where he said Corné complained that there were only two scrums v saints while he was on.

Squad makeup

Compared to last season I think we have addressed two of the big weaknesses in the squad at 9 and lacking a bit of dog in the pack (both in personnel and perhaps a change in coaching may help with). At tighthead we have enough bodies but maybe not the highest level, we can only hope Weilbach has a similar impact to Koch but he seems like one for the future.

The big hole to fill is obviously Willis. I feel like we have the tools to replace his carrying by spreading the load a bit more, similar to how Bath play. Not one big carrier doing everything but multiple forwards coming on to the ball at speed. On the other side of the ball Willis was our best for turnovers. Stats from the prem website have gone but if you take him and Tompkins out of the team I think you’re losing 30 plus turnovers from last season. We really need the rest of the team to pick up the slack there collectively, it may help having Maro available for more matches, JMG and Earl can help pick up the slack but it could be our biggest weakness this season.

I maintain our squad last season was good enough for top four but this year it looks more well rounded. 9 has become the crucial playmaking position across world rugby recently and we have an excellent running 10, again much en vogue. Positions 1-9 I’d argue we can say we’ve got a top 3 player in the league in each position, with the exception of tighthead but I really rate Street, if he continues on last season’s form then England may look at him. 10 and outside I think a lot of players have potential to be top 3 in their position which is really exciting but they need to be backed and realise that potential.

It’ll be interesting to see what our first choice pack would be, if indeed we even have one. Martin and Alfie adds carrying but leaves us light in jumpers (assuming Earl also starts) if they’re both in the pack. Both are struggling to play 80 mins right now so maybe we won’t see them on the pitch together much. It’s exciting that it looks like we can pick a pack that can either be one of the biggest in league or one of the most mobile depending on selection.

There are also a lot of big tight five units coming through such as Sodeke, Adegbemile and Auvaa (naughty boy) along quality back rowers Eke, Knight, Michelow. We want them pushing the senior guys as hard as possible and making a big impression in the prem cup.

In the backs there is so much exciting talent. We have to hope Hartley is a mainstay and pushing for England squads, although Va’enuku has impressed in preseason. Who partners them at 13 is intriguing and might give an insight into how the backs play. Tompkins is massively underrated IMO and wins a huge amount of turnovers. I can see BV loving his combativeness. Daly could have a Slade type impact and provides quality kicking. Cinti remains an enigma in a Sarries shirt but 13 is his best position IMO. Angus Hall is a huge talent who I’d love to see at 13 regularly and his kicking from the tee could be a deciding factor, too many points missed last few seasons. The back 3 should be hotly contested with the aforementioned Daly and Hall (I’d rather not see either on the wing with our current resources though) returning but also the electric J Bracken pushing hard. Fitting Elliott, Segun, Caluori and Malins into a back 3 was tough enough at the end of last season, we have some real riches to choose from.

The exciting thing about this squad is that there is fierce competition for each place in the 23 with everyone fit.

Tactics

While we have work to do improving attack against the top teams, I think the quickest way to make big gains in the league is to improve defence. In general we are scoring enough tries (third best with 90 last season, albeit stat padding in some big wins) but leaving ourselves a mountain to climb in a lot of matches. Something we have to remedy is a soft underbelly against the top teams. 1 win all season against the top four and an alarming tendency to collapse under pressure. Attack is certainly on top across the board right now but the pendulum will swing back towards defence at some point, not to the level it was at before due to law changes but enough to make a difference. It was a big factor for Exeter getting back to the final. Also huge blowouts are terrible for morale.

In attack Burke needs to be empowered and backed at 10. He’s a wonderful player to watch in full flight (possibly the most underrated player in the league right now) and we need to play to his strengths. His kicking improved last season but you’d definitely hope it continues on an upward curve along with his game management. Williams’ can take some of that game management burden off Burke’s shoulders and his distribution past 10 directly to 13 can really help us get the most out of our fantastic wing options too. I felt like I said this too much last season but I really hope we can get more out of our rich carrying options in the forwards.

If we keep our first choice backline from last year then tactical kicking may be an issue and something for BV to consider. Williams can help with that though and it’s something C Bracken could really learn from him.

Selections at 6, 13 and 15 will be instructive to how we’ll play. J Bracken’s selection at 15 in preseason could be a big departure from a near 20 year policy of a playmaker at 15. Somewhat against the now fashionable choice for most international teams but a prioritisation of terrifying pace above everything else a la UBB is a very exciting prospect.

Lastly we really need our bench to start making an impact, it feels like a while since it’s been a real strength despite very good squad strength in most positions.

Conclusion

Thank you if you’ve managed to stick with me this far!

In short, a really exciting squad, great additions and a really intriguing “new” beginning. Expectations should be high and this squad can go far but sport is never won on paper. We need to start reaching our potential again after the last few seasons but the signs look good to me.

Lastly but certainly not least, it is Jamie George’s last season. One of our (and England’s) greatest ever and the first of the world class academy triumvirate of him, Maro and Faz to hang up their boots. Enjoy every minute he has left. My favourite human involved with the club since I began supporting. So many amazing memories, hopefully a few more to come.