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Hamilton: Having seen Scotland, Glasgow will feel they have found a way to rattle Owen Farrell but he will be too good for them

By Jim Hamilton
England captain Owen Farrell sits on the bench after being replaced during the Guinness Six Nations draw with Scotland at Twickenham this month (Photo by David Rogers - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

I love the Champions Cup, love the mad rush that happens leading up to the quarter-finals. This is a tournament that is drawn-out and disjointed as teams have had the Six Nations break. Players come back either on a high or a low and usually need a week off, so there is no momentum going into these quarter-finals.

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It’s knockout rugby, a one-off game. If you look at history and the stats gone by for the quarter-finals, it’s really difficult to go away from home and win. But the rugby has opened up massively this season in terms of the way teams are playing, in terms of some of the performances of the players, and in terms of the some of the decisions that are being made.

This is one the best quarter-final set-ups I have ever seen across the board. All the games are really difficult to call, apart from one of the four. It’s going to be a brilliant weekend.

SARACENS v GLASGOW WARRIORS – Saturday, 3.15pm (Allianz Park)

How intriguing that Owen Farrell’s first game since England’s second-half collapse against Scotland at Twickenham is against some of those very same Scottish players.

(Continue reading below…)

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Farrell is one of those players who divides opinion. There is no middle ground. You either love him or you hate him. He definitely does divide opinion.

Having played with and against him, he is not a player that gets rattled. You can look at that Scotland-England game and say he was.

Stuart McInally scores Scotland’s first try despite the efforts of England’s Owen Farrell during this month’s Guinness Six Nations match at Twickenham (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
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He did get charged down by Stuart McInally, he did throw the intercept pass to Finn Russell, he did make a controversial tackle on Darcy Graham and he ultimately got yanked off by the coach. But I don’t think you can look at it like that here. Farrell is a world-class talent, a born winner.

Having watched Scotland, Glasgow and their fans will feel they have found a way to rattle him. Definitely, that is the way they need to go about it, they need to put loads of pressure on him and test him. However, they also need to be very careful and conscious that he is a world-class player who does rise to these big occasions.

Saracens-Glasgow has become almost like a bit of a rivalry. They have a very Scottish backbone to their team, the same way Saracens have an English backbone, and there is a bit of spice.

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I played in the quarter-final game a few years ago (Saracens won 38-13 in an April 2017 quarter-final before lifting the trophy) and that was a big, big game for Saracens.

Saracens’ Jamie George takes exception to Glasgow’s Callum Gibbins placing a hand on his neck during the Champions Cup match at Scotstoun in October 2018 (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

We took that game very, very seriously and you look now at this season’s pool stages where Saracens and Glasgow have played each other twice. Glasgow made a real go of that game at Scotstoun. That was a tough game for the Saracens players, but the Londoners still won and it was a more comfortable victory down at Allianz Park in the return fixture.

Experience and pedigree mean a lot at this European level. Saracens are well adapted to this tournament and we know that from recent history. They have got big-game players.

Saracens’ Billy Vunipola of takes off with the ball against Harlequins’ Joe Marchant and Nathan Earle in last weekend’s Gallagher Premiership Rugby match (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

We are seeing Billy Vunipola slowly getting back to his best. Then you add in the talent of guys like Liam Williams, who is definitely in form, Farrell coming back into it, Maro Itoje potentially being fit, Will Skelton putting in a world-class performance last weekend against Harlequins… they just know how to win.

It’s going to be tough for Glasgow, even though there are a few good things about the Warriors. Stuart Hogg could potentially be involved and the fact is Glasgow are used to playing on these 4G surfaces that there is so many discussions about at the minute.

It can be a big shift for teams going from a grass pitch and having to play a must-win game in a knockout competition on a pitch that you are just not at all used to. Glasgow will be used to it because of Scotstoun.

But it seems like Glasgow are limping a little bit into this game. They have won their last five PRO14 matches, but Ryan Wilson is injured and there is uncertainty about who is going to be at No10. They are not as settled as the Saracens team and that will be their downfall.

VERDICT – This is a foregone conclusion. Saracens to win.

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Jon 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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john 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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Adrian 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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T
Trevor 12 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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