Munster fans still wary of depleted Saracens
The Saracens team to face Munster at Thomond Park this Saturday confirms the theory that has been posited over the past few weeks that the reigning Champions Cup winners will focus their attentions on the Gallagher Premiership this season.
Sitting at the bottom of the league after being docked 35 points following their recent salary cap saga, they are 22 points behind eleventh place Leicester Tigers and face a battle to survive in England’s top flight this season.
Not only that but after a World Cup where a large portion of the squad played right until the end, they will be used sparingly throughout the year.
While they won the domestic and European double last season, that seems to be nigh on an impossibility this season and the team that faces Munster shows that they are not taking their European exploits that seriously.
England stars Jamie George, George Kruis, Billy Vunipola, Owen Farrell and Elliot Daly are all rested, as are Scotland internationals Sean Maitland and Duncan Taylor after they all faced Bath in the Premiership last weekend. However, Munster fans are still wary of the threat posed by Saracens.
There’s enough in that team that could do some serious damage to our set piece/ground work though..
and that centre partnership is dangerous— Ben L (@purplebenny) December 6, 2019
But there is an itoje who could do massive damage to our set piece.
— Kevin Norris (@kingdomman66) December 6, 2019
Interesting Saracens team. Half back combo looks exciting with Vunipola at ten. Big pack with Skelton and Itoje in the mix. Earl is an excellent back row. Pace to burn out wide. Munster Rugby must be on their game to get a result tomorrow. Massive tussle awaits!
— Hawkeye Sidekick (@hawkeyesidekick) December 6, 2019
A pack that still contains two of the leading locks in Europe, Maro Itoje and Will Skelton, cannot be taken lightly. With emerging stars Nick Isiekwe and Ben Earl complementing the consistently high-class Jackson Wray in the back row, this is still a formidable pack.
With three England internationals in their backline – Ben Spencer, Brad Barritt and Alex Lozowski – there is still danger, but it is certainly the weaker half of the team.
However, the inexperienced bench is perhaps what distinguishes this from a usual Saracens team, as Nick Tompkins is the only player to bring on with a decent number of appearances under his belt.
Mark McCall usually has the luxury of bringing on another contingent of internationals from the bench but will have to make do without in Limerick.
https://twitter.com/HugoGordon1/status/1202921666763993093?s=20
https://twitter.com/SimonGleave/status/1202947237250293766?s=20
I think that will depend on the result of this game, and CC league standings after this round.
— Captain Grey (@_Cloudbase) December 6, 2019
While Saracens will still be dangerous, Munster fans also feel this game is winnable and, more importantly, should be won. A loss would leave the men in red in a precarious position in the competition, but a Munster team loaded with their big names should be too strong at home.
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Comments on RugbyPass
ABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
225 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
225 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to commentsBest team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
84 Go to comments