Neutrals will be rooting for anyone but Saracens in Prem semis - Andy Goode
Both Premiership semi-finals this season are the archetypal clash of styles and it’s no secret that all the neutrals will be rooting for at least one of the underdogs.
Leicester’s revival under Steve Borthwick has been a brilliant story and I’d love to see them go all the way because of my association with the club but many will be hoping the free-flowing Saints style overcomes the Tigers’ pragmatism.
It’s a similar story in the London derby but with an added dimension. I don’t think it’s an overestimation to say that everyone not associated with Saracens will be wanting Quins to come out on top in that one.
Not only has their swashbuckling style been a breath of fresh air in the Premiership over the past year, I think for Saracens to come straight back up after their punishment for salary cap breaches and win another title would still leave a bitter taste for many.
Clearly, Leicester and Saracens are significant favourites, even more so when you consider that 29 of the 35 previous Premiership semi-finals have been won by the home side, but the prospect of two such risk-averse sides going head to head in the showpiece occasion won’t be as enticing to casual fans as other options.
Of the two away teams, Quins should have the better chance of upsetting the odds but it’s another new challenge for them and their lynchpin Marcus Smith.
They won on the road in last year’s semi-final but against a similarly expansive outfit in Bristol and then saw off a possession-based side in Exeter in the final. Smith and co have obviously come up against Saracens before but knockout rugby is different.
I remember being a young fly half and thinking I had it nailed after doing well in the regular season in the Premiership but facing a gritty, experienced Wasps side in knockout games was a major shock and something I hadn’t had to contend with.
Smith has taken just about everything in his stride so far and, having spoken to his parents a couple of times, I know he’s the type of character that will be absolutely relishing this challenge but it might just be his toughest test yet.
There’s no way Harlequins can give Saracens a 21-point head start and they know that but, equally, there’s no point trying to change the way they play. They might have to rein it in at times but they have to do their best to match Sarries physically and trust the philosophy that took them to the title last season.
For Northampton, I think the equation is a bit more complicated. I just don’t think they have the front five to compete with their East Midlands rivals. However, in Dan Biggar they have a fly half who can manage a game as well as anyone and that is their biggest hope.
Chris Boyd has spoken this week about England not producing many players willing to take risks and his squad has a fair few but you can’t just throw caution to the wind and Biggar will be key in that respect.
I certainly don’t buy the notion that Saints and Quins have nothing to lose. In semi-finals you have everything to lose but it’s a really difficult balance for them both between playing their own game but not pushing it too far and going for too much.
Both will be intriguing match-ups and I’d love to see a Leicester v Harlequins final personally but I think the neutrals will be hoping for at least one of the underdogs to pull off an upset so we have another clash of styles to look forward to in the final next week.
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments