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Saracens' twice double winner Barritt on what will it take Exeter to win double
Brad Barritt knows all about the pressure Exeter will be feeling as they attempt to emulate Saracens, Wasps and Leicester by winning a Heineken Champions Cup and Gallagher Premiership double.
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Barritt captained Saracens to their second double last season, beating Leinster in the European Cup final at Newcastle and then breaking Exeter hearts with an amazing 37-34 comeback win in the Premiership final at Twickenham.
Handling the mental and physical pressure of knowing you could become English and European champions in the space of a week or end up with absolutely nothing is the major challenge for Exeter, who are keenly aware of the vastly differing emotions that lie ahead.
Veteran No10 Gareth Steenson has admitted: “We could be sitting here is two weeks’ time with nothing. We could be the most disappointed team in England.”
Being left to reflect on the massive disappointment of losing both finals is something Barritt and Saracens had to endure in 2014 when Toulon beat them 23-6 in Europe and Northampton then secured the Premiership title 24-20 in extra-time at Twickenham.
#ThrowbackThursday to the moment @ExeterChiefs earned a spot in the #HeinekenChampionsCup Final for the first time ?@joesimmo10 sells a sumptuous dummy before dancing through the Toulouse defenders to dot down at the posts ? pic.twitter.com/uxNZ8YKKbL
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) October 8, 2020
That disastrous end to the season, however, turned out to be absolutely crucial in the evolution of Saracens into the most dominant force in European rugby. While their critics still insist their titles are tarnished due to the salary cap breaches that have seen them relegated to the Championship next season, the record books still show Sarries as double champions in 2016 and 2019.
Exeter are now making their first appearance in a Champions Cup final when they face Racing 92 at Bristol on Saturday and have made the last four Premiership finals, beating Wasps in 2017 but losing to Saracens in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
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Barritt, who has returned to South Africa with his family on Tuesday after a stellar career at the London club, told RugbyPass: “It’s an incredibly exciting journey to have the chance of winning the double and when we did achieve it twice we had been through that difficult and heartbreaking episode in 2014.
“To lose back-to-back finals was really hard for the club, particularly how that Premiership season had gone when we had been very dominant. We had the disappointment of having had a loss in the Champions Cup final and the next weekend having to front up in the Premiership final.
“It took some weeks for the guys to deal with the mental anguish. It’s not a switch you can flick – it is a process. It hurt a lot but we showed a lot of resilience and fight to become better.
“However, winning the first final gives you incredible emotions going into the next one and you are able to push for something even bigger. There is no miracle formula but the momentum of winning that first final definitely galvanised us as a team for the second.
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“While there is a physical toll of back-to-back finals, it is a mental challenge and being able to cope with the pressure when things get tight is key. Ultimately, it comes down to execution under pressure and the team that deals best with the mental setbacks can take the game.
“Exeter have gone up a gear considerably and have been the form team in all the competitions and are well poised. They have played some fantastic rugby in a crazy year which now culminates in mid-October which seems rather bizarre.
“But the strength of the English game has shone with two teams in the semi-finals and it shows the Premiership is one of the most formidable leagues in the world.”
Barritt insists his own playing career is not about to restart in South Africa where he is set to open a third outlet for his Tiki Tonga coffee brand. “We would love to be preparing for a European final. It wasn’t to be but we showed against Leinster what we feel about each other and managed something remarkable.
“In life, you never say never (about playing). At this present moment, it’s highly unlikely and I’m even thinking about getting my nose fixed. I will be back and forth to the UK with various business roles but we are settling in Cape Town where my wife is hopefully going to be opening a third shop.”
EXCLUSIVE: "It’s a true story. I think I was reffing, he was sinking to the bottom and I jumped in"
– @Matt_Stevens3 on the schooldays moment he saved the life of @bradbarritt w/@chrisjonespress ???https://t.co/C5hg6UJrMY
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 1, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments