Storm Darragh caused a lot of disruption across the country, with the big Merseyside Derby being called off and in many parts of the country people were advised to stay at home. The wind was making its way South and was definitely a challenging factor in this Round 1 Invested Champions Cup match.
Fergus Burke saw early on what battling towards the wind would do with his kicks, the ball going backwards rather than forwards more than once. What was strange was that the Bulls didn’t choose to make the most of the playing with the wind in the first half. They did however get the first score after a simple line out throw position for Saracens was changed into a penalty for the Bulls after Rotimi Segun went flying in to a minor set of handbags. Willie Le Roux, still a class operator put in a lovely pass to Sebastien de Klerk who had a good deal of space on the wing, he ran in to score. The conversion was missed.
Saracens were awarded a couple of penalties after a good break from Segun. Maro Itoje chose the posts option on the 2nd, a kick that should have been a certainty in normal conditions hit the post. As usual I had the benefit of ref link so could hear the penalties being awarded against the Bulls, close to their own line if felt like a matter of tine before a card was brandished. The card waited, but a Saracens try didn’t, taking the tap and go option after another penalty the forwards put in a concerted effort, Rhys Carre going over, a player who’s been a revelation since his return getting the first points for the home team on the board after 23 minutes. Another missed conversion.
We had the strange prospect of an Elliot Daly penalty going backwards, not something you see often! Tom Willis carried on with his excellent season turning over the ball then carrying the ball into the Bulls 22. Bulls conceded another penalty in their own half, this time Burke’s kick was good, prompting ironic cheers. After a challenging half the teams went in with the score on Saracens 8 Bulls 5. Editing my photos has reminded me of an unusual sight at the back of a Saracens scrum input, 4 Backs in a row – with Nick Tompkins, Fergus Burke, Lucio Cinti and Elliot Daly standing in a line, only moving as the ball started to move, that’s how to keep the opposition guessing!
With the wind at their back the second half was a different one for Saracens and it looked like Itoje had scored early in the half, but it seems he went without the ball! I was sure I’d taken a decent photo of a try, but, no! Jannes Kirsten had come on early in the 1st half as a replacement, he went down after going into contact with Segun, he was clutching his head and the TMO suggested a review, I was sure Segun had the ball and so it proved, Kirsten was sent to the naughty step for 10 minutes as the very tall man somehow clashed heads with Segun. The ‘many penalties’ card came not long after as the Bulls try scorer went from hero to zero as de Klerk was sent to the bin. Saracens made the most of their superior numbers as Jamie George went over as Saracens rolled their maul from the line out. Burke put in an excellent kick to add the extras.
Marco Riccioni did Theo McFarland things and charged down a box kick, adding to the Bulls’ misery as Tom Willis made the most of that to score. Burke put in another great kick to take Saracens to 22.
Saracens were definitely making the most of the conditions and Ben Earl who had come on to great applause showed his wing skills to score out close to the line, after a switch pass from Ivan van Zyl. The kick went awry this time, but that was the bonus point score on 65 minutes.
The Bulls had an attacking foray but were repelled by Saracens and Bulls knocked on with a minute on the clock. Man of the Match (again) Tom Willis took the ball from the scrum and kicked the ball out. The final score was Saracens 27 Vodacom Bulls 5. This was a hugely positive comeback from a poor Friday night in Newcastle. Saracens head to Paris next weekend to play Stade Francais on Saturday, I’ll be there for my first visit to that particular ground, having bought 2 tickets for £26 – great value as always in Paris!
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