There is a sick feeling in the stomach and English rugby will need to identify genuine applicants to assist the clubs in crisisWe should be casting our eyes over the runners and riders, perusing the comings and goings, drawing up our projected finishing orders, semi-finalists, winners. We should be arguing with alacrity over all of the above, dismissing each other’s opinions as worthless. Have you ever actually played the game? You don’t know what you’re talking about. All the usual brickbats any self-respecting sport rings out with at this time of year.Instead, we approach the new season of English rugby, 25 years after the Premiership was minted, with a sick feeling in the stomach. We cannot even predict with any...
Saracens spurned a late chance to win a game full of high kicking, nerve-shredding intensity and rugby to admireThis was popular. The most well-supported club in English rugby, so far from their customary place at the top of it for so long, have retaken the podium. They took it courtesy of a last-minute drop goal by one of the most popular players in English rugby, so long of career that it came as some surprise to learn this was his first Premiership final. And, boy, did it go down well.And they did it all against … well, we can safely say, fairly or not, Saracens are not the most popular club in English rugby. Continue reading...
Leicester have the physicality but will be up against a Saracens side brimming with an ‘us against them’ mentalityLast weekend’s Premiership semi-finals put a full stop on the story of the underdog. Over the last few weeks we’ve seen La Rochelle, Lyon and the Bulls all upset the odds but with Saracens and Leicester reaching Saturday’s Premiership final we have a showdown between the two most consistent sides in the league this season.Neutrals may have preferred a final between Harlequins and Northampton but the fact that Saracens and Leicester both prevailed signals a shift away from last season, when playing to space and evasion were key, and back to the key fundamentals of physicality, control and territory. Both finalists have...
Tigers and Sarries are favourites, but Saints’ brilliant backs and Quins’ 2021 heroics mean nothing can be taken for grantedWelcome to The Breakdown, the Guardian’s weekly (and free) rugby union newsletter. Here’s an extract from this week’s edition. To receive the full version every Tuesday, just pop your email in below:Sometimes it is worth remembering how swiftly things can change, in club rugby as well as politics. This time a year ago, for example, fourth-placed Harlequins were still seen as distant long shots to win the Gallagher Premiership, only 10,000 could watch the final because of Covid-19 and the United Rugby Championship, containing South Africa’s top sides, had yet to be launched. Continue reading...
Four key questions before leaders Leicester travel to champions Harlequins and Saracens host Exeter this weekendThe biggest compliment you can currently pay Leicester is that they are playing like an international team. Steve Borthwick has worked for long enough at the right hand of Eddie Jones in Japan and England to know the importance of being tough to play against as well as supremely fit. He has also gathered some shrewd tactical lieutenants around him and the uplift in Tigers’ efficiency has been conspicuous. Continue reading...