ONE OF the enduring strengths of rugby is that given an evening of dodgy weather and awful refereeing, an average team such as Connacht, perennially stuck fast in the nether regions of the RaboDirect Pro12, can run close the potentially outstanding Saracens. Long may it remain so.
Saracens, who still won in Galway with far more ease than the 23-17 score suggests, now move to what will have the feel of an occasion in an elite sporting competition. Their match against illustrious Toulouse at Wembley on Friday evening, another enormous feather in the caps of the Saracens marketeers, may well decide the destiny of the pool and will give the sport enormous profile.
Against Connacht two days ago they were held up over the home line three times and should have secured the points in the first hour. They had to defend strongly in the last few minutes to preserve their win, even though any other result would have been a travesty on the run of play.
And when the safety of players is apparently being forgotten, with the weakness of the concussion protocols allowing dazed players to resume, we must now add a further risk being imposed by the referee. Connacht were able to win the position that gave them a chance when the referee penalised Saracens for delay of game. The delay was caused when Billy Vunipola, hardly a shrinking violet and not the equivalent of a diver in football, was being treated for a leg injury. The referee shouted that play should continue, making medical diagnosis on an expensive professional from about 30 metres.
Vunipola had to drag himself to his feet and limp towards the lineout but, as he arrived, the referee penalised Saracens. This recalled the ghastly moment in the 2011 World Cup match between Argentina and Scotland. The referee demanded that play should continue when the great Argentine captain Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe was rolling in agony upfield with an injury that was to cost him several months of action. Referees must not make medical decisions, just as coaches must not harry their medical people to send back on players who are clearly tottering and out of it. Whether Vunipola was seriously injured is irrelevant.
Whatever his fitness, the two Saracens Friday evening games should be the perfect platform for the England contenders to show themselves. I was particularly taken in Galway by the play and attitude of Chris Ashton on the wing. I doubt if his most fervent supporters would claim his form has been consistent in the past 18 months but his aggression and willingness to take what was coming from the Connacht defence was admirable, suggesting a man in the throes of a career recovery. Not too soon, because England are short of brilliant wingers.
The play of Joel Tomkins was also fascinating and the trip to Wembley will be worthwhile if only to see how he copes with the brilliance of the Toulouse backs. Tomkins is not a player who seems to seek endless involvement. He is no Brad Barritt, continually insinuating himself in the action. But when he does appear there is a certain composure that attracts. For me, he is still not a full English international but he is another who will be under Stuart Lancaster’s microscope.
Toulouse will be dangerous. They began the current season in dreadful form. They lost to Bordeaux-Begles, lost heavily to Montpellier and Perpignan. They have recovered slightly and now stand third in the Top 14. Saracens followers will not be fooled. When you are Toulouse, not every challenge motivates. Many teams would struggle to play on a Friday evening at a majestic stadium such as Wembley. That is just the kind of occasion to motivate the great Thierry Dusautoir and his men.
Apparently, Saracens had sold 50,000 tickets before the weekend. Difficult to believe that those present will not experience a Euro treat.
And the goal for Saracens? To keep in mind the fate of Ulster against Leicester on Friday evening, always to remember that when there are two outstanding teams in any pool the key is the aggregate score. Leicester came away from Belfast with a losers’ bonus point and will fancy their chances of denying Ulster a bonus point at Welford Road.
Saracens must seek the victory. If and when that is achieved they must shut Toulouse out of bonus point territory. It will be a game entirely different in stature and character from the bunfight in Galway on Friday, a game that Saracens must win well to establish their credentials as potential winners.
And it is a game in which they will meet the greatest rugby club in Europe. High octane in north London.
