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London Wasps vs Saracens
TWICKENHAM
Sat 2nd September Saracens will begin the 2006/07 Guinness Premiership season with a showdown against London Wasps at Twickenham on Saturday 2nd September in the London Double Header.
This exciting curtain-raiser for the new season will see the Men In Black come up against their old rivals in a day which will begin at 2pm with London Irish taking on newly promoted Harlequins before Saracens and Wasps meet at 4.20pm.
Saracens will be keen to avenge their 23-11 defeat in the reverse fixture last year, where tries from Tom Voyce and Fraser Waters proved too much for Saracens, despite a score early in the second half from young number eight Ben Skirving.
However, in the first year of the event, in 2004, a Kevin Yates try saw Saracens run out 13-11 winners over then reigning champions Wasps and this year with four London teams involved, organisers Premier Rugby are hoping for a crowd of 60,000.
Headlines...
Saracens got their 2006/07 season off to a winning start with a 24-14 victory at Gloucester on Friday night.
Tries from Glen Jackson, Alan Dickens, Kris Chesney and Ben Russell saw the Men In Black lead 24-0 on the hour mark in the friendly at Kingsholm.
Gloucester came back into the match with two late pushover tries following a number of personnel changes from Saracens, but it was a performance which pleased Director of Rugby Alan Gaffney in his first game in charge.
"We've not had a lot of rugby and it's only been in the last week that we've concentrated on it so to be 24-0 up after 60 minutes at Kingholm is a teriffic performance. I was very pleased with the structure with which we played.
"We got a bit scrambly late in the game but that was inevitable when you make the number of changes we did, but our intention was to always try and use as many players as possible tonight to get them some game time.
"It was a very positive start to the season but the main thing was we got the processes right. I said at the start that getting the process right will equal performance and we saw that for the first 60 minutes tonight.
"We lost a bit of that in the last 20 minutes and we could obviously see that our maul wasn't strong enough and they drove us off the lineout a few times. That was a concern, but in saying that we also have some pretty hefty and experienced forwards to come back into the pack."
With it being the first competitive match, the squad are nursing the inevitable bumps and bruises but in terms of injuries, the majority of the squad got through unscathed with Tom Ryder, Shane Byrne and Ben Russell the only ones having picked up knocks.
"Tom has a dead leg which we will have to look at and Shane got a bang on the ankle which is as much to do with playing on hard grounds at this time of year because of the lack of rain. He's been training the house down in pre-season so it would have been good to give him some more game time and the plan was for he and Fabio Ongaro to have 40 minutes each. Ben got an ankle knock but all in all there is nothing too serious and we got out of it pretty lightly."
The pre-season action continues next Saturday when Saracens entertain Rotherham at Old Albanians RFC, kick off 4pm, when the likes of David Seymour, Matt Cairns and Tevita Vaikona will come back into the squad after their involvement in the Middlesex 7s.
"We're going into that game just looking to build and improve on the Gloucester performance," added Gaffney. "We're not going to get carried away. We know that Gloucester were not at full strength and neither were we. In saying that, it was an important victory for us. We've been putting a base down throughout pre-season and we went out there to play with a simple structure and scored four very good tries. We could have scored more, but you are always going to make incorrect decisions at this time of year and the correct ones during the season. But overall, we took a lot of positives from this."
Click here <http://www.saracens.com/news/article.php?id=2840> for the full report.
Player News... Saracens Director of Rugby Alan Gaffney has said that Andy Farrell will not be rushed into action as the squad continues its pre-season preparations.
Following the disappointments of last season, Farrell is progressing well and currently in pre-season training and Gaffney explained that the former Great Britain Rugby League captain will not be considered for selection until he is completely ready to take the field.
Director of Rugby Gaffney said: "Andy is progressing well and our aim has always been to get him ready for the start of the season and we are still working on that basis. We're not going to rush him into any of the pre-season friendlies.
"We want to get him playing as soon as possible, but we're not going to push him into a place where he shouldn't be. He won't be playing this weekend and at this point it is unlikely he will be involved in our other pre-season friendlies. He's not played for a significant period of time and is an important member of our squad so he will be eased back into areas such as contact work over the coming weeks. Our aim has always been to get him ready for selection for the beginning of the season and at this point in time, there is no reason to suggest that won't be the case."
Farrell, who joined Saracens last summer, admitted he can't wait to pull on a playing jersey and end his nightmare year, but knows his debut will not be rushed.
He said: "The past year has been really hard for me. There was obviously a lot of publicity surrounding me switching codes and when I started training last summer. I was really keen to show what I can do, but with the injuries that's obviously been impossible. It's frustrating not only for myself and also Saracens but hopefully those problems are behind me now and I can look forward to the new season.
"It's been really hard to take. Throughout my career I played more than 400 games for Wigan and I had a spell where I didn't miss a game for eight years. You could probably argue that things like that catch-up with you in the end, but it's been really hard for all concerned and I just want to get out on the pitch and start playing rugby again.
"It's been a good pre-season for the whole squad. We're all a lot fitter than this time last year and we're all seeing the results of it. Personally, things are still on track as far as me being ready for the start of the season is concerned. I've been doing a lot of work with the team, but part of my rehabilitation programme was not joining in with contact work until mid-August so I've still got that to come. That's obviously a test for me to see if there is any reaction but I'm hopeful things will go well and I'm looking forward to it.
"I've obviously been able over the past year to learn an awful lot about the game and have been studying it extensively. And with a new coaching set-up at Saracens there has also been new ideas to learn. But I know that the only way to truly and properly get to grips with the game is to play it. Only then will I know what it's really about and the things I need to work on. That will soon come and I am looking forward to that, but I also know that I shouldn't rush things and I will be working closely with the Saracens coaching staff over the next few weeks."
Other News... In the design of the new 'change' shirt, Saracens have opted for a modern twist on an old favourite; a massive hit with the players when it was unveiled to them at the Training Centre, we hope it will be similarly welcomed by the supporters.
The shirt design is based on the red, black and white 'hooped' design worn by the squad in the early days of the professional era, a shirt that was worn by such famous rugby names as Francois Pienaar, Philippe Sella and Michael Lynagh. Kris Chesney is one of a few remaining Saracens to have worn the old shirt and was, hard though it may be to believe from the stern look he adopted when modelling the new shirt, really enthusiastic about the new model.
"I have fond memories of the original shirt and the new design really looks great." Enthused Chesney. "It's already proved a bit a of hit with the rest of the players and it'll make a change to run out in a change shirt that maintains a Saracens identity."
Whilst the replica playing jersey is a slimmer-fit style shirt, male members of the Saracens Watford office staff (who regularly frequent the Amercian fast food outlet situated on the ground floor of the building!) found it had an almost 'corset-like' effect and were pleased to find that the horizontal stripes (usually a no-no for those of a rounder nature) were strangely flattering, thanks to the white panel down the sides of the body offering a break in the design. The new change shirt will be paired with white shorts and white socks, both with black trim.
As with the replica home jersey, the new Kooga replica change jerseys will be available from XS Boys (around 4-5 years) right up to 4XL (to fit a 52-54" chest). The shirts will be priced at £39 for juniors and £49 for adults. Delivery is anticipated to be in time for the London Double Header which, if all goes to plan at the manufacturers' end, will be the first opportunity supporters will have to buy the shirt.
Community News... The first of three week long Saracens Summer Coaching Courses was held at Old Albanians recently, and was host to over 120 young rugby players from within the community.
The course took advantage of the good weather and provided those in attendance a variety of opportunities to develop their skills under guidance of Saracens Coaches and Players. It was a great opportunity to receive new coaching drills and tips prior to the new season and get that extra step ahead of their future opponents.
Throughout the week young players and fans had the chance to meet and receive coaching pointers from a variety of players including; England 7's star Dave Seymour, Tongan International Tevita Vaikona, Welsh International Ben Broster, and Scotland International Iain Fullarton; amongst others.
The course provided young players with an incentive each day of with a 'Player of the Day' award. This was given to those who had performed, listened and developed their game each day for both the Senior and Junior age groups. Saracens would like to congratulate the junior winners Luke Withell, Matt Dodds, Aaron Aitken, Gus Machado and Nic Hartshorn as well as the Senior winners Alex Briggs, Tom Jubb, James Beverage, Tom Maile and Ross Gatrell. Well done to all you guys.
Also up for grabs was the 'Player of the Course' award. This was awarded to those who developed throughout the week showing great commitment, effort and skills. Winners of this award were lucky enough to get there hands on a brand new Saracens home shirt. Saracens would like congratulate Junior winner Ralph Adams-Hale and Senior winner Michael Minchin on receiving the award.
If you were unfortunate to miss out on this course please Click here <http://www.saracens.com/community/masterclass.php> to find out further details of our courses this Summer. If you have any further queries please call 01923 204 602 and speak to Richard. |
