Goode’s braced for Clermont couldron
ALEX Goode admits injuries are killing Saracens, but insists they are still capable of bouncing back from last Monday’s shock 46-14 thrashing by Clermont.
With skipper Brad Barritt (concussion) and scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth (hip) joining a host of top stars on the sidelines, Saracens face a mighty task at Stade Marcel-Michelin to secure the win they need to keep their hopes of topping Pool 2 alive.
Defeat would not be terminal for the defending champions, who could still qualify as runners-up if they were to win their last two matches. However, Goode told The Rugby
Paper: “Seven days is a long time in rugby and we’re aiming to right a few wrongs.
“Whenever you lose top internationals like Billy Vunipola, Maro Itoje, Michael Rhodes, Duncan Taylor, Liam Williams, Brad and Wiggy you’ll miss them, but we’ve still got a good enough squad to get through this rough patch and come out the other side.
“It’s a real test of our character now to go to Clermont and play in one of the most formidable places in the world. It’ll be a cauldron and a fantastic challenge, but we’re not panicking and there’s no better place to go in my mind, so we’ll enjoy the battle.”
The recent experience of Alex Lozowski,
right, in England’s No.12 jersey could prove useful as he replaces Barritt, while Ben Spencer takes over from Wigglesworth.
Two further changes see Nick Isiekwe given a run on the blindside flank, while Calum Clark takes the No.7 jersey from Schalk Burger, who drops to the bench. Could complacency prove to be Clermont’s Achilles heel? Goode doesn’t think so. However, he believes the home side could be vulnerable if Saracens can stop their big runners like Alivereti Raka, who caused so much damage in last week’s match.
“I don’t expect complacency from them,” Goode said. “They’re a top quality outfit and you saw that in how they played in a very quiet and cold atmosphere at Allianz Park.
“First and foremost, though, when you ship that number of points to any side you’ve obviously not defended well. Some of it was brilliance and Raka was unstoppable at times, but at other times we didn’t help ourselves and were masters of our own downfall.
“They’re very dangerous off turnovers and we gave them too many of those when chasing the game, but we’ve seen turnarounds in Europe before in these double-headers. We want to produce one of those and we’ve got everything to gain.”
Clermont make three changes, with Damian Penaud, Flip van der Merwe and Peceli Yato in the starting line-up. Hooker Benjamin Kayser said: “Last week’s result says we’re on the right track but we’re expecting a very big game from Saracens today.”