Guscott: Sarries need to lay down a marker
“It’s time to produce and show international coaches that you’re hitting top gear”
SARACENS’ trip to Scotstoun to play Glasgow in the opening round of the European Cup is their opportunity to make a statement that they are back in business after a disappointing showing in this tournament last season.
In Glasgow’s favour they have Huw Jones, who is close to being Scotland’s answer to England’s Elliot Daly. The Glasgow outside-centre cut through England at Murrayfield last season, so Saracens know what he’s capable of.
Jones has proved himself to have big-game temperament, and he also picks lines that are difficult for defenders to anticipate, he’s generally through and in behind them before they have changed position to try and block him. He’s quick – and his running lines make him even quicker.
Of the two sides Saracens are the one with the European pedigree, although they slipped last season. The 2016-17 double European champions may have been the only English club to reach the 2018 quarter-finals before losing in Dublin to eventual winners Leinster, but there was no hiding that it was an indifferent season for a team of their calibre.
In the end they finished on a high by winning the Premiership title, and after an unbeaten start to this season – including a narrow victory over a firedup Harlequins side at the Stoop last weekend – they will be confident.
Hopefully they will not be overconfident when they run out at Scotstoun today. Glasgow are also predominantly a team full of internationals, and therefore a quarter-final should also be well within their grasp.
However, tradition weighs heavily on some sides, and Glasgow seem to be one of them. Reaching the last eight has been a rarity for them rather than a regular occurrence, and not getting to the knock-out stage year after year can become a habit that leads to bit of a mental block.
This time Glasgow should definitely sniff an opportunity. While Saracens is a tough opener even at home, the games against Cardiff and Lyon – who Glasgow play in the mid pool homeand-away rounds – are a chance to make a statement.
Lyon are a bit of an unknown, and like a lot of Welsh sides Cardiff Blues have no recent European Cup form, and that’s why this is a season that give Glasgow a chance they should grasp.
The Scots have to believe that they can challenge Saracens for top spot, because they have the calibre of player to do so. There is also the possibility that Lyon might not go at the European Cup full tilt because their first priority is to cement their place as a new force in the French Top 14.
Just as Saracens need to make a statement that they want their title back, Glasgow have to announce that they mean business, and that battle of wills makes it an interesting tie. Opening matches in Europe are always exciting because of the level of expectation, and the nervous energy it creates means some teams raise their game.
Players know that after half a dozen domestic games it’s time to produce and show international coaches that they are hitting top gear. They need to hit that form now, because Glasgow v Saracens is a virtual international game given the number of caps on each side.
Of the teams in Europe you automatically look at Leinster, Claremont, Montpellier and Saracens as teams you expect to go through the pool stage, if not unbeaten then definitely top of their pool, with enough points to guarantee a home quarter-final. Although, when an English side goes to Scotland they have to be ready to play not just the team, but the crowd and atmosphere.
Scotstoun is not a huge ground but it will be very vociferous, and Saracens do not have the huge travelling support enjoyed by teams like Munster, Leinster and Clermont.
These European Cup games are incredibly competitive and in this case the result could go either way. Saracens have virtually an all international backline with Liam Williams, Shaun Maitland, Alex Goode, Owen Farrell and Richard Wigglesworth to call on, but so do Glasgow – even without the injured Stuart Hogg.
Glasgow’s Scotland midfield of Alex Dunbar and Huw Jones will want to shine and rubber stamp their places in Gregor Townsend’s mind ahead of the Autumn internationals. We’ve talked about Jones’ talent and Dunbar’s power makes them a good centre-pairing, even though he is a bit injury prone.
Dunbar and Saracens’ Duncan Taylor are two good Scottish centres who have not been able to showcase their quality through a 20-game run because of injuries, but if they had, both would have challenged for Lions spots.
Saracens are so good consistently. For instance, although Billy Vunipola got man-of-the-match against Quins – and you occasionally get players playing special games on special occasions – almost all the Saracens players could have won the award last weekend.
Even though they measure themselves harshly there are very few games when any of the Sarries 23-man squad ranks below 7.5 out of 10 , and in the backline it is more like 9 out of 10 – with a match-winner like Owen Farrell unrivalled at putting players into space to break the line.
Saracens are not a side that give you the chance to hunt them down, and they will do what it takes to win. They will not bat an eyelid about playing kick-tennis if it helps them to beat you, and the big difference with a competition you have won is that you do not have the level of doubt that opponents like Glasgow feel – and when the heat comes on it’s the side that blinks first that generally loses.
Allianz Park is not a ground you would call a fortress, because I don’t believe it’s intimidating in a way that French grounds are, or like Kingsholm or Welford Road can be.
But even though it’s not got a history of being a hostile environment, Saracens do their talking between the goal-lines and the touchlines – and they are winning the debates against most teams that challenge them there.
Okay, they lost to Clermont at home last season, but although it took a while for them to respond in terms of quality by the end of the season they were the same old Saracens.
Glasgow have the quality to win if they find the belief, but I expect Saracens to win in Scotland – and after starting well in this season’s European Cup to carry that drive through to the knock-out stages, if not the final.