WE WON’T GET KNOCKED OFF OUR PERCH
Skipper says Sarries have the hunger to rule rugby like Liverpool ruled football in the 1970s and 80s.. as they close in on record 13th win
BRAD BARRITT has warned European rugby that Saracens are out to create a sporting dynasty.
Victory at Sale tomorrow would see the north Londoners equal Munster’s nine-yearold record for successive Champions Cup wins.
They have already made history by becoming the first club to capture Europe’s premier competition without losing a match.
And that sequence will extend to 13 if they repeat the result they got when thrashing Sale 50-3 at home last weekend.
Not since the late Anthony Foley’s Munster lifted the cup in 2006, then won their first five pool matches the next season, has a team enjoyed such an unbroken run. Yet that is only the half of it. In the same period Sarries have retained their English Premiership title and top the league again approaching the halfway point. “The secret of our success? The team is bigger than any one individual,” said club captain Barritt. “Regardless of where you are in your career, when you pull that jersey on it’s about the team and earning the respect of the friends you play alongside.” Look at the unbeaten year Eddie Jones’ England has had and think of the standout players in that side. Owen Farrell? Maro Itoje? Billy Vunipola? Billy’s brother Mako? George Kruis? All worthy contenders with one thing in common. They play for Saracens. Yet no sooner does the Test window shut than each returns genuinely eager to be a part of Saracens’ success story. “It comes down to the positive culture and strength of personality of the group,” said Barritt, who amassed 26 England caps. “Guys go out each week to prove themselves to their team-mates and earn respect back from them.
“I’ve never seen any ‘big time’ attitudes from returning internationals. It’s not what we’re about.
“Each week we start from scratch again, we don’t assume any game’s won.
“It’s a huge gauge of your culture and humility that you can back up your last performance.”
Not for nothing has Sale’s former All Black centre Sam Tuitupou this week described Saracens as “world class”.
Brian O’Driscoll considers them the team to beat as they attempt to become only the fourth side – after Leicester, Leinster and Toulon – to retain the Champions Cup. In 35 matches in Europe and the Premiership in 2016 Sarries have won 28 and drawn one.
But it goes back much further than that. Since 2010, from their first Premiership final appearance, Mark McCall’s men have won 124 of 166 league games. The question then is how long can this one-time council park outfit dominate?
Can they match, say, the feat of Phil Jackson’s Chicago Bulls with six NBA titles out of eight in the 1990s?
Are they capable of bossing rugby the way Liverpool did football in the 1970s and 80s – or creating the sort of dynasty Fergie built at Manchester United?
“Well, the attributes are there,” said Barritt. “If the hunger, desire, the constant strive to get better each day stays in the group I see no reason why we can’t continue the great form we’ve been in.”