Barritt confident leaders will pay for Saracens’ Euro exit
BRAD BARRITT today insisted S a r a c e ns ’ Euro pe a n Cup exit can be a “galvanising force” when they face leaders Northampton in a battle of the top two on Saturday.
Sarries are six points behind the defending Premiership champions and both teams need to maintain the top two positions to ensure home matches in the play-off semi-finals. The pressure going into the game at Stadium MK is on the London side in particular as they are level on points with Bath and only three ahead of Exeter in fourth.
Sarries lost their Rugby Champions Cup s e mi - f i n a l 1 3 -9 t o C l e r mo n t Auvergne on Saturday despite a Herculean effort from the Vunipola brothers, Billy and Mako, and 20-year-old flanker Maro Itoje but the manner of their performance gives Barritt confidence for the rest of the campaign.
The England centre, who captained Sarries in France, said: “We showed against Clermont we can play at that high level and now we need to bring that to the Premiership against Northampton where we are still alive and we want to secure a home play-off semi-final.
“I believe the Clermont game can be a galvanising force because we took a lot of confidence out of the performance. We have put together a good run in the Premiership and to narrowly lose to Clermont is not a major setback.
“It is not a case of going back to the drawing board by any stretch. It’s a hallmark of this team that we can refocus and regroup very quickly and we will put in a great performance against Northampton.”
Over the years Sarries have attracted stars to the Premiership such as Francois Pienaar, Michael Lynagh, Taine Randell, Chris Jack and Philippe Sella. However, Barritt believes the emergence of players such as Itoje and England lock George Kruis proves they can produce their own talent.
He added: “Maro is playing some fantastic rugby and the club’s Academy has been producing some outstanding players over the last four or five years.
“We don’t want to be a buying club, we want to develop our own talent.That puts you in a stronger place by constantly adding to the squad from the Academy players. The core are going to be guys who the club have developed and that is very important for the future of Saracens.”
England and Wasps lock Joe Launchbury aims to make his return after six months out following neck surgery against Leicester on May 9.