Sorrell pleased to see English clubs stand up
DESPITE their fierce London rivalry with Harlequins, Saracens backs coach Kevin Sorrell is pleased two Premiership sides reached the last four of the Champions Cup for the first time in four years.
Saracens were given a week off following their 45-12 humbling by Bordeaux-Begles but rugby can be bizarre on occasions and last Saturday proved that when Harlequins, who Sarries had toppled 52-7 a few weeks earlier, saw off the star studded French side in a thrilling 42-41 victory.
A sense of ‘what if’ kicked in for Sorrell’s side but the former centre recognised the result was for the good of the English game, which has endured turmoil in recent years with three clubs expelled from the first tier and a reduced salary cap which has resulted in a mass exodus of big name players.
Exeter were the sole English representative in the semi-finals last season but were battered in a 47-28 defeat to eventual champions La Rochelle, but with Quins joining Northampton this term, there’s some much needed optimism in English rugby.
Sorrell told The Rugby Paper: “It was pleasing that the English clubs had a good showing in Europe. It’s been tough for any of us to get into the semi-finals during the last couple of years, so to get a couple representatives there is good for the English game. We’ll see how Harlequins and Northampton go in the next round but they’re certainly flying the flag for Premiership Rugby in Europe.”
Saracens will be all guns blazing in the Premiership’s regular season finale as the reigning champions hope to send club legend and 16-year stalwart Owen Farrell off to Racing 92 in style with a seventh title.
Jackson Wray and Duncan Taylor moved on last year, while Alex Lewington announced last week he will follow Farrell out the door as Sarries embark on a new era.
Sorrell said: “There’s eight teams vying for the top four spots, so it’s critical to get positive results in the final few games of the season.
“Alex is a brilliant bloke on and off the pitch. We’ll miss him because of what a professional he is on the pitch and what a brilliant man he is off the pitch as well. We’re certainly not more motivated because of these departures though as every time a player puts on a Saracens shirt they want t o put in a good perfor mance, so the inspiration doesn’t change much for us.”
Saracens have been busy molding a squad for next season with the club bringing in fly-halves Louie Johnson and Fergus Burke to replace Farrell. England U20s graduate Johnson, 20, has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign with Newcastle, making 12 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring 64 points including a player of the match 22-point haul in a Challenge Cup victory over Perpignan.
Burke, 24, joins from the Crusaders where he has played a part in the club’s last four Super Rugby title wins, and Sorrell is excited about how his new look backline is shaping up.
He added: “There’s always a bit of transition. We lost Duncan Taylor last year and he was a massive player in our backline for many years. There’s probably more transition than we’ve had in previous years but we want to build again and see where we can go. We’ve got Sam Spink (centre from Western Force) coming in as well which is also exciting.
“I’ve only met Louis once on a call but he was very impressive on that call to be fair. I know he’s reached out to some other people here in terms of starting to gather understanding, so he can hit the ground running. He looks an impressive young person which is exciting.
“Fergus excited me watching his clips, his running game is outstanding. I’m looking forward to getting him in and seeing what impact he can have in and around the club. Crusaders have been a pretty good team for a long time, so it’ll be interesting to see if we can learn something from them as well.”