PREVIEW: Saracens v Wasps
If Saracens can overcome Wasps this weekend the club will take up a place in a sixth final in nine years.
That run highlights an extraordinary period of excellence at the top of club rugby, with all but one of those finals played under director of rugby Mark McCall, who took over in the 2010-11 season.
Those five finals yielded three trophies, with the club’s maiden triumph at this level coming in 2011 courtesy of a 22-18 win over Leicester Tigers at Twickenham.
That season saw England flyhalf Owen Farrell, on loan at Bedford Blues but also returning to play a key part in the final with five penalties and a conversion.
Saracens led for most of the match but had to withstand a Tigers fightback in the second half, with then 19-year-old Farrell showing now-familiar big match temperament to land a crucial touchline penalty with seven minutes remaining – quelling the Leicester resurgence.
At only 26-years-old, Farrell has seen one or two more big events since then and has another coming up this weekend with the visit of Wasps to Allianz Park.
The north London club have been in fine form in recent months, taking five Premiership Rugby wins on the trot and accruing more than 50 points in three of those games.
Farrell is pleased to see back rows Billy Vunipola and Michael Rhodes fit once again, with thoughts very much focused on Wasps rather than the final.
"He was our player of the year last year [Rhodes] and he’s had a bad time with injuries at the club, " Farrell said.
"It’s really exciting having him back as well as Billy [Vunipola].
"We’re pleased to get a home semi-final, we’re just looking to build on what we’ve been doing through the year and make sure we kick on now.
"We’ve not talked about the final or the title or anything like that.
"It’s an important part of the year and it’s a time when people kick on and we’re definitely trying to do that,"
Meanwhile, Wasps loose forward Jack Willis is targeting his first Premiership Rugby final appearance.
Willis has enjoyed a superb campaign thus far having broken into the Wasps first team and captured a place on England’s tour to South Africa this June after a series of dominant displays.
The 21-year-old featured from the bench four times last season but not in the Premiership Rugby semi-finals or final, and can’t wait to fire into action on Saturday.
Standing in the Coventry side’s path en route to the Premiership Rugby final is the challenging task of a do-or-die clash at the home of 2016 champions Saracens.
The north-London club have beaten Wasps twice this season, 38-15 at the Ricoh Arena in January and 38-19 at Allianz Park in October, incidentally Willis’ first Premiership Rugby start.
"I’ve learned loads since that game," Willis said, adding: "That was my first start in the league back then and I’ve learned a lot in the games since.
"Being around the players more regularly you pick up lots of different things and just gain that experience.
"The quality we’ve had here in the back row has been great for me to learn off and watch their games, see what I could improve.
"I’m really looking forward to going back there (Allianz Park) now,"
With James Haskell, Danny Cipriani, Guy Thompson and Kyle Eastmond all leaving Wasps this summer the players are well aware that the Premiership Rugby semi-final could mark their final appearances for the club.
Emotions may be high, but Willis says focus is firmly on victory.
"You always want the lads leaving to go on a high," added 6ft 3in Willis.
"But they’ll be the first ones to say themselves, they want to focus on the game and if you do that and get the result – that’s where the memories are to be made.
"That’s the important thing, making sure everyone’s focused on the semi-final.
"It would be an incredible experience to reach the final and it’s something you look to as a young kid and want to be involved in those games.
"There’s a lot of hard work to go in this weekend first but if that came about it would be an incredible opportunity,"
Wasps coach Dai Young said: "I am confident we can go out there and score points against their legendary defence. Their defence is awesome, we all know that, but I am confident we can go there and score.
"We will obviously have a challenge with their power up front and will have to stop their ball carriers.
"In the two games, we've played them so far this season that's something we haven't been able to do. They're a real team that thrive on momentum so it's up to us to win that gain line battle in attack and defence.
"To do that, we need to get around the corner quicker. We need to be set quicker so we can go to meet them, close their space down and stop their momentum, make dominant tackles and slow their ball down,"
Prediction: Saracens have won their last six Premiership Rugby matches since Exeter Chiefs beat them at Sandy Park in early March. Saracens have lost twice at Allianz Park in Premiership Rugby this season, to Exeter in round 9 and Leicester in round 16. This is Wasps eighth appearance in a Premiership Semi-final, the last three in succession, where their record is won five, lost two, with the two defeats being the only two Semi-finals they have played away from home – at Sale in 2006 and at Exeter in 2016. Wasps have won their last three Premiership Rugby matches since Sale beat them by a solitary point at AJ Bell Stadium at the beginning of April. Saracens only defeat to Wasps in their last five fixtures in all tournaments was 15-35 at Ricoh Arena in May 2017. The two clubs only previous meeting in a semi-final was in the European Champions Cup in 2016 at Reading where Saracens won 24-17. Saracens will win this by 6 points.
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Brad Barritt (captain), 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jackson Wray, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Michael Rhodes, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Marcelo Bosch, 23 Nathan Earle
Wasps: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Jack Willis, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Joe Launchbury (captain), 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Ben Harris
Replacements: 16 TJ Harris, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Marty Moore, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Kyle Eastmond, 23 Josh Bassett
Date: Saturday, May 19
Venue: Allianz Park, London
Kick-off: 12.30 (11.30 GMT)
Expected weather: It will be a sunny afternoon with a high of 22°C and a low of 8°C.
Referee: John-Paul Doyle
Assistant referees: Ian Tempest, Hamish Smales
TMO: Graham Hughes
Source: @PremRugby
