Following a comfortable 39-24 victory for Saracens over Northampton Saints at StoneX Stadium on Sunday, here are our winners and losers from the Premiership clash.
Winners
Theo Dan
The England hooker was a man on a mission in the first half as he barrelled into contact, constantly making metres as the Saints lost the physical battle to the front-rower. Dan was utterly magnificent, making a point to Curtis Langdon, who is one of those hoping to challenge him for a spot in the Six Nations squad.
Once the clear second choice for England behind skipper Jamie George, Dan slipped behind Luke Cowan-Dickie in the Autumn Nations Series and he showed on Sunday that he is desperate to get his place in the 23 back. This performance will go some way to doing that, despite Cowan-Dickie also impressing for Sale Sharks recently.
Tom Willis
Absolutely monstrous yet again. There is no better number eight in England at close quarters given his ability to spin out of congested channels and make ground. Willis once again did that effectively against Northampton as the hosts dominated the first half and went 24-0 in front.
Willis simply has to be in England’s Six Nations squad after surprisingly missing out in the Autumn Nations Series. Whatever the Red Rose head coach doesn’t like about him at the moment, to us he seems like the archetypal Steve Borthwick player: work ethic, power and good defensively.
Ivan van Zyl
Very rarely enters the Springboks discussion but the scrum-half has performed at a consistently high standard for Saracens in the Premiership without much fanfare. In difficult conditions, the playmaker played them beautifully with his dink over the top for Fergus Burke’s second try a highlight.
There are scrum-halves in South Africa who do the spectacular much better but if Rassie Erasmus wants control and game-management, Van Zyl could well be someone to look at. His service from the base was sharp while his box-kicking caused all sorts of problems for the visitors.
Fergus Burke
It has been a solid rather than spectacular start for Owen Farrell’s replacement but you can very much see him settling in nicely. An untimely injury deprived him of showing his true class for the Crusaders last season but his ability was on show in London.
Burke touched down twice, found holes in the opposition defence and, alongside Van Zyl, mastered the conditions. Eligible for either England or Scotland, it would not be a surprise to see him getting international recognition at some point over the next year.
Jamie George
At half-time, Phil Dowson gave his Saints side an absolute rocket and his charges responded, scoring two tries to reduce the arrears to 24-12. They were threatening a comeback but then George came on to the field to settle things down.
Gone are the days of the big moments in the loose where George would outstrip defences – something which has been passed over to Dan – but his leadership remains vital. It’s probably not a coincidence that he has been off the field when England have lost late on in games, which perhaps gives Borthwick something to think about going forward.
Losers
Tom Pearson
There was a point when people were talking about the openside as a genuine England option but he has not been at his best this season. Pearson now has competition for that Saints shirt from talented youngster Henry Pollock but, after being among the replacements against the Bulls, he was handed the opportunity to start in London.
However, the first half was rather a disaster, with Pearson’s hands acting more like concrete as the ball regularly spilled out and handed possession over to the opposition. He was better after the break, going over for a try as they sensed a comeback, but by then the damage had been done.
Curtis Langdon
Like Pearson, the hooker struggled to make his presence felt in the first half was one of the culprits for their handling issues. His set-piece work was also mixed and, as a result, they struggled to get any sort of foothold in the contest.
Langdon enjoyed a fine season in 2023/24 and was unfortunate to miss out on possible selection for the mid-year series in Japan and New Zealand through injury, but this display will not do his Test prospects any good looking ahead to the Six Nations.
Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith
While Van Zyl and Burke managed the conditions expertly, the England playmaker did not. Granted, he was not helped by his pack, who made several errors and were overwhelmed by the sheer ferocity of Saracens, but Mitchell’s and Smith’s decision-making was poor.
It is staggering that considering the conditions they rarely tested the Sarries back three in the air and that was the fault of the half-backs. Like the team, there was an improvement after the interval, but they still failed to put any high bombs up.
George Hendy
There were some classy moments which showed the youngster’s ability but altogether he failed the high ball examination. Conditions made it very difficult for the back three but Hendy needs to do much better if he is to cement that full-back spot while George Furbank is out.
Once he dropped one, his confidence seemed to go and it rather simplified Sarries’ game plan as they knew putting the ball in the air would result in easy yardage. Hendy is a wonderful talent but this was a huge learning curve for the 22-year-old.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/saracens-v-northampton-winners-and-losers-england-hooker-a-man-on-a-mission-ahead-of-six-nations-as-saints-forwards-lose-physical-battle
