Saracens call themselves the men in black and they have been compared to the All Blacks after their victory against Toulon on the Mediterranean last week, which was a triumph of panache over the slapdash.
It was not hyperbole given the impressive way Saracens started, moving the ball away quickly to prevent their French opponents from slowing play down at the breakdown with the forwards displaying impressive handling skills and athleticism, and the way they finished with 14 men, having no alarms in the closing minutes after a 19-point lead had evaporated into one of five points.
It may have been a good time to play Toulon, who in 2016 have declined from the side who conquered Europe and the Top 14, but Saracens showed how they had matured in the 29 months since their 23-6 European Cup defeat against Toulon in Cardiff, a game that was played on the terms of the French club.
Rugby union at professional level may now rely far more on science than art, but the value of surprise has never been higher. Toulon came equipped for a tight, risk-free encounter, much like the May final between Saracens and Racing 92 in Lyon, but from the opening minutes found themselves being stretched from one side to the other as their opponents kept the tempo of the game high.
Toulon did not react, and while they eventually mustered a response in the second half, they were well beaten having not mugged up enough on Saracens who have shown throughout this decade that they are far more than a side that relies on its set-pieces, defence and the goal-kicking of Owen Farrell.
At the start of the decade, Saracens went to Northampton in the closing weeks of the regular season and turned on the style as they won 28-27. Some of their passing movements belonged to another era and, after winning at Leicester, they returned to Franklin’s Gardens for the play-off semi-final. They won again, slightly less flamboyantly, and pushed the Tigers all the way in one of the most entertaining finals at Twickenham. In the 2014 European Cup semi-final at Twickenham, they overwhelmed Clermont Auvergne, running from all parts.
They are a two-tone team, as the All Blacks have been over the years, able to tailor their tactics to suit who they are playing and the weather conditions. Not for nothing were they the first Premiership club to lay an artificial surface, and while they have thrived on being a side that no one outside Allianz Park loves, the Millwall syndrome, they demand admiration and respect.
While Toulon reached the top of their league and Europe with (largely) an old side, Saracens have a much younger average age with a core of homegrown players rather than overseas recruits. One aspect where they resemble the All Blacks is in developing a squad who are mates as well as team-mates. No one dares let down his friends; strength in unity.
They are, with all respect to Wasps, the leading club in England by some way at a time when the clubs who were with them in the top four in the early years of the decade – Leicester, Northampton and Harlequins – have been losing their way. Exeter are still recovering from the way they were dismantled by Sarries in the final in May, while the team who were beaten by the men in black the season before, Bath, took a year to get over it.
Within the space of six days, and despite having a number of their players involved in the England training camp in Brighton, Saracens not only defeated two of their closest challengers, Wasps and Toulon, but stripped them of their pride. They did so in contrasting styles, wearing down the former and taking on the latter from the kick-off.
The victories, and the manner of them, are a tribute to their director of rugby, Mark McCall, a man so quietly spoken that he is rugby’s equivalent of Whispering Bob Harris; unless you place a tape recorder close to his mouth, all you hear on replay is background noise. His recruitment is spot on: while Toulon assembled some of the game’s biggest names and threw them together, with no little success, Saracens look for players who will complement the squad and fit in with an ethos that has resurrected a part of the amateur era.
Schalk Burger is the latest example, the highly experienced South Africa flanker who plays with the relish of a rookie, along with Alex Lozowski, the third-choice outside-half at Wasps last season. Billy Vunipola did not look a natural Saracen when he was recruited from Wasps, individual and not particularly aware, but he has turned into one of the game’s leading No8s. Charlie Hodgson was another shrewd signing, and while there is the occasional mistake, such as James Johnston, Saracens have a knack for discerning qualities in players to whom other clubs are blind.
They face a testing few weeks when the Premiership returns and their England contingent turn their attention to the autumn international series. They are a second-row light, which is why they considered signing South Africa’s Eben Etzebeth this month, and perhaps a difference this season is that some of their key players have proved themselves to be top quality.
The England head coach Eddie Jones said on taking up the position that England needed world-class players. The likes of Billy Vunipola, Farrell and George Kruis are getting there, Mako Vunipola has developed into an all‑purpose prop of the kind usually seen in a New Zealand shirt and Maro Itoje and Jamie George have developed significantly in the past year.
Saracens play seven Premiership fixtures during the autumn international series and the Six Nations: Gloucester and Sale home and away, Bath, Newcastle and Worcester on the road. With England players also given two rest weekends during the club season, there may come a point when Saracens wonder if producing so many players for the national side is a good thing.
That is for the future. For now, they are pre-eminent in England. Wasps have assembled a strong squad but, as Saracens did, they have to learn from the pain of losing big matches and become multidimensional, hard to pin down. And, perhaps, hope that Saracens become victims of their own success.
This is an extract taken from the Guardian’s weekly rugby union email, The Breakdown. To subscribe just visit this page and follow the instructions.
