Guinness Premiership Final preview: Leicester Tigers v Saracens
It’s usually the players who aim to avoid suspension for the season’s showpiece finale; but the build-up to Saturday’s Guinness Premiership Final has been overshadowed by the two coaches’ disciplinary problems.
Leicester Tigers and Saracens will battle it out for the coveted Premiership title at Twickenham this weekend. However, Saracens director of rugby, Brendan Venter, will not be allowed to take charge of his team after incurring a contentious 14-week banning order – reduced to 10 on appeal – and will have to make do with watching the action from his living room instead.
Even his wife and two eldest children will be in the stands. But rather inexplicably, the man who has masterminded Saracens surge up the league table this season and his youngest son, Joshua, will not.
Meanwhile, Leicester head coach, Richard Cockerill, was fortunate to escape suspension after his tantrum against Bath in the semi-finals. The RFU confirmed that Cockerill will still receive a warning over his future conduct, but stated that because his actions involved no third party – unlike Venter’s – it didn’t warrant a similar punishment.
Straight away, this hands the Tigers a huge advantage going into the final match of the season at HQ. Although Saracens will be well-prepared for the match, their experienced opponents will undoubtedly have the upper-hand with their tactician instructing from the sidelines.
Over the course of the regular season, the two teams finished with near identical records. Both won 15, drew one and lost six – with Leicester only ending up on top of the table after amassing more bonus points.
And in the head-to-head clashes, both teams finished the campaign with one victory each. Unusually, Leicester beat the Sarries at Vicarage Road; while Venter’s side ended the Tiger’s two-year unbeaten home record just three weeks ago. A stat which suggests neither side overly rely on home advantage; and that both will be comfortable in unfamiliar surroundings this weekend.
The current champions will still be reeling after that defeat earlier in the month - inflicting revenge will be top of their agenda. And if they do so, the Tigers will rack up an unprecedented 10th title.
England flanker Lewis Moody will hope to sign off his Leicester career in style with another Premiership winners’ medal. Saturday’s final at Twickenham will be his last match at the club before joining Bath in the summer.
Saracens, meanwhile, are boosted by the return of England skipper Steve Borthwick, who has missed the last two-months because of injury. No. 8 Ernst Joubert will retain the captaincy, though, while New Zealand duo Glen Jackson and Justin Marshall play their final matches before retirement.
The Sarries are long overdue a trophy, having failed to lift any silverware since the Tetley’s Bitter Cup in 1998. Over the past 12 years since their last major success, Leicester have been rampant – both domestically and in Europe.
The Tigers have won no less than six league titles since ’98, and Anglo-Welsh Cup, along with two prestigious Heineken Cups.
Equipped with a vast amount of experience in cup finals, there’s no chance of Leicester being overawed by the occasion this weekend. It’ll be up to Saracens to showcase their credentials and prove why they’re considered worthy finalists.
An impressive 21-19 victory over Northampton Saints in the semi-finals outlined exactly what the Sarries are capable of producing; but Leicester’s equally impressive display against Bath left no doubts that they have their sights firmly set on entering double figures for league titles.
After their seismic blip around the turn of the year, few would have predicted Saracens to battle back in the manner in which they have, and then reach the Premiership’s grand finale. But they have done just that. And now complete with a great sense of injustice after the banning order against Venter, the Sarries could be poised to pull off an almighty shock this Saturday.
Forget about the Lost finale. Should Saracens triumph at Twickenham, Venter will never witness a greater piece of television in his life.
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