Jamie George (left) and Owen Farrell are key Saracen players — can they keep their value as managers? Credit: PA/Mike Egerton
«It's Bobby», «It's Bobby», «Do it one more time until Bobby is gone.» Those were the comments I heard during the England drill series that Andy Farrell did many years ago. If you want to know what he meant, look up Bobby Dazzler in the city dictionary. If you want to know if Farrell Sr. has become a coaching prowess, take a look at the world rugby standings. If you want to bet that Farrell's son, Owen, will follow him on the road to coaching glory, you stand little chance.
Saturday's Premier League final was a fair and tough competition between two teams that alternated to the top spot. in terms of physical confrontation in the game. This causes the lead to swing back and forth before finally revealing a marginal superiority of one of the sides.
It was billed as a showdown between two dozen, Owen Farrell and George Ford, with little choice between them. It cannot be said that one overshadowed the other, just that one ended up on the right side of the results table, while the other had to experience the bitterness of defeat. It had little to do with what the player did or didn't do during the game. Perhaps Farrell's distribution looked smoother, but that could very well be due to the fact that he had superior outside resources.
If you want to watch a more decisive match of the day, check out the battle between Ben Earle of the Saracens and Tom Curry of Sale. The former proved more influential, especially in the late trades when Sarries eventually renegotiated the selling lead, which, albeit briefly, threatened to become a winning margin they could successfully defend. Earl's performance during his breakdown, assisted in no small part by Maro Itohe, was a constant thorn in Sale's side. It wasn't about which ball Earl flipped; it had more to do with him slowing down the sell-out or forcing the Manchester side to use more bodies than perhaps they wanted.
It won't be a shock if Farrell follows in his father's footsteps and becomes a successful coach. Photo: Getty Images/Mike Hewitt
In the end, Sale was unable to earn enough capital from the front row battle, where they had a slight advantage. This is a problem when it is an area of potential dominance. Judges are so fickle in their interpretations of who is at fault that you cannot rely on decisions in your favor. In decisive battles, the weak side can always put in a decent effort that deprives a strategically important opportunity.
Sales also had an advantage in the passed corridor, but the hallmark of the good side is that they limit their weaknesses and maximize the good. The physical battle of the past 10 minutes has been decisively won by the Saracens, and with it Sale's prospects of winning his first Premier League title in 17 years have vanished.
Looking back at the game, you can see that the marginal difference made by Saracen players like Max Mullins and Elliot Daly was decisive: Mullins twice stretched Sale's defense to the individual limit and penalties. Daley constantly looks menacing and always tries to win back before adding a try.
This sell-out challenged the Saracens as much of the game shows the progress they have made under Alex Sanderson. However, questionable decisions were made on the pitch that turned the nut a bit on the Saracens' service. Throwing the ball long into the lineout five meters from his own line was dubious at best, and not throwing the ball into the lineout to Sarris in the last 10 minutes when they had to chase the scoreboard made no sense.
The Saracens have every right to claim the concept of a sports dynasty created by the Americans. Yes, some will point to a serial violation of the salary cap, but this does not fully explain their hegemony in recent years. What's equally interesting is that, like previous dynasties in, say, Leicester, this looks to be the spawning of a number of elite coaches who will have far-reaching implications for the domestic and international game.
The Saracens can claim to be building a hugely successful sports dynasty. Photo: Getty Images/Clive Rose
Where you once saw Dean Richards, John Wells, Martin Johnson, Pat Howard, Graham Rowntree and Richard Cockerill, now you see Steve Borthwick, Paul Gustard, Sanderson and Richard Wigglesworth. This is just as important, if not more important, than anything the north London club has done on the pitch, and its effects will be more lasting.
You can almost certainly add the names of Farrell Jr. and Jamie George as potential future Saracen coaches if they so desire and although Ford is not from the same club, eminently knowledgeable to succeed in coaching.
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