Viadana v Saracens

[An Tarbh]

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Viadana v Saracens

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Saracens head to Viadana knowing that qualification is firmly in their own hands following Glasgow's favour last weekend. 3 more wins starting this weekend and the job is done for Gaffney's side.

Following last weekend's drubbing, Sarries coach Gaffney has made 5 changes to the pack but the backline remains the same, as for Viadana they've also rung the changes from the side which lost so heavily at Vicarage Rd.

So is a repeat performance on the cards or have Viadana any chance of getting their maiden win???

Viadana: 15 Steven Bortolussi, 14 Kaine Robertson ©, 13 Garry Law, 12 Matthew Harvey, 11 Samuele Pace, 10 Calvin Howarth, 9 Craig McGrath, 8 Jaco Erasmus, 7 Aldo Birchall, 6 Joshua Sole, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Dion Waller, 3 Ignacio Rouyet, 2 Luigi Ferraro, 1 Miguel Alonso.
Replacements: 16 Andrea Moretti, 17 André De Bonis, 18 Cristian Bezzi, 19 Andrea Benatti, 20 Corrado Pilat, 21 Sam Harding, 22 Andrea Accorsi.

Saracens: 15 Brent Russell, 14 Richard Haughton, 13 Kevin Sorrell, 12 Andy Farrell, 11 Kameli Ratuvou, 10 Glen Jackson, 9 Neil de Kock ©, 8 Ben Skirving, 7 David Seymour, 6 Paul Gustard, 5 Hugh Vyvyan, 4 Kris Chesney, 3 Cobus Visagie, 2 Matt Cairns, 1 Kevin Yates.
Replacements: 16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Tom Mercey, 18 Iain Fullarton, 19 Tom Ryder, 20 Mosese Rauluni, 21 Adam Powell, 22 Rodd Penney.

 

[danit]

unbelivable 1st half in Viadana

Viadana 26 - 3 Saracens

4 tries for Viadana (Erasmus2, Robertson, S. Bortolussi)

 

[An Tarbh]

unbelieveable is quite an understated way of putting it, mine being more along the lines of HOLY f***ING ****.

Is this just an awful display from Saracens, are the tries opportunistic or is it just quality rugby from Viadana???

I'd bet Warriors and BO fans are jumping for joy at this result although from the sounds of it, Glasgow's trip there in January won't be a walk in the park and it doesn't make Biarritz's result on the opening day look too shabby.

 

[danit]

I'm not watching the game (my eyes are on Cardiff-Paris) but some mates told me Viadana dominated every phase of the game in the first half

 

[Warriors#1]

If Viadana pull this off then this will blow the group wide open!

Can't beleive that Saracens are losing, especially after their 71-7 victory last week!

 

[danit]

especially after their 71-7 victory last week! [/b]

that's probably the reason they are not taking this match too seriously (that's always a mistake)

btw 26-13 actually

 

[An Tarbh]

and still they eat into the lead with another 3 points

 

[Warriors#1]

try Saracens: 26-26 now

 

[Incredible Schalk]

Saracens now lead, great comeback.

 

[An Tarbh]

Credit to Sarries for that comeback but once again this game just proves how unpredictable and exciting this pool is turning out to be. Great stuff.

 

[Sir Speedy]

unbelieveable is quite an understated way of putting it, mine being more along the lines of HOLY f***ING ****.
[/b]

Seconded....what the hell? O_O

 

[Warriors#1]

thats a win without a bonus point for Saracens isnt it?

 

[danit]

thats a win without a bonus point for Saracens isnt it? [/b]

yes it is, 26-34, 3 tries (one penalty try) for Saracens

Viadana got offensive bonus (4 tries) but no defensive one...

 

[ecks tartan army]

:?

not sure wether to be happy that sarries failed with the bonus point, or worried about Glasgows trip in january!

If Glasgowplay like they did last night i cant see Viadana scoring many tries, however Viadana are the Celtic of European Rugby - 26 consecutive defeats on the road in the HC. That could well cause a few mental problems before the Viadana match.

One thing is for sure though, Bonus points are going to be vital in this group, and Glasgow have taken 3 from four games (as have sarries) and Biarritz havent. that could be what costs BO a place in the quarters.

So long as the Warriors do the buisness in Italy though we are set for one hell of a showdown at Firhill - the likes of which the pro-game in Scotland has never seen before.

 

[Incredible Schalk]

:?

not sure wether to be happy that sarries failed with the bonus point, or worried about Glasgows trip in january!

If Glasgowplay like they did last night i cant see Viadana scoring many tries, however Viadana are the Celtic of European Rugby - 26 consecutive defeats on the road in the HC. That could well cause a few mental problems before the Viadana match.

One thing is for sure though, Bonus points are going to be vital in this group, and Glasgow have taken 3 from four games (as have sarries) and Biarritz havent. that could be what costs BO a place in the quarters.

So long as the Warriors do the buisness in Italy though we are set for one hell of a showdown at Firhill - the likes of which the pro-game in Scotland has never seen before.
[/b]

Isnt this thread on the Saracens vs Viadana game?

 

[ecks tartan army]

<div class='quotemain'>
:?

not sure wether to be happy that sarries failed with the bonus point, or worried about Glasgows trip in january!

If Glasgowplay like they did last night i cant see Viadana scoring many tries, however Viadana are the Celtic of European Rugby - 26 consecutive defeats on the road in the HC. That could well cause a few mental problems before the Viadana match.

One thing is for sure though, Bonus points are going to be vital in this group, and Glasgow have taken 3 from four games (as have sarries) and Biarritz havent. that could be what costs BO a place in the quarters.

So long as the Warriors do the buisness in Italy though we are set for one hell of a showdown at Firhill - the likes of which the pro-game in Scotland has never seen before.
[/b]

Isnt this thread on the Saracens vs Viadana game? [/b][/quote]



yeah, does or doesnt my post concern both team involved in the sarries v viadana match?

 

[An Tarbh]

It's all relevant people.

 

[Incredible Schalk]

<div class='quotemain'> <div class='quotemain'>
:?

not sure wether to be happy that sarries failed with the bonus point, or worried about Glasgows trip in january!

If Glasgowplay like they did last night i cant see Viadana scoring many tries, however Viadana are the Celtic of European Rugby - 26 consecutive defeats on the road in the HC. That could well cause a few mental problems before the Viadana match.

One thing is for sure though, Bonus points are going to be vital in this group, and Glasgow have taken 3 from four games (as have sarries) and Biarritz havent. that could be what costs BO a place in the quarters.

So long as the Warriors do the buisness in Italy though we are set for one hell of a showdown at Firhill - the likes of which the pro-game in Scotland has never seen before.
[/b]

Isnt this thread on the Saracens vs Viadana game? [/b][/quote]



yeah, does or doesnt my post concern both team involved in the sarries v viadana match?
[/b][/quote]

In every paragraph Glasgow is mentioned.

 

[ecks tartan army]

<div class='quotemain'>
<div class='quotemain'> <div class='quotemain'>
:?

not sure wether to be happy that sarries failed with the bonus point, or worried about Glasgows trip in january!

If Glasgowplay like they did last night i cant see Viadana scoring many tries, however Viadana are the Celtic of European Rugby - 26 consecutive defeats on the road in the HC. That could well cause a few mental problems before the Viadana match.

One thing is for sure though, Bonus points are going to be vital in this group, and Glasgow have taken 3 from four games (as have sarries) and Biarritz havent. that could be what costs BO a place in the quarters.

So long as the Warriors do the buisness in Italy though we are set for one hell of a showdown at Firhill - the likes of which the pro-game in Scotland has never seen before.
[/b]

Isnt this thread on the Saracens vs Viadana game? [/b][/quote]



yeah, does or doesnt my post concern both team involved in the sarries v viadana match?
[/b][/quote]

In every paragraph Glasgow is mentioned.
[/b][/quote] #



And Saracens are mentioned in paragraph 1, Viadana in paragraph 2, Viadana, Saracens and Biarritz in paragraph 3 and Saracens in paragraph 4.



I am merly giving my view on the game from my perspective, and also mentioning my view of how this result will affect the pool in general.

 

[Prestwick]

Just come back from Italy and I must say that Parma was superb and the reception from the Viadana fans was out of this world. Simply fantastic. They put on free bread & salami as well as glasses of locally made lambrusco. Then they gave us a box of the stuff as a gift! I got to take home an extra bottle too! Simply superb. To any Glasgow fans who are thinking of visiting DO IT! BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS TO PARMA!! GO YOU FOOLS! GOOOO!!!!!111eleven.

As a bonus we managed to fez the Viadana mascot and we even managed to fez Saracens coach Alan "da gaffer" Gaffney! Result!

As for the match, to put it bluntly, we played flat and they played offside. Sole for example repeatedly went in at the side and eventually was sin binned. The number four also seemed to have a hard on for Seymour whom he repeatedly wrestled with on the floor just out of sight of the ref.

As for the ref, he didn't seem to have a grasp on what was actually happening around him. At one point Fabio Ongaro was on the floor out cold with Saracens physios around him and the ref was busy trying to get the teams to continue with a line out. It wasn't until Kaine Robertson pointed to poor Ongaro on the floor that the ref realised what was happening and called time off. Most importantly, he didn't "see" half of Viadanas rather obvious offside infringements.

In any case though, the first fourty minutes were an absolute disaster. Saracens were slow, lethargic and struggled in the rucks. First four minutes, ball was turned over and then suddenly the Viadana backs were over Saracens faster than you can say "thats a'more!" Try for Viadana.

The next two tries were superb opportunistic ones, both were from awful passes from Glen Jackson which were intercepted. And trust me, when either Robertson or Bortolussi get the ball and have space? Not even Bryan Habana (or his arch nemesis Tony Spreadbury) could catch these guys.

But those weren't the impressive ones, tries number 1 and 4 were the impressive ones, especially how both sprang from turnover ball and some agile running from Viadana's Kiwi number twelve before deftly handing it over to messrs Robertson, Sole and Bortolussi to finish the job.

So obviously, come half time, the mood in the fez brigade in the Bam Stand wasn't the brightest. If I could measure the mood, it'd probably be that of Northampton mid-season last season. It was frankly embarrasing to be honest.

So, it was rather nice to see Saracens come back in the second half. Only a late ten minute fightback by Viadana prevented Saracens to score four tries but the try by Seymour was excellent. A good break by Haughton (with the haircut narrowly eclipsed by Edinburgh_Gunner's) enabled Seymour to bound through and put his Sevens skills to the test, going through to score a superb try. The fightback was superb and it got even better when we got a scrum inside Viadana's 22 and decided to put their forwards to the test.

Lets just say they were found wanting. I was right down by the touchline listening to de Kock and Gustard give both the ref and the touch judge a peice of their mind about Viadana going straight to ground. The ref did give Viadana allot of leeway and the sorry sight was repeated a mind numbingly slow five times before the ref went to the posts and called the penalty try.

One thing I should note is our new Bok Fullback Brent Russell. In the first half he was industrious but should have ran when he kicked while kicking when he should have ran! Come the 2nd half and the guy was on song, kicking, passing and running on cue and making some excellent breaks. Somewhere, Thomas Castinede must have a big smile on his face :lol:

After the game, I did have the chance to ask a couple of the Saracens backs what it was like playing with Russell and they said that basically the problem is that as its just his 2nd game with the main team, they haven't a clue how he plays in person. Sure they've watched plenty of videos of him, etc but on the pitch apparently its a lot different so they didn't know whether he was going to run, pass or kick!

After the game there was beer, salami and even some mulled Lambrusco to be had. Players from both teams wandered around, I did ask Andy Farrell what he thought of the game and after pausing to ponder his reply he said:

Aye, the game..what the bloody hell was that all about?![/b]

...quite.

In the end a magical journey and we were "der der der"'ing the theme of the Great Escape late into the night! BIG thanks to EVERYONE at Viadana for making the day so god damn amazing!

Seriously, people of Glasgow!, put some of our English taxpayer pounds to good use: GO TO PARMA/VIADANA!!!!

EDIT: Photos are here -> http://www.flickr.com/photos/prestwick/set...57603472235028/