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Champions Sarries begin with a win

Saracens’ Owen Farrell at Newcastle Falcons

Premiership champions Saracens began the new season with an impressive 32-21 win at Newcastle Falcons on Sunday.

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Newcastle enjoyed an impressive campaign last time out, but they struggled to stay with the visitors at Kingston Park as Alex Lewington crossed twice to set up an opening-weekend win.

Lewington’s first try on the stroke of half-time and the follow-up conversion from Owen Farrell – last season’s leading points scorer – opened up an eight-point lead after Jamie George had crossed earlier on.

Mark Wilson twice scored after the restart as the Falcons threatened a fightback, with Lewington responding to the first score to keep Sarries in front.

The task became a little more tricky when the visitors were reduced to 13 men following a pair of yellow cards, but Nick Tompkins returned from the sin bin to score with four minutes remaining and settle away nerves.

Finally out of sight, Farrell, consistent with the boot throughout, dispatched a penalty to cap the scoring and ensure a fine start to the campaign for the champions.

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J
JW 1 hour ago
How key Waratahs playmakers could reshape Joe Schmidt's Wallabies backline

Yeah like a classic comedy show, not too different to how he went at the same venue last year? Perhaps there’s something about that latitude that puts his equilibrium off?


The rush on Jo was fine though, you’d catch most players out with Dmacs ex3cution of it. There were actually quite a few instances like that, not too dissimilar to that Bledisloe game actually, were things just didn’t work out for no luck of trying to skill. I laughed when Dmac took himself out of that try and basically gifted it to them by trying to bowl over Kellaway was perhaps the most comical.


Actually now you say that, yes, very reminiscent of Aus v England wasn’t it. The two changes at halves have been instrumental for me. Not that the first two weren’t playing well, but these two seem to pair up better, with everyone. Like you say with those sorts of counter attack plays, they are on instinct and that stuff needs to be shared with everyone. That’s another thing too I was thinking, in that respect guys returning can be a hinderance to a team playing well, but I might have just thought that because I wasn’t sure (hadn’t seen much) which of NSWs midfields were best suited where.


I’m very similar in my TMO preference as well. I had actually said to myself several times already this season (SR here) that they are pretty bullish basically telling the ref what theyve seen as fact. If I remember rightly it even happened a few times in November and some of the refs then said “no, I’m actually happy with that.” etc. But very tough on Maybe (I think) who probably has plss poor vision on the big screen to say anything otherwise, so yes, definitely just make it an offer to look and also communicate ‘why’ precisely to the ref, and (just like he does to the players) he can even say to the TMO “no I was happy how I saw it live, I don’t need a replay thanks” etc. He started like that I think, “I’d like to review a simultaneous grounding” but then yes, he took over after. Of course in the refs minds, it’s the right call, thoughts how it’s always been ref’d, even when theres a good few frames in the slowmo that actually show ball obviously hitting grass first (which they didn’t in this game), they’ve always ruled that (like in cricket) if the ball continues to then be ground on the line after (or in the same frame in this example) they always gone ‘dead ball’. The new SR committee apparently what to making the line the attacking teams so they award the try’s instead of taking them away, but just like I said with them not wanting to look closely at the first forward pass (like they did for the Chiefs try), I don’t want random JRLO level decisions, and giving the line to the attacking team is just going to make clear no trys, a try instead. It’s exactly the same result.

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