I was among those who witnessed a memorable fightback on Saturday afternoon. The reigning European rugby champions were playing against the team they beat in last year’s English final. Just 10 minutes into what was always going to be a tight match, one of their players was sent off for foul play. The new rules dispatched him for the entire game, not the previous temporary stay in the sin bin. Their fate seemed sealed. In rugby, 14 very rarely beats 15.
Soon after that red card, the Champions were down 10-3 and for all the money in the bookmaker’s satchel, heading for a hiding. Except they never read the script. What followed was an hour of guts and glory, with the team repelling waves of attack from their better resourced rivals and, eventually, launching a comeback to end the game in an unlikely draw.
These Champions of Europe are the Saracens. An unlikely name for a London rugby club, but even less so for one half-owned by South Africans. The name goes back to the 1800s, then chosen because the nearest rival was called Crusaders. Today Saracens is also captained by a Saffer (Brad Barritt) and includes a sprinkling of Springboks (Schalk Burger, Schalk Brits, Vincent Koch, Neil de Kock).
Frustrated by politics, many South African sportsmen are taking their talents into the global arena. But no matter where they roam, their undeniable “gees” is ever evident. And as we saw from Saracens, it certainly was over the weekend.
