Champions Cup Final

[Digby]

Minute 1

Blue 10 kicks out slightly to the right, Red 13 takes the ball, a ruck is set and Blue don't contest. George takes it up to the 22 and from 15m infield Red 9 puts up a kick that's heading into the 5m channel but it's taken well by Blue 15 who evades the onrushing Red 11 but not Red 6. Blue run a couple of heavily phases, both heavily resourced so no chance of a counter ruck before Blue 9 kicks down the right touchline, inside the 5m channel but just too long into the 22 where Red 15 takes a catch not under pressure and calls a mark. Red 15 punts clear into touch almost at halfway

Minute 2

Blue 4 takes the throw unchallenged at the front, ball moved into midfield. Sarries defence got off the line pretty much as soon as Toner caught the ball there perhaps being some confusion as to what line out over means rather than a clear intent to cheat. Blue 10 has the ball and moves it early to (I think) Blue 8 but he's met by the early advancing Sarries line and can't drive forwards in contact. Ball back again on Blue side, Blue 10 attempt a kick through knowing there's a pen adv. and it goes nowhere so we're back for the pen. Perhaps Red would claim Toner dummied the ball off the top of the lineout (and note you can't do that as a 9, sort of) but it's an easy pen to give.

Minute 3

Nothing happens

Minute 4

Blue 10 kicks the 3 points

Red 10 restarts out to the right, Blue 4 is almost under the ball to take it cleanly but there's interference/contest from Red 13 and 14, Blue keep the ball with a good take from Toner and Blue 9 sets to box kick clear. Sarries don't get their blocking runners doing a good enough job, but their blockers are in the first instance having to look where the ball is and it's a good kick into the 5m channel. Red 14 can't take the catch, possibly knocks it forward or back, the knock on is however indicated but no matter as Blue 10 gathers the loose ball and takes it up over halfway.

Perhaps the first interersting moment of the match as with a wholly dominant ruck and Sarries busy running backwards Blue still put three forwards over the ball (or near the ball and out of the game) and they have a 2 man pod ready on the openside so straight away Blue now have resourcing problems. (I think it's a two man pod on the openside first out, there's a third man but I'm pretty sure that's Sexton). Toner is the man supposedly in support of the carrier but he runs past the tackle so isn't clearing out allowing Barrett to relax and lie back on the tackled player, Toner then stands over the ball from the side which Sarries don't counter ruck, but Blue are seemingly choosing not to have fast ball when they could

[Digby]

Minute 5

Sarries hadn't put numbers into the previous ruck, Blue had. Blue have perhaps a 4 on 4 down the blindside, but they go to the openside and Blue 12 runs as I suspect he simply can't see a sensible passing option, what with being outmanned. Blue 12 does a reasonable job making some metres against Red 8 and 2.

Blue have played to the middle and now head back to the left, Blue 9 looks for optinons but Red 6 has run up to put pressure on any passing option so he ducks his head and takes it into contact. Again Blue put numbers into the ruck, 4 basically and again Red don't contest so whilst they've a split field Blue essentially have no options either side. Blue 10 runs a loop, shock, is tackled by Red 6 and again put numbers into a ruck Red don't contest, with the tackled player on the floor and the 9 Blue have 5 players not offering options on the next phase and both halfbacks ahead of the ball. Blue 3 takes the ball off the 9 and makes it to the mainline but no further, Blue put 3 forwards over a ball Red don't contest. Blue 12 is tackled by Red 12 behind the mainline, but Blue don't put too many in this time, but Blue 4 is only able to run to about the mainline and again Blue over resource the play, Blue 8 especially has been studying Haskell videos on how to ruck inspect.

Blue attack to the right which is sort of the shoreside and have a 3 on 3, but only because Red have a full stacked backfield taking away kicking options. Blue 14 tries to slide through a kick anyway but it hits a man in the line and Red claim the loose ball. It's Red 10 who is stood over the ball for Sarries, and faced with this fearsome prospect Blue oddly decide not to pile in on the 10 lest he obliterate all before him such is his fearsome reputation. Red 2 carries up and Red 4 and 6 get over the ball, but before they can exit Blue launch a counter ruck which I suspect is about Blue 1 as Blue 8 piles in with a body position akin to a ostrich sticking its head in the proverbial sand until Blue 6 joins in to launch his mates forwards. Blue 5 picks up the ball and luckily for Sarries Red 1 is there to make a very sharp tackle.

[Mellsblue]

Oh, bloody hell. At least it’s not a thread about GoT, I suppose.

[Digby]

Minute 6

With Blue having just done some very nice work to drive Sarries back off the ball Red 6 and 8 straight away latch onto the ball and Blue 5 is pinged for not releasing. It's a harsh comment but one does wonder if Blue 5 couldn't have done just a little more to be ready to take the tackle and protect the ball.

Sarries kick up just over halfway and Red 6 takes the lineout throw, Blue do contest but it's an excellent throw. Ball down to 9 and it's passed out to 12 who takes it up over the gainline, and one suspects once upon a time Blue 7 would have done more to put the man down a little the other side. Red move the ball out and Red 8 takes it up into contact. Red haven't really done much but are also 10m forwards of the lineout.

Minute 7

Blue hang onto the ball a little but eventually release and Red put the ball down the shoreside with Goode at first receiver, he passed to Red 14 who cuts back inside his opposite number. Again it's not much but it's all going forwards. Red then have a placeholder phase as Red 2 was well into his run and had to check, timing with his 9 didn't work out there, Red recycle for Red 8 to again take it up and Red 9 takes a few steps (the sort Youngs is certainly not praised for), ball down the line to 10 and then 15, and again it's seemingly easy forward momentum

Red 4 with a carry that once made Blue 8 tries to get over the ball but Red 12 and especially Red 1 ensure the ball is available to play. Red 13 gets the ball outwide to Red 14 on the right and he makes good ground until he drops the ball in contact (high tackle by Blue 15) and it's a scrum to Blue

[Digby]

Oh, bloody hell. At least it’s not a thread about GoT, I suppose.

The fantasy thing? Never seen it

[Digby]

Minute 8

Nothing happens, all praise to the scrum as a means of taking time out of the game.

Minute 9

Eventually the ball comes into the scrum, not even close to straight but it's not like we were told they'd have to do that. Blue 8 picks up and runs maybe 2m sideways. Blue secure the ruck.

[Mellsblue]

Oh, bloody hell. At least it’s not a thread about GoT, I suppose.

The fantasy thing? Never seen it

If you nip over to the Crooked Feed board you won’t need to. Makes your minute by minute break down look like a brief précis by comparison.

[Digby]

Minute 10

Red 14 takes the box kick just inside the 5m channel, Blue 11 was there but wasn't able to contest and simply tackled the man with the ball. Sarries set about heading left and Red 7 carries up strongly, Sarries are reliably putting 2 men over the ball, 1 fewer than Blue and bar one breakdown it's not causing them problems so far and leaves them much better set for the next phase.

Sarries work left until a pass from Red 9 intended I think for Goode hits Red 10 who'd run a line between the two, not the smoothest play from Red who perhaps dithered a little. Blue gather the loose ball and punt a kick down the 5m channel up to halfway. Blue are a tad unlucky as the ball starts to roll infield, it actually rolls to the 15m line. Red 13 is back to take the ball being chased by Blue 9 and 13, Blue 9 though can't get across to make the tackle, and Blue 13 decides it's a warm afternoon and he's done enough running, it was never Blue 13s tackle but he could have worked harder to secure Blue 9s inside. Red 13 moves back upfield until tackled by Blue 7, Blue 12 gets over the ball, he's not supporting body weight and he puts hands on the floor, but neither is shockingly bad and he's allowed to effect the turnover, play on.

Blue go left down the shoreside, Sarries defence pushes up on the outside leaving the Blue first receiver the option to dink or grubber the ball down the left touchline, sadly the first receiver is Blue 2 so he puts his head down and runs into contact.

Minute 11

Red 6 gets through to put pressure on the pass, Blue faff around with the ball and knock on for no particular reason centrefield just outside their 22. It's Blue 13 who drops the ball, maybe he's still tired from having just taken a rest.

Minute 12

Takes about a minute for the scrum to set, but Sarries get the ball in and away as Red 9 breaks right from the scrum Red 8 picks up and goes left and then passes to Red 15 who's first receiver down the shortside. Red 15 spills the ball in contact, Blue gather and Blue 14 kicks low down the right touchline. Blue 14 chases his own kick and gets there first, another kick and it'll be a race to the try line but Blue 14 only connects with air on the 2nd attempt.

[Digby]

Oh, bloody hell. At least it’s not a thread about GoT, I suppose.

The fantasy thing? Never seen it

If you nip over to the Crooked Feed board you won’t need to. Makes your minute by minute break down look like a brief précis by comparison.

It's almost like you don't find it entertaining, and you're a man entertained by Bedford (which for all I know is a fantasy place in said GoT)

[Mellsblue]

The fantasy thing? Never seen it

If you nip over to the Crooked Feed board you won’t need to. Makes your minute by minute break down look like a brief précis by comparison.

It's almost like you don't find it entertaining, and you're a man entertained by Bedford (which for all I know is a fantasy place in said GoT)

The town and its inhabitants are beautiful enough for it to be fantasy but the rugby team’s porous defence soon brings you back to reality.

[Digby]

Minute 13

Blue 14 is adjudged to have brushed the ball with his hand in the attempt to kick the ball on. That's right at the start of the minute following which nothing happens.

Minute 14

Sarries get the ball into the scrum just as the minute ends. The two packs have taken about 1 minute and 50 seconds to deign to restart the game, okay it's a warm day but I'd quite happily give yellow cards to all 6 front rowers for taking the piss out of the paying spectators, if they're too big to play go on a diet.

Minute 15

Red 8 passes from the base of the scrum to Red 12 who runs into Blue 9. Spencer kicks from the base and it's not a good exit kick but Blue 14 still does well to take the ball. Blue quickly ensure they've 5 players on or around the ball so they're quickly running low on options. Blue run a few phases without over resourcing the rucks, and there's decent clearouts on successive phases from Blue 8 and then Blue 1 so it's okay ball. But Blue opt to go right with no runners interesting the defence on the inside and Blue 10 is deep, Sarries oddly rush up, Blue 10 has no real option to pass but ships the ball on anyway and Blue 15 is hit in the tackle by Red 2 and loses contact. It's not exactly bad from Leinster but there's equally no purpose, and having just finally gotten some decent ball they go backwards 10m with one lazy phase of play. Blue now have 6 players on or around the ball.

The ball goes left to Blue 1 and he does well enough to keep on his feet and receive support but he's still losing another couple of metre to the gainline. Eventually Leinster accept they have to kick, but it's a box kick from the middle of the park and not a great one. Not the cleanest take by Sarries, but the have the ball ready to play as the minute ends

[Digby]

Minute 16

Sarries exit with a kick and manage to get multiple chasers ahead of the kicker, not the first time players have struggled to time their plays off Spencer today. But it's turns out Blue knocked on at the previous box kick won by Sarries so it's back for a scrum to Red on their 10m line about 15m in.

Minute 17

No idea what happens after Sarries play the ball away from the scrum. I assume it's a planned play and it looks like Red 10 will kick from 1st phase ball (something Blue should be doing more imo) but then Farrell decides to use his footwork to beat the man, reality catches up quicker than his footwork and he's scragged and throws the ball to Red 13, Blue 10 wasn't far off an intercept, Red 13 also rather forces a pass away and Red 11 does well to hang onto the ball and get to ground under pressure of the ball being ripped and a maul turnover.

Sarries head to the left and run a couple of pullback pass plays, starting with Red 6 which is a nice addition to his game. Red 1 with the ball and he makes at least some effort at a goose step as he approaches Blue 2 and Blue 6, not sure who effective it is (though actually Sarries are continuously trying to use footwork to stop tacklers getting set going into contact) but the ball back inside to Red 13 is a nice drop off. Good working across from Blue 3 to bring down Lozowski. Sarries head back to the right with more use of the pullback pass before Red 4 goes right up the gut. Red 9 tries to go from the base, but his footwork isn't quite quick enough, and he was up against Toner so... Red 9 gets the ball to Red 11 who tries to keep the ball alive but has to accept going to ground. Right again and the Sarries first receiver (I think Farrell) flicks the ball out of a tackle which happens to land near Williams, on another day he gifts an intercept or turnover, and the ball is kicked ahead down the right touchline into coffin corner where Blue 15 drops on the ball

[Digby]

Minute 18

Under a lot of pressure Leinster protect the ball and Blue 9 manages to get a box kick into touch, but it's still in the Leinster 22 so it's not exactly an exit kick. At nearly every ruck Blue 9 is kicking from he has Itoje, Kruis or Skelton (and this time it was Skelton) putting pressure on his kicks

Minute 19

Blue 6 knocks on at the lineout, scrum Red, and they just about get the ball into and out of the scrum in the remainder of the minute

Minute 20

Sarries come left, first through Barritt then Billy. And then Red 12 is pinged, Leinster are slowing the ball and to try and speed it up he goes in with a shoulder to an exposed player at the back of the ruck (I guess it's what passes for a ruck anyway)

From almost in front of his posts Sexton manages to clear almost up to halfway, an excellent kick. Sarries even had players on the touchline and the kick cleared them easily, though it's not nothing Sexton accidentally took the kick the better part of 10m forward from the penalty offence.

[Digby]

Minute 21

Blue 5 wins lineout ball at the front, ball to 9 and then it's fed out to Blue 12 who takes it up to around the mainline before being tackled down.

A few years back it was often a backrow who took the ball up from such a lineout, but typically it is now a back as the greater pace gets them over the gainline before the defence can get to them. Not so here though because of Leinster's decision to make the play from ball won at the front. More muddled thinking, it's not like you get a difference outcome from Sarries trying to fake them, they'll rush, rush or sometimes rush. Leinster recover though with some nice handling in a loop play which gains them big ground going down the left, decent enough scramble from Sarries mind.

[Digby]

Minute 22

Blue can't build on the break as Blue 11 is scragged by Red 4 and everything slows down and defence resets. Indeed Leinster lose maybe 15-20m in two phases, back in the day when SOB could carry they'd probably have ramped up the pressure, now against a side like Sarries they're struggling to maintain. Leinster potter about just over the Sarries 10m line, and Mako gets into a horrible position to contest ball on the floor, straight leg and bent over that reminds of the time POC had his hamstring separated from his skeletal structure. Leinster are again ending with too many resources on or around the breakdown, some of them just aren't needed and some of them aren't even close enough to be pretending to ruck inspect so what the actual plan is I don't know.

[Digby]

Minute 23

Leinster are playing silly buggers now, at one point they go to the shortside to exploit a 2 on 4 underlap. Added to which they're basically always going backwards in contact and getting hit behind the gainline, either someone needs to pump their legs and win contact, or they need much faster and more accurate passing, either way stop over resourcing the breakdown and perhaps kick and do so much earlier in proceedings.

Eventually Billy gets bored and turns the ball over for Sarries, it's a bit like watching a cat play with a mouse at this point.

Sarries make some ground down the right before Skelton carries up the middle. They're not all massive carries from Sarries earning them the metres that seem beyond Leinster, but they're just getting the defenders to sit back and react.

[Digby]

Minute 24

Sarries go forward until Maitland spills the ball, not great from Maitland.

Minute 25

Blue scrum from which they duly win ball, very little messing about in the scrums other than taking a tad long to form and some iffy feeds. They pass left and finally kick some 1st phase ball (only just though Blue 13 is nearly caught in the act of kicking) and Sarries can't quite deal with the ball, indeed Sarries try to play and promptly give the ball away, that'll learn them.But then with Leinster on the attack there's a terrible pass from the base from the 9 and they give up many metres for no good reason.

[Digby]

Minute 26

Blue 13 collects the ball and runs left, then he runs right. Once tackled he consults an A-Z to check where he is on the park, then to keep with the turning in circles he rolls on the floor to be able to present the ball on the side he wants rather than the side it is, but the ref like most is happy to allow as much time releasing the ball as the tackled player wants. Sarries now get themselves into a mess, they outnumber Leinster on the shortside and they have men back covering the kick. This means in this instance they have George covering large parts of the openside, but Blue 15 has no interest in trying to gas a front row player which is just wrong. That said his floated ball to Blue 14 allows the winger to make some ground cutting back off his wing.

Mako tries to force a turnover but tbh he's nowhere near supporting his bodyweight, ref isn't too fussed and Blue still have the ball.

[Digby]

Minute 27

Leinster continue to prat about putting too many into the breakdown, eventually they have to kick the ball away, arguably 7 players were out of the game for them had they decided to pass the ball out from the ruck from which they box kicked the ball away. Sarries get the ball and Farrell punts an aimless kick downfield under little pressure. Perhaps Farrell was simply saying we're happy for you to run at us, and Leinster do

[Digby]

Minute 28

There's a nice tip on pass from Furlong to Healy, which is about as good as it gets for Leinster in this match until Kearney ghosts past Maitland, not sure how, perhaps Maitland has no confidence in Farrell defending outside him, thinks it's touch rugby, or is frightened of Rob?

Leinster are flinging the ball around metres from the try line with an advantage for offside, and the minute ends with a further pen being indicated for Farrell attempting to kill the ball

[Digby]

Minute 29

Sarries are under pressure the entire minute until Helay goes over and it's up to the TMO. Ref and TMO between them decide on no try, penalty and a yellow for Red 6

Minute 30

Nothing happens

Minute 31

Nothing happens

Minute 32

Finally Leinster are able to get past what I assume is Sarries merely trying to run down Maro's sin bin, Blue 8 picks and goes right from the scrum, a couple of phases later and Furlong does really well to get the ball down.

[Digby]

Minute 33

Nowt happens

Minute 34

Conv kicked

Minute 35

Red 10 makes the same restart out to the right, and Blue 4 again takes the catch. Leinster box kick clear and Sarries runs the ball back, even down a man they're able to make ground much more easily than Leinster.

[Digby]

Worth noting just how little has happened since Maro got sent to the bin, for sure the try is a big moment but most of the moments are dead time in the game. And it's less than 5 minutes until Itoje is back. Good management from Sarries, but refs do let teams get away with it

[Digby]

Minute 36

Sarries potter about on attack. At one point Farrell again decides to show his footwork and again reality lets him down, he does get the ball away to Kruis who is tackled, and tackled without support, Leinster though are so attuned to the idea they fan out in defence nobody goes for a counter ruck. Okay it's a hot day but that was a chance for Leinster not to be in this area of the pitch.

Farrell makes a double pump pass that sends Koch into a hole though it has to be said Leinster have taken the opportunity of their man advantage to defend in a V formation, and it's creative but I think on balance most teams will stick with a straight line. Doesn't matter much as Koch is tackled and Blue 6 latches onto the ball to force a turnover penalty. Kruis is the only player there to effect a clearout and even then he's arguably less influential than any other Sarries player on the park

Edit, I'd like to hear from the ref why Leinster weren't allowed to tap and go and especially why Farrell was allowed to run up and help prevent a tap and go. Without watching over and over I'd broadly think that's 10m to Leinster and Farrell joining Itoje in the bin.

[Digby]

Minute 37

Blue 10 kicks out to around halfway. No real urgency from Blue to get on with the game to exploit the man advantage