A fascinating Gallagher Premiership season took another turn on Saturday when Saracens thrashed Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate to book a play-off place and end the hosts’ six-match winning run. TNT Sports expert David Flatman was blown away by the champions’ “emotional resilience” and adaptability, saying they “look like a team that can do anything they want.”
Saracens showed they have the ability and versatility to “do anything they want” in their win over Bristol Bears, says TNT Sports expert David Flatman, who admits he was wrong to doubt the Gallagher Premiership champions’ “emotional resilience.”
Reigning champions Sarries were under pressure heading to Ashton Gate on Saturday in a straight shootout for a top-four spot in the penultimate round of the regular Premiership season.
But they turned on the style by recovering from a slow start to thrash the Bears 41-20, sealing a play-off place and ending Bristol’s six-match league winning run.
Although Sarries have not been in vintage form throughout the season, they are now well placed to claim a home semi-final, as they go into their final game at home to Sale Sharks in second place.
TNT Sports experts Flatman and Chris Ashton were left impressed by the performance of Mark McCall’s side, particularly their ability to think on their feet.
“I think Bristol have a set plan for how they want to play and if it doesn’t work, it’s not that there is no Plan B, but it’s that they’ve invested everything into this brand of rugby,” Flatman said.
“If another team outdoes them or shuts them down, they find it very difficult to respond.
“If Saracens in this sort of form have elements of their game taken away from them or dominated, bits that don’t work, they look very, very able to adapt.
“[They can] go to a power game, go to a kicking game, go to an all-out attack game, go to offloading in the middle of the field when it looks like it’s not on, just to change the point of contact.
“They looked today like a team that can do anything they want.”
Flatman was also willing to call himself out on making the mistake of questioning the mentality of a Sarries side who have won six Premiership titles and three Champions Cups in the last 13 years.
“One of the great things about Saracens over the years is their emotional resilience,” Flatman added.
“There were times as recently as a month or six weeks ago where I was thinking, and saying on television, that I’m not quite sure they’re still mentally there – wrong. Very, very wrong. They look mentally there.
“But they will face teams in the next few weeks who take more beating than Bristol did today. Bristol have been fantastic in the last load of rounds, but they weren’t quite there today. They started really well but didn’t respond well enough to Saracens’ defensive pressure and didn’t get their game off against a very good outfit.
“It’s hard to bet against Sarries – until you think about Northampton’s attack and you think ‘how do you defend against that?’”
Ashton was part of two Premiership and two European Cup-winning Sarries squads and was impressed by the way they dealt with the pressure of the occasion.
A summer of change beckons at the StoneX Stadium, with captain Owen Farrell among the high-profile names set to depart at the end of the season.
But they put those matters to the side to get the job done in the West Country.
“What has surprised people most today is seeing Saracens come here knowing what’s at stake, knowing where they are in the league and what’s happening at the end of the season with people moving on, and they have turned up,” Ashton said.
“They have properly turned a corner here and put the team that we have seen winning six trophies. Everybody’s going to be hoping that they don’t get the home semi-final because no one is going to want to go to the StoneX and play them.”
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