The young Saracens team that has just completed a week-long training camp in KZN showed the fruit of their labours in the sub-tropics by powering back from a 14-point deficit to beat a Hollywoodbets Sharks Invitation 38-26 in their pre-season game in Durban on Friday evening.
It was 5-all at halftime before the Sharks scored two quick converted tries to go 19-5 up, but the longer the game lasted, the more Saracens started to synergise their attack and they ended up scoring 33 unanswered points, and five tries, before the Sharks team grabbed a late consolation try through impressive Junior Springbok flanker Matt Ramao.
Played as a curtain-raiser to the later Carling Currie Cup game between the Sharks and the Airlink Pumas, there was the inevitable early-season rust from both teams as a plethora of handling errors prevented the game from really getting going in the first half. That said, there was a lot of intensity and good defence from both teams in the first half, and it would be unfair to expect what were effectively two scratch teams to really be that cohesive from the off.
Although Sharks and Springbok centre Lukhanyo Am used the game to make his return from injury, and he appeared to comfortably get through the first half before being replaced, and veteran lock Jason Jenkins also made his presence felt in the early stages, the home team was mainly a youthful one. Most of the Sharks' senior players were set to play their first preparation game ahead of the start of the Vodacom URC three weeks from now in the later game against the Pumas.
Likewise, although stalwart and Wales international centre Neil Tompkins captained Saracens, the visitors also had a youthful look to it, and there are likely to be two very different and more experienced teams lining up against each other when Saracens come back here in December for what should be a keenly contested Investec Champions Cup pool game in December.
Those Saracens players who will be here at Hollywoodbets Kings Park will, though, be able to return with some confidence, as although it looked unlikely at one stage, they ended up with a comprehensive victory, with several players excelling for them. Wing Tobias Elliot scored two good tries, Louie Johnson the flyhalf showed why he is regarded to be a player of promise with both his allround game and his kicking for posts, ditto fullback Jack Bracken, while the visiting forward pack was industrious.
Saracens scored the first try of the game after four minutes as their big wing Romiti Segun scored after an overlap had been created. The Sharks struck back five minutes later with a very good try in which right wing Christie Grobbelaar, who doesn’t look short of pace and also looks for work, popped up in the line to help put away Junior Bok wing Jaco Williams in the left corner.
That was the last score of the half and the Sharks would have ended it feeling they were getting a foothold in the game, and the two tries after halftime, the first scored by skipper Tino Mavesere, who was an omnipresence in the tight-loose, and the other by fullback Hakeem Kunene off an intercept near the halfway line.
But one minute before the hour mark Elliot scored his first try in the right corner after good play in creating the space for him by his skipper, Tomkins and thus started a period of Saracens dominance that secured an ultimately comfortable victory to cap their week in the African sun.