Venter: We are the underdogs
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:22
Saracens travel to Northampton Saints on Sunday in the semifinal of the LV=Cup and director of rugby Brendan Venter has called on his team to rediscover the fighting spirit that served them so well in the first half of the season.
"We haven't been good enough and haven't shown the fight that we had in the first half of the season and we need to get that back," said Venter.
"We've really played ourselves into the position as underdogs on Sunday with our form in the past few weeks but that’s a position that we don't mind being in."
In team news ahead of the game, Wikus van Heerden misses the game with a shoulder injury so Ernst Joubert captains the side. Kas Lealamanua returns to the front row with Andy Saull also returning to the starting line-up.
"Northampton are a good side and a very well rounded team," added Venter. "They like to run the ball up and play multi-phase rugby so we know what to expect from them.
"The match is a great opportunity to get to a final and to have the chance to secure Heineken Cup rugby at this stage of the season is a big carrot - just as it is to face Northampton Saints."
Carlos Nieto, Hugh Vyvyan, Kevin Barrett and Michael Owen miss out through injury while Matias Aguero, Rhys Gill, Fabio Ongaro and Steve Borthwick are all away on international duty.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Rodd Penney, 13 Kameli Ratuvou, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Derick Hougaard, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Ernst Joubert (captain), 7 Andy Saull, 6 Jacques Burger, 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 Hayden Smith, 3 Richard Skuse, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Kasiano Lealamanua.
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 Alex Brown, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Tom Ryder, 20 Justin Melck, 21 Justin Marshall, 22 Glen Jackson, 23 Richard Haughton.
Date: Sunday, March 14
Venue: Franklin's Gardens
Kick-off: 16:15 GMT
Referee: Romain Poite (France)