Preview: Exeter Chiefs v Saracens
The two sides lock horns for the second time this year and the 37-year-old pocket battleship hooker, who has become a cult figure with the London club’s supporters since arriving nine years ago, has admitted in the build-up to the English Premiership final against title-holders Exeter Chiefs to be having a few regrets as he approaches his last match before retiring from rugby union.
Those statements of sadness, from a player who many did feel, was unlucky to win just 10 Springbok caps, were echoed by the England duo of Mako Vunipola and Jamie George, who insisted the likeable Brits' departure will leave Saracens with a large hole to fill on and off the field.
"Schalk is one of a kind, a real character," said George, who has competed with Brits for the starting hooker's No.2 jersey at Saracens.
"We're definitely going to miss his presence on the field and around the club,"
George added: "He has played a huge part in creating the special culture here. He's a winner who loves playing rugby, and that rubs off on all the guys.
"We have been rivals in a positional sense but he's also helped my career progress. It would be good to give him a good leaving present in the way of the title,"
Prop forward Vunipola endorsed those sentiments by joking: "Someone as grumpy as myself needs someone as positive and happy as him to balance it out!
"Schalk always has a smile on his face, and we want him to be smiling after the game on Saturday."
However, Vunipola and Saracens will need all their muscle and guile to wrestle the English crown from an Exeter side that finished eight points clear of them at the top of the table and also completed a regular-season 'double' over Sarries.
But George insisted Saracens were far better placed now to repeat the form that has helped them appear in seven of the last 10 Premiership and European Cup finals, and win three domestic titles in seven years.
"We went through something of a slump midway through the season and things did not look good," he admitted.
"But we knew we could work and play our way through it. We had the experience and quality here to eventually come out the other end and show people we still meant business.
"The culture here is to always want to get better," George said. "We're proud of what we have achieved but we want a lot more."
Few people are better qualified than George, however, to assess the qualities of Exeter's impressive pack.
"Exeter have a strong scrum, good maul and can dominate in the set-piece if you let them," he explained. "So we have to do our jobs properly up front and make sure we are the ones dominating, as we did against Wasps in the play-off semi-final."
Exeter back Henry Slade is convinced though that lightning can strike again as the Chiefs attempt to follow up last year's nail-biting 23-20 extra-time victory over Wasps in the final – the club's first English title – with another Twickenham triumph.
Slade can also boost his chances of an England start on the upcoming South Africa tour with an impressive display on Saturday.
"It's our third successive final and we've learnt a lot from both losing and winning," said Slade.
"Getting over the line 12 months ago gives us the confidence and believe we can do it again.
"To beat a strong team like Sarries you have to be good in every area, carrying, kicking and creating holes and chances.
"We are really excited about getting out there and want to cap off a great season with the trophy."
Players to watch:
For Exeter Chiefs: Sam Simmonds comes into the match sublime form and will be an influential figure on Saturday. Don Armand is a hard-worker and his big carries can cause havoc. While in the backline Henry Slade, Jack Nowell and Olly Woodburn can be a handful.
For Saracens: Owen Farrell's game-management prowess is a huge threat to any positions and will be a vital component for the Saracens. Maro Itoje adds versatility to the pack and his stature will be a huge problem at the line-outs.
Head to head: Sam Simmonds, currently the most prolific try-scorer in Premiership – scoring 15 times in just 13 starts, will be eager to prove himself against England's powerful No.8 Billy Vunipola. The flyhalf battle will also be interesting with little brother Joe Simmonds' difficult task of going up against the talisman Owen Farrell.
Recent results:
2018: Exeter Chiefs won 24-12, Sandy Park
2017: Exeter Chiefs won 20-18, Allianz Park
2017: Exeter Chiefs won 18-16, Sandy Park
2017: Draw 13-13, Allianz Park
2016: Saracens won 34-13, Sandy Park
2016: Saracens won 28-20, Twickenham Stadium
Prediction: Exeter Chiefs are bidding to become only the fourth side ever to have retained the Premiership Rugby title – Leicester 1999-2002, Wasps 2003-2005, Leicester 2009-2010 and Saracens 2015-2016. The Chiefs have won their last ten matches in all competitions since losing to Wasps at the Ricoh Arena in February. Exeter’s victory over Wasps after extra time in last season's final was their first win in seven previous visits to Twickenham Stadium. Saracens have been Premiership Rugby Champions on three previous occasions, beating Leicester in the final in 2011, Bath in 2015 and Exeter in 2016. Saracens have won on their last six visits to Twickenham Stadium since their extra time defeat there to Northampton Saints in the 2014 Premiership Rugby Final. Exeter have won their last four matches against Saracens in all tournaments, including home and away in Premiership Rugby this season and a 43-20 win at Sandy Park in the Anglo-Welsh Cup in February. Exeter Chiefs know how to beat Saracens, thus the defending champions will win this by three points.
Teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Lachie Turner, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Nic White, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Don Armand (captain), 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Alec Hepburn.
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Thomas Waldrom, 21 Stuart Townsend, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Ian Whitten.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Brad Barritt (captain), 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jackson Wray, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Michael Rhodes, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Marcelo Bosch, 23 Nathan Earle
Date: Saturday, May 26
Venue: Twickenham Stadium
Kick-off: 15.00 (14.00 GMT)
Expected weather conditions: Sunny day but partly cloudy with a high of 27°C and a low of 16°C.
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce & Paul Dix.
TMO: David Grashoff.
Agence France-Presse
