Exeter Chiefs vs Saracens

Chiefs XXIII:
15 Luke Arscott
14 Nic Sestaret
13 Sireli Naqelevuki
12 Jason Shoemark
11 Matt Jess
10 Ignacio Mieres
9 Haydn Thomas
1 Brett Sturgess
2 Chris Whitehead
3 Hoani Tui
4 Tom Hayes (capt)
5 Aly Muldowney
6 Tom Johnson
7 James Scaysbrook
8 Richard Baxter

16 Neil Clark
17 Ben Moon
18 John Andress
19 James Phillips
20 Ben White
21 Kevin Barrett
22 Gareth Steenson
23 Bryan Rennie

Sestaret and Tui have both recovered from their knocks, so just the one change to the starting XV, with Aly Muldowney replacing Peter Short who broke his leg vs Wasps. On the bench, Budgie is off with the Army at the Forces world cup, and James Phillips offers 2nd row and back row cover in place of Muldowney

Sarries XXIII - Brits is back from injury, Short in for Maddock, Farrell and Barritt switching centre berths (? I think?):

15 Alex Goode
14 David Strettle
13 Owen Farrell
12 Brad Barritt
11 James Short
10 Charlie Hodgson
9 Neil de Kock
1 Rhys Gill
2 Schalk Brits
3 Carlos Nieto
4 Steve Borthwick ©
5 Mouritz Botha
6 Jackson Wray
7 Will Fraser
8 Ernst Joubert

16 Jamie George
17 Deon Carstens
18 Mako Vunipola
19 George Kruis
20 Andy Saull
21 Ben Spencer
22 Adam Powell
23 Joe Maddock

Really interested to see how Farrell goes because I bet he doesn't stay at outside centre. It seems to me that Sarries like to have a lot of playmakers in their side and I'll bet he interchanges positions with Barritt

Quite possibly, Cumbrian, I can see them lining up Hodgson-Farrell-Barritt in attack, but Hodgson-Barritt-Farrell in defence (to stop Naqelevuki in particular getting over the gainline) - would be interesting to get beshocked's view

They switched around quite a bit against Leicester and Barritt's passing skills were exceptional in that game he really did look international class once the leash had been removed.

Aslongasbut100ofus you are probably right.

True Cumbrian.

With four possible playmakers in the side - Hodgson,Barritt,Farrell and Goode it really helps keep the opposition guessing. Makes it much harder to defend against.

I want to see Barritt being given a pop pass at pace. It's really effective and I believe Manu scored a try like that for England.

Also our players pop up all over the field in random positions. E.g. expect the likes of Joubert and Brits to run from deep if you kick it.

It's almost like having two extra back players.

I really like the look of the Saracens backline it's all English bar De Kock, plenty of pace and power. Lots of creativity in there and most can defend well enough.

Sam I agree with you. I have only seen the highlights on the Sarries website but Barritt seems to be heavily involved in the attack. Good mix of power and excellent handling.

I do expect Exeter to be very stubborn opposition. It will be interesting to see what we do with this backline. Hodgson is starting to get used to playing for us now so I am hoping for more. Also Short and Strettle on the wings are live wires/

I have only seen the highlights on the Sarries website but Barritt seems to be heavily involved in the attack. Good mix of power and excellent handling.

Unfortunatley I watched all 80 and he did that all game, don't think he made a single mistake. Comfortable man of the match for me.

This should be an interesting game and it will be interesting to see if Sarries revert to their kicking game or continue to play a more open style given that Chiefs are happy to go toe to toe either way.

I think Saracens will look to play a more open style and I believe it's the way to beat Exeter. They are a big physical side but will they be able to live with us if we up the tempo and intensity? We'll have to see.

At VR they outmuscled us by playing our own game but better. Comprehensively outplaying us.

At Sandy Park we absorbed everything they threw at us before blowing them away in the 2nd half.

From the recent Sarries games I've seen, Barritt has principally been playing the IC role and has been the most effective there. I think it's just a case of the shirt numbers being more reflective of the situation on the pitch this week.

Good win for Sarries - they flew up in defence all afternoon long, and Exe just didn't get the space they are used to. Hodgson and Farrell took their tries well, Arscott falling off the tackle for the first and Shoemark shooting out of the line to leave the gap for the second. Chiefs scrum had the upper hand in the second half until injury sadly meant they had to go to uncontested scrums. The LBP is better than last years result in the same fixture, and Exe stay in 3rd

aslongasbut100 thanks for the summary. What were Hodgson,Farrell and Barritt like?

Farrell excellent, really impresses every time I see him play (except at JWC!); Hodgson good, the perfect tactician, Barritt v good in parts, but pinged for being offside 2-3 times and could have been a hatful more. But Sarries worthy winners imo, but am happy with LBP