2006–07 Saracens F.C. season

(Redirected from Saracens F.C. 2006-07)

In the 2006–07 season Saracens F.C. competed in the Guinness Premiership, EDF Energy Cup and European Challenge Cup.

Transfers

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With former coach Mike Ford being offered a role in the England set-up, former Leinster, Munster and Australia coach Alan Gaffney was appointed coach for the 2006 campaign. Amongst the new signings was South African, Neil de Kock, a player who was to be influential in what was to be the club's best season since 2000.

This season also saw the long-awaited arrival of former Great Britain Rugby League captain, Andy Farrell, initially at flanker, but later at centre, the position at which he went on to take his England debut.

Squad

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Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Census Johnston Prop   Samoa
Aaron Liffchak Prop   England
Nick Lloyd Prop   Scotland
Tom Mercey Prop   England
Cobus Visagie Prop   South Africa
Kevin Yates Prop   England
Shane Byrne Hooker   Ireland
Matt Cairns Hooker   England
Andi Kyriacou Hooker   England
Fabio Ongaro Hooker   Italy
Iain Fullarton Lock   Scotland
Pelu Pavihi Lock   Samoa
Simon Raiwalui Lock   Fiji
Tom Ryder Lock   England
Hugh Vyvyan Lock   England
Kris Chesney Flanker   England
Paul Gustard Flanker   England
Richard Hill Flanker   England
David Seymour Flanker   England
Player Position Union
Ben Russell Number 8   England
Ben Skirving Number 8   England
Alan Dickens Scrum-half   England
Neil de Kock Scrum-half   South Africa
Mosese Rauluni Scrum-half   Fiji
Alex Goode Fly-half   England
Glen Jackson Fly-half   New Zealand
Ross Laidlaw Fly-half   England
Andy Farrell Centre   England
Dan Harris Centre   England
Rodd Penney Centre   England
Adam Powell Centre   England
Kameli Ratuvou Centre   Fiji
Kevin Sorrell Centre   England
Richard Haughton Wing   England
Dan Scarbrough Wing   England
Tevita Vaikona Wing   Tonga

Guinness Premiership

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As in the previous season, Saracens were narrowly defeated by Wasps in the London double-header at Twickenham at the opening of the season. This was to be followed by what turned out to be a good away draw at Bristol in the context of the excellent season that Bristol would go on to have, before a bonus point win was secured against the Newcastle Falcons. A morale-boosting run of results followed, losing only three times between October and the following March. No individual result could quite produce the reaction that the return of England's Richard Hill to top flight action, with supporters of both clubs giving Hill a huge ovation on his return to the pitch after 18 months of knee reconstruction, capping off his comeback with a try.

Results in the Premiership went Saracens' way, leaving them with the possibility of ending up anywhere from second to fifth as the final round of matches approached. After a day of games almost all of which had significant consequences in terms of positions at the top, and at the foot of the table, Saracens found themselves in the Premiership playoffs for the first time, squeezing Wasps in to a rare 5th-place position, out of play-off contention.

The campaign was to end with a heavy defeat away at Gloucester, however, overall the season represented a significant advance on those of recent years. After the end of the season there was to be personal success for Glen Jackson, whose league topping 400 points for the season and consistent high-level performances almost every week saw him awarded the PRA Player of the Year Award by his fellow professionals. On a sadder note the mercurial Thomas Castaignède, one of the most enduringly popular players at the club decided to bring his club rugby career to an end after providing many years of entertainment and rugby at its best both for Saracens and France.

Guinness Premiership Semi-Final: Gloucester Rugby 50 - 9 Saracens

European Challenge Cup

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Saracens progressed well in the European Challenge Cup. They qualified for the knockout stages as second seeds, with only an away 6–6 draw at Glasgow spoiling their group stage progression.

A further win at the quarter-final stage against Glasgow saw Saracens host Bath for the semi-final, only to lose to ultimate runners up of the competition.

2006–07 European Challenge Cup Pool 2 table
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD T TB LB Pts
  Saracens 6 5 1 0 225 101 +124 30 4 0 26
  Glasgow Warriors 6 4 1 1 204 72 +132 25 3 1 22
  Narbonne 6 2 0 4 127 171 −44 16 1 1 10
  Parma 6 0 0 6 84 296 −212 6 0 1 1
Source: www.ercrugby.com: Updated 2007-10-29 --- European Rugby Cup

European Challenge Cup Quarter-Final: Saracens 23 - 19 Glasgow
European Challenge Cup Semi-Final: Saracens 30 - 31 Bath Rugby

EDF Energy Cup

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Saracens' EDF Energy Cup campaign ended quickly after back-to-back defeats in the opening two games of the group stages, losing away at London Irish and then at home entertaining Cardiff Blues. Some consolation was found in a 'dead rubber' game at Vicarage Road where Wasps were defeated in a game involving many of the younger squad members of both teams.

2006–07 EDF Energy Cup Pool B table
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts
  Cardiff Blues 3 3 0 0 107 56 +51 11 5 1 0 13
  London Irish 3 1 0 2 56 78 −22 7 7 1 0 5
  Saracens 3 1 0 2 79 91 −12 6 12 0 0 4
  London Wasps 3 1 0 2 58 75 −17 6 6 0 0 4
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: www.edfenergycup.com: Updated 2007-10-29 --- 2006–07 EDF Energy Cup

Sources

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