I got home from the match about 2 and a half hours ago.
Wanted to let the nerves and elation settle.
What a game!! THAT was entertainment. What a crowd. So MUCH noise. The queues were massive with folk trying to get through the turnstiles. Huge queues. Hence the delayed start.
Yes, there were mistakes and errors, but, overall, you had to be impressed. Haskell ran himself dead on his feet. Young ... who said to drop him? Who said Wade can't tackle. He took down one seriously big Sarrie at one point. Line speed? Sorted. When Sarries tried to get the ball wide down the full line, they were closed out in the centre. They ended up kicking a lot.
Beale? Tired? He took so many balls kicked at us, and ran straight through them over and over again. Gopperth? Not a centre? Really? He wore out his oppo, flattening him and anyoe else that came near over and over.
Nathan losing it, lost the edge? Not today. He was everywhere. Bashing forwards with the ball in one hand as of old.
Lineout was great and working, scrum was solid.
We could have scored so many more tries, but 5 will do for me.
And so, get some tickets, the weather will be much warmer, the crowd will be bigger still, we're going on a Tiger hunt.
And to Barnes .... he was fair and balanced. And we played him properly. Sarries started to linger after the tackle. At one point I saw Haskell do exactly what is needed. Stay a split second too long and the Sarries' tackler got pinned by Haskell and they got pinged. James did it many times - at one point I swear he had the Sarries guy pinned with his knee in his back.
Physical it was. Hard, bashing tackles, no holds barred.