Ollie Phillips: Leicester versus Saracens final rounds off great season
South west London will be the centre of the rugby world this weekend when one of the most competitive seasons of Premiership action reaches its climax.
You’ve got Leicester Tigers, buoyed by brilliant home form this year, and have a serious amount of off-field emotion in tow.
And you’ve got Saracens who are hated by many but exactly where you expected them to be on their return to the top flight.
But before you can look at what these teams will bring tomorrow, it’s important to understand where each side were just 24 months ago.
Leicester were flagging, often the whipping boys of the league. They’d been out of the top four for a little bit and were on course for relegation in the 2019-20 season.
What saved them? Saracens’ financial situation – specifically, their being deemed to have broken the salary cap by over £5m.
It’s amazing to think Saracens saved Leicester from relegation then and now the pair will fight for the Premiership title. Quite the turnaround tale.
storylines
And there are so many storylines running through this match: players retiring or moving on; salary cap infringements on both sides; coaches Mark McCall versus Steve Borthwick; George Ford versus Owen Farrell.
Of the two matches played at the home of English rugby this weekend – an England XV will host the Barbarians on Sunday – the Premiership final will be the one with superior intensity, power and desire.
It will be as close to a Test match as club rugby gets.
You’ve got two teams who don’t give an inch in defence – the difference between them and the two losing semi-finalists, Northampton Saints and Harlequins – and you have two sides whose transition from successful phase play into broken play is astonishing.
There are battles all over the shop to keep an eye on, but one key match-up will be at fly-half. Ford feels like England’s forgotten man despite not being completely discarded.
He’s been a demon for Tigers this year and a pivotal player in putting his team in the right areas of the field.
Farrell, too, seems pushed to the sidelines after his injury and the rise of Quins No10 Marcus Smith.
But he has been in impeccable form since his injury return and there’s no better stage to show your skills than a Premiership final.
The match is going to be won and lost in the front row, though. Backs can score the tries and splinter defences but they’re only able to do so if they’re given front-foot ball.
FRONT ROW
Ellis Genge – in his last game for Tigers – Julian Montoya and Dan Cole will need to take it to Mako Vunipola, Jamie George and Vincent Koch if they’re to provide their backs with the platform to perform.
There are stars in the forwards and there’s stardust in the backs. This final could light up Twickenham in a completely different way to last year’s record point-scoring showpiece.
If I were to put my house on a team it would be Saracens. They’ve got the big-game experience to get the job done. But I cannot write off Leicester in making Saracens’ win one tough project in the Twickenham sunshine.
And despite the 13 teams, the bye weeks, the latest cap break and the knowledge that more than 100 Premiership players could be out of a job by the end of this month, this season has lit up our weekends, round after round.
Next up for the league? Make the competition a profitable and commercial success otherwise the talent will disappear.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance, experts in leadership development and behavioural change. Follow Ollie on Twitter and on LinkedIn.