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Page last updated at 15:27 GMT, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 16:27 UK

Jeremy Guscott column

Jeremy Guscott
By Jeremy Guscott
Former Bath, England and Lions centre

I find it staggering, astonishing and unbelievable that Saracens fans would boo their own team during Sunday's win over Gloucester.

They're unbeaten in their first four Guinness Premiership games and top of the league. Given the years of success they haven't had, new coach Brendan Venter should be congratulated.

Saracens coach Brendan Venter
Venter won 17 caps for the Springboks

I struggle to come to terms with the idea that because people pay good money to watch their team play, they have a right to be entertained. I'm more interested in my side winning and less interested in how they win.

For a long, long time Saracens have not won anything and have not been in a position to win anything. If Saracens supporters have enjoyed what they've been watching over the last 10 years, then they're easily pleased.

Yes, they've been lucky enough to watch some unbelievable players - Philippe Sella, Tim Horan, Michael Lynagh, Francois Pienaar, to name a few - and none of these guys have been able to inspire a consistent, winning team.

But Venter has realised rugby is a very simple game and he's playing it low risk so as to have as few mistakes as possible. He's doing what his countrymen are doing for the Springboks to a large degree: let's put the ball into the other side's court and pressurise them into making mistakes. At the moment it's proving successful.

I'm very realistic about what the game of rugby at this level requires. It's about winning, and how you execute that is down to directors of rugby and coaches.

You've got to play to your strengths, and I hope Saracens supporters will learn to understand that Venter is trying to build this winning culture and that this is a base from which they want to build.

606: DEBATE
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Venter came in and was given a clean sheet of paper, a new starting point. The South African national team also went through a phase of saying, "what do we need to do to win?" Venter's goal will be to get them into Europe and challenging for silverware, and he'll play this way until it's worked out.

Eventually they will expand. It may not happen this season, but it might happen next season. Because any full-back or winger in their right mind is eventually going to ask themselves, what's the point in me being here? I need the ball every now and again.

They've got the men to play a different game - players like Kameli Ratuvou in the centre and Noah Cato on the wing. But at the moment they're a bit programmed, a bit too frightened to go outside what's in front of them.

The current tactics won't succeed in the long run. But if you've got a decent pack and a team that can tackle and you play a kicking strategy, until you come up against a side that can do that better than you, or a team that are more ambitious, you're unlikely to lose.

The challenge for other teams is, can any of them disrupt the way they play? Can Northampton do it? Will London Irish do it the next time they play them? My view is, if you match them up front and match their kicking, you'll beat them, because they're two-dimensional.

Down at the other end of the table, Neil Back has got a tough, tough job at Leeds after picking up just two points from their first four games.

I can only imagine he'll be concentrating on home games and making Headingley as uncomfortable as possible for opposing teams to visit.

Also, he'll be looking to the international breaks, when he won't lose as many players as other sides could. He'll target those games, try to put less experienced players from opposing teams under pressure and gain points then.

And that's all he can do, ask his players to play as well as they can and take advantage of certain situations. It's only four games into the season, there's still a long way to go and, hey, Neil Back's used to tough situations.



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see also
Saracens will face SA at Wembley
29 Sep 09 |  Saracens
Borthwick escapes serious injury
28 Sep 09 |  English
Saracens angry at fans reaction
28 Sep 09 |  Saracens
Northampton 30-10 Leeds
26 Sep 09 |  English
Saracens 19-16 Gloucester
27 Sep 09 |  English
Rugby union on the BBC
05 Feb 09 |  Rugby Union


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