Brendan Gallagher:  Premiership final preview

It’s been a long haul but nobody can question that the two best and most consistent club sides in England will be contesting the Premiership Play-off Final on Saturday. This really could be something special if the game lives up to expectations.
Saracens will start as favourites, no question, as they chase the first European Cup/Premiership double by an English club since Wasps in 2004 but Exeter on song are one of the few sides capable of taking Mark McCall’s team to the wire.
Those looking for Saracens to falter with a below par performance at the end of a merciless season will be disappointed. If Exeter are to win they will have to go out and produce something quite extraordinary. But, then again, they have been doing just that for a few seasons now during their rise and rise.
Ordinarily you might think Saracens could be vulnerable after their outstanding but tiring efforts in Europe and the contribution many of their squad made to various World Cup teams and England’s Six Nations Grand Slam.
McCall, however, has handled his resources superbly, withdrawing the star names from the firing line to rest them whenever possible and only once, with that humbling but one-off 64-23 defeat against Wasps during the Six Nations, has that caused any consternation.
Sarries have been scoring tries for fun – 60 in the regular season and five again yesterday against Tigers –  but everything still begins with their defence and that will again be key for them against Exeter.
Paul Gustard might be with England now but the legacy of the Wolf Pack defence lives on.
So far they have coughed up a miserly 38 tries in the 22 regular season games and the semi-final and that includes the eight they leaked in that remarkable game against Wasps.
Yesterday when they won the game in the first half with a 31 point blitz before half-time they actually achieved that off just 37 per cent possession, using their controlled and aggressive defence as an attacking weapon.
“We work tirelessly on our defence, we speak all the time about ‘try-scoring defence’ in training,” says captain Brad Barritt.
“The pressure you can exert on a team through what you do in defence is vital. We had two long-range efforts today from Chris Wyles off the back of long periods of defence. That is often what helps win you these big games and gives you a chance to attack.”
Barritt also paid tribute to those who came off the bench and those who have served throughout the season and might not even be involved on Saturday.
“It comes down to trust. We have a core group of players that have the complete trust of those alongside them. They are the ones who have got us through those tough weeks when payers are injured or away. Everybody who goes on the pitch and wears that Saracens badge can make it happen.
“This group is very experienced, we have been in the position of going for the double before. We have guys who have been in these big games and understand what the occasion means to them. Against Exeter it is going to come down to fine margins and discipline on the pitch and we need to make sure we are on the right side of that every time.”
Exeter, apart from the Leicester old boys Thomas Waldrom, Geoff Parling and Julian Salvi, might lack that big ‘Cup Final’ experience but they have the fearless energy and intensity of a team and club on the crest of a wave. A side that knows that the graph is still rising steeply upwards and they haven’t even begun to reach their potential yet.
They will also probably have the Twickenham crowd with them. The Saracens fan base is not the biggest while you suspect the Chiefs will arrive in their droves for the club’s historic day at HQ while most of the neutrals will be in their corner.
Saracens have played a cracking style of rugby this season – they buried the ‘boring’ tag a long time ago – but the uncommitted will always shout for the underdog.
It’s difficult seeing the Chiefs freezing, but they will have to play rugby from the gods to win, which occasionally is exactly what they do.
They are a hungry side collectively and individually. The Exeter cause always comes first but now is also the time for exceptional emerging players such as Dave Ewers, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Henry Slade to make the next step up. Jack Nowell has already made that step and even from the wing acts as a talismanic player, getting involved in every aspect of the game.
Most importantly of all they have got to keep their heads on this week. It will be the biggest game in the club’s history but nothing must change. The early signs are good with Baxter insisting that the club would celebrate their semi-final win properly last night. “We are Exeter, we are not machines, we are human beings,” to use his precise expression.
Exeter have arrived at an 81,000 sell-out Premiership Final by being true to themselves and playing a great brand of high tempo rugby while learning along the way there are times they must adapt a little and play the per centages. They are not suddenly going to outmuscle Saracens. If they are going to win they must find another way. The Exeter way.
Head to Heads:
Phil Dollman v Alex Goode:
Dollman’s career took off when he moved from Newport Gwent Dragons in 2009 with promotion following the next year. The Welshman has been integral to the Chiefs ever since and now comes up against Goode, undoubtedly the Premiership Player of the Year. A clash for the connoisseur of full-back play.
Gareth Steenson v Owen Farrell:  Steenson is another who came up with Exeter from the Championship six years ago and his game has grown and adapted brilliant to the demands of Premiership Rugby while his goal-kicking is top drawer.
Farrell has been phenomenal for club and country this season and although a possible injury doubt Charlie Hodgson awaits in the wing, not the worst replacement for a Championship decider
Geoff Parling v Maro Itoje: 
Fascinating clash of the old and new. Parling got the nod in the England World Cup squad over Itoje just under a year ago but since then the Saracens youngster has barely put a foot wrong and was recently voted the European Player of the Year. Parling reads an opposition line-out like few others and his potential to disrupt Itoje and George Kruis will be a big factor.
Will Chudley v Richard Wigglesworth:
Two hugely influential scrum-halves. In a team of unsung heroes and stalwarts possibly nobody better fits that description than Chudley but the Chiefs’ scrum-half is often masterful in controlling a game.
As is Wigglesworth who has been a key cog in excellent teams for a decade more having helped guide Sale to victory in the play-offs a decade ago.
Jack Nowell v Chris Ashton:
Surely the two in-form wings in England. Ashton is the supreme try scorer, probably the best in Europe, who has worked hard to sharpen up his kicking and tackling game.
Nowell is no mean try scorer himself but is a consummate all-rounder with the defensive and ball winning skill of a Test openside. Worth the admission price alone.