Saracens braced for Tigers hostility
ALEX Lozowski is fed up of being reminded on social media of Saracens' shock losing streak and is pumped up to silence the doubters at a “hostile” Welford Road today. Seven successive losses have condemned the London club to their worst run for 14 years and threatens to undermine their domestic and European campaigns.
Director of rugby Mark McCall, below, insists there is no panic at Allianz Park claiming the improved performance in the close defeat at Clermont Auvergne was a sign that his players are beginning to turn the corner.
As far as centre Lozowski is concerned, a victory over Leicester would prove the Sarries bandwagon is certainly not running out of steam and grinding towards a Premiership and Champions Cup halt.
The 24-year-old, who realises he needs to continue impressing for Sarries to keep his England squad place for the Six Nations, insists: “Losing seven in a row is not something I've been used to since I came to Sarries. And every time I go on Twitter people are going on about it and wonder when are we going to put that right.
“I can assure you the players are focused on the next game, which will be a tough one at Leicester.
“It's not about getting that monkey off our backs.
It's about getting back to what we are good at and what we have become used to. That's winning games and being successful.
“Welford Road is a great place to go and play. It's Christmas Eve and the ground will be packed out and jumping. That's a perfect scenario for us. We went to Clermont which is quite a hostile atmosphere and did well there.
“Everybody is dead excited about going to play Leicester because it's such a great contest and one we all look forward to when the fixtures comes out.
It's a massive game, especially given the recent results for ourselves and Leicester. They will be as desperate to get a win as we are.
“I never won there with Wasps but we managed to get the better of Tigers there last season.
“It's a famous old ground with a hostile atmosphere. You can hear the fans above you stomping there feet when you're in the changing room which adds to the excitement and puts a smile on your face. We are ready for that, and excited by the challenge.”
Saracens know they can expect little sympathy from their main domestic and European rivals as they try and dig their way out of a rut.
Indeed, opposing fans will be enjoying the problems currently afflicting a club which has dominated English rugby in recent times.
Lozowski wants Sarries to use the festive spell to prove that the three-times Premiership champions and back-to-back Champions Cup kings can still add to that trophy collection come May.
He insists: “There are some big Premiership games coming up and we know what we have to do over the next few weeks. If we do things right we will get the results and come back from where we are now.
“We need to stick together and I'm confident we can come out the other end as strong as before. We are very close to getting back on track and we feel that performance against Clermont is a turning point, even though we lost.
“This club has been used to having things their own way – but all teams go through ups and downs. You just have to ride the waves. It's about not getting too depressed when we're losing or happy when we are winning.”
