Wyles leaves the bar long enough to star
CHRIS Wyles thoroughly enjoyed his surprise return to Allianz Park as Saracens scrapped and battled their way passed a hungry Sharks outfit.
And the veteran wing came in for praise from boss Mark McCall for answering his SOS due to a long injury list, and help inspire the champions to another crucial victory that keeps them top of the table.
Sarries needed all their fighting powers to make it 18 games unbeaten and capture a winning bonus point in the process in a game which saw them let a 15- point lead slip and then leave it late to snatch the honours.
Young lock Joel Kpoku, who resembles Maro Itoje more and more each outing he is given by McCall, did something his England lookalike would have been proud of. He threw himself full length beneath a pile of bodies and reached out to ground the ball for the allimportant fourth try six minutes from time.
Ben Spencer’s last-kick penalty put the finishing touches to a fightback and McCall said: “We are chuffed that despite being under pressure we still manage to pull it out of the fire near the end. It just shows you the character there is within this squad.”
On Wyles, who quit playing for Sarries last May to concentrate on running the Wolf Pack bar he co-owns in Queens Park, McCall explained: “Someone suggested we gave Wylsie a ring. He said yes. His wife no and then Chris said yes again. But even though he hadn’t played for four months we knew his character, personality and how competitive he is. He did very well.”
Wyles said: “It felt like I hadn’t been away! The lads gave me a warm welcome and we just got on with it. It was nice to be back and helping the team win.”
South African fly-half Rob du Preez, who kicked 20 points, edged the visitors in front early on with a penalty but Sarries shrugged off the temporary loss of second row giant Skelton to the sin bin – for flattening Du Preez with a late hit – to take a grip.
Flanker Michael Rhodes swept over for a converted try and even Skelton going off failed to stop their momentum as they outscored their rivals 14-3 during that ten minute spell. Wing Alex Lewington rounded off a superb move which involved a sublime back-of-the-hand flip pass from outstanding centre Tompkins to dive over in the right hand corner.
Tompkins, who was inspired throughout, capitalise on a Wyles grubber kick to force his way over for a second try. Sharks retaliated with scrum-half Faf de Klerk moving the ball across the field where wing Byron McGuigan was standing in acres of space to race over the line for a try converted by Du Preez.
If Sharks had a spring in their step at half-time they were racing for the opening 15 minutes of the second half. They failed to cross the line but Du Preez kicked four penalties in a row to give them a 25-21 lead.
However, Sarries showed just why they have been undefeated for so long with Kpoku supplying the finishing power and Spencer sending over the final rites with a long range penalty for victory.
Two of the Premiership’s most dynamic and energetic 9s enjoyed a thrilling duel. South African De Klerk controlled things with his usual world class speed and skill, always putting his backs on the front foot. Spencer, however, took the honours courtesy of his outstanding kicking added to his ability to spark Saracens’ attacks.
