Champions Cup winner Nick Isiekwe was certainly unpredictable. rugby pass A few months ago I asked him what his fondest memory of the competition was. He played from the bench in the 2019 final against Leinster in Newcastle, but that celebratory Saracens day was not on his mind when he was quizzed on the opening day of the 2024/25 tournament in Cardiff.
Instead, the 26-year-old veteran of numerous campaigns chose the defeat away to the Londoners as his standout. It was December 2019, seven months after their cup party on the banks of the Tyne, when Saracens came to Limerick with a team that was not their usual star-studded side.
Yes, Maro Itoje was in the engine room, but Owen Farrell, Jamie George, Vincent Koch, the Vunipola brothers, Elliot Daly, Sean Maitland, Max Malins and others were not.
Director of rugby Mark McCall decided to rest up a number of stars by flying them out for the game in Ireland seven days before a fully-fledged Saracens side beat Munster 15-6 in London. The opening match of the succession took them across the Irish Sea to a 3-10 defeat, but the bonus point earned the England team a skip to Thomond Park satisfied with what they achieved in the harsh winter winds and rain.
“That was the case throughout the relegation period,” Isiekwe explained. “We rotated the team a bit but the fight and spirit we showed in that game made us feel like we almost won but lost. It’s a hard place to go and get results and that game was strange. “It was special because I felt like I won even though I lost,” he said.
fixture
Investec Champions Cup
münster
Saracen
Isiekwe will not be able to return to Munster on Saturday, five years and one month after that challenging performance of which he was proud. December 27 Shoulder injury Gallagher Premiership side Bath have ruled him out of their third round pool match.
Despite his absence, he will be hoping the three-time European champions, who won the title at the Stade Français last month, can show what they are made of and avoid a repeat of the torrid performance that ended last season’s campaign in Bordeaux.
“It was a difficult day. It wasn’t the best feeling. “We did not show our best performance in this tournament,” he said, recalling the team’s elimination in the round of 12-45 held in France last April. “We are very proud of this competition, we enjoy it and we love it.
“When we are at the club it feels different than it did this week and the level has gone up. Everyone must understand that this is the best competition you can participate in. We’ve had a proud history and great moments, but we want to start something new and go on a new journey.
“But we also know that it is difficult. In the past, it was difficult to get over the line because there were so many great teams, great players, and teams full of stars.
“We have to come together as a unit, we have to be stronger, we have to understand what we are trying to do as a club on and off the pitch and we have to have that cohesion. The Saracens team has a cohesiveness within the team and this is something we want to build on going forward.”
“I know how difficult the first few weeks after open heart surgery can be.”
– Nick Isiekwe One last request to chat… He is ready for his first England cap since March 2023 today. #EnglandRugby #ENGvNZR #AutumnNationsSeries #rugby
Tap below for more information ??https://t.co/K7joh6HioH
— Rugby Pass (@RugbyPass) November 2, 2024
