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Brad Barritt
Fully focused: Brad Barritt insists there is much more to come from his team

Brad Barritt backing his 'special' Saracens

Chris Jones
27 Nov 2009


Brad Barritt, a key factor in Saracens' rise to the top of the Guinness Premiership, believes the game's great under-achievers are ready to claim their first trophy since 1998.

Sarries are chasing a ninth successive Premiership win at Worcester tonight and welcome England captain Steve Borthwick back into a team who have operated a limited but highly effective game plan - mirroring the way South Africa have played on their way to Tri Nations glory.

Barritt insists there is much more to come from his team but is happy to keep things tightly controlled now that the British weather is turning pitches into heavy surfaces, unsuitable for free flowing rugby.

The centre said: "I believe we can do something special at this club this season, we have made a fantastic start. We have a lot of potential and are keeping a few jokers up our sleeves to be played against specific opposition. Of course, the weather is also a factor we have to be aware of and you need to tailor you play to the conditions.

"Our defence has been very good. Playing the territory game and breaking the gain line are key attributes and we have maintained our effectiveness while still bringing new guys into the side.

"We respect Worcester, they will be a very tough side to break down. I face a real battle tonight against Sam Tuitupou, who I played against for the Sharks in Super 14 when he was with the Blues."

Barritt is one of the centre options England team manager Martin Johnson has been looking at, the Durban-born 23-year-old has a UK Passport, and he knows that if he impresses for Sarries then international recognition could follow.

"I have to look after my play with the club and other things will look after themselves," he added.

London Wasps are also in action tonight, at Sale, and their pack will be weakened by the loss of Joe Worsley, who damaged knee ligaments playing for England last week, and flanker Tom Rees who is recovering from a second shoulder operation. At least England lock Simon Shaw has shrugged off shoulder and knee problems picked up in the loss to New Zealand and plays alongside prop Tim Payne and hooker Rob Webber, now recovered from injury.

Influential centre Steve Kefu is back to partner Dominic Waldouck in a midfield that will need to show both power and precision to bring the best out of wings Tom Varndell and Paul Sackey, who are up against fellow England internationals Ben Cohen and Mark Cueto.

London Irish have spent the week trying to stamp out the errors which saw them lose to Newcastle last week. Captain Bob Casey will demand a return to their former standard of play for the trip to Bath tomorrow, where the hosts will be boosted by the return of their England squad members.

Casey said: "We had a long chat immediately after that defeat and we have continued to work hard to put things right.

"Our precision and accuracy just weren't good enough against Newcastle and we have to show a major improvement against a Bath side that will be hugely competitive on their pitch, which is always a bit heavy at this time of the year.

"We cannot afford the same number of individual errors but this isn't some kind of bad patch for the team, it was just one poor performance. We know what has to be fixed and it's up to all of the players to prove this."

Harlequins, who tackle Gloucester at the Twickenham Stoop tomorrow, need to start climbing back up the table and the return at No8 of Nick Easter, badly missed by England in recent weeks, is a huge boost following his leg injury. Easter's control and experience are vital ingredients at both club and Test level and he will have a major role to play in England's Six Nations campaign.

Also on duty tomorrow are wings Ugo Monye and Tom Williams, who both broke their noses last weekend but have been passed fit to play. Monye has required treatment on his nose to reset the break twice in two weeks and he will be hoping for a change of luck in against the West Country boys.

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