The unheralded Saracens pair started out as budding footballers and have developed into integral players in the club’s collective success
There is always more to the best rugby teams than a list of big names. Saracens are a good example, particularly on huge European occasions such as this. Those scanning the team sheet for the Champions Cup final against Leinster and seeing only Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, the Vunipolas, Liam Williams and Jamie George are overlooking their source of greatest strength.
Two players particularly sum up what Sarries are about, beyond their fondness for box-kicking and salary cap small print. Neither Alex Goode nor Jackson Wray are British & Irish Lions or frontrunners for England’s World Cup squad but Sarries would not swap either of them. Goode, tellingly, is on the five-man shortlist for the European Player of the Year award and is about to feature in his fourth Champions Cup final. Wray has also been associated with the club for a decade, is chasing his third winner’s medal and was a key semi-final contributor. Between them, the two one-club men have racked up almost 500 senior appearances.
Written by Robert Kitson
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/may/10/saracens-alex-goode-jackson-wray-leinster-champions-cup-final-rugby under the title “Alex Goode and Jackson Wray offer insight into Saracens’ alchemy”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
