Gaffney: mentality is the key

Saracens will next season possess the steely mentality required to disrupt the Guinness Premiership's big three, Leicester, Gloucester and Wasps on the highest plateau.

That is the verdict of former director of rugby Alan Gaffney, who will watch with interest how the Men in Black fare under Eddie Jones' second and proper tenure. Saracens progressed enormously during Gaffney's two seasons in charge but a distinct lack of leaders within the squad contributed to four near misses on the trophy front. Their few self-styled leaders, crocked pair Andy Farrell and Chris Jack were powerless to do much from the sidelines while another, the retired Richard Hill, was used sparingly after previous career-threatening injuries had taken their toll.

With those mouthpieces removed Sarries lacked shape and, more importantly, direction and were found wanting on plenty of occasions last season. It was an Achilles' heel identified by Gaffney and his successor Jones has acted quick to solve that problem.

One time Wales captain Michael Owen, new England skipper Steve Borthwick and destructive Springbok flanker Wikus van Heerden have all been snapped up for their guidance and authority, with more gladiatorial characters set to follow.

The fact that latest recruit Van Heerden plumped for Sarries, despite their non-participation in next season's Heineken Cup speaks volumes for Jones' powers of persuasion, while the club's hefty cash injection from SAIL Group Ltd has clearly strengthened their bargaining power.

Gaffney, who will soon begin his part-time coaching consultancy role with Leinster, is excited about what the future for Saracens holds with Jones at the helm until the end of the 2010/11 season at least.

"We've got our own style and there is no doubt Eddie will carry that on," said Gaffney, who will maintain a loose role with Sarries. "He was the first person to say we had our own style and admires they way we try and play the game. He will tweak this and that but we've got to get better at what we do and we don't hide away from that fact.

"We're trying to play a brand that appeals to the players, coaches and supporters but just playing a particular brand won't necessarily win you anything."

Sarries' unexpected journey to the Heineken Cup semi finals last season had an adverse effect on their Premiership campaign but Gaffney believes Jones is moulding a squad capable of once again reaching the latter stages of both the EDF Energy and Euro Challenge cup competitions while continuing to hover around the top four league places.

"The season before last we had the third best defensive record in the league whereas this year I think we were 11th," added Gaffney. "We've changed nothing in the structure we play by and you end up asking yourself why?' There is only one answer - it is a mental issue. We need consistency and that will come from certain areas and one of those is the mental side of it.

"It is something we have to address and I don't know what Eddie has got in store there, if anything, but we've got to get a harder edge to our play and a lot of that will come from the players coming in.

"Borthwick is a hard taskmaster - people like him will drag others along with him. At the moment there are not enough leaders out there as when things go wrong we just fall apart. That is one area Eddie will address for sure. The squad will be stronger next year both from a talent and mental viewpoint."

There is no question that Saracens already possess a squad packed with talent and crowd pleasers but not everyone was enamored by Sarries under Gaffney with many critics quick to savage the club for its nagging inconsistency. It is something that frustrated the silver-haired Aussie and a long list of coaches before him - just don't call Saracens underachievers, especially having reached four semi finals in two seasons.

"We're not consistent, there is no doubt about that but calling the club underachieving is a slur on its character and is something that really annoys me," he commented. "The description may have been fine in the 90s and early 2000 but not now.

"We've got to look at our squad. I'm not trying to say we're not strong enough but would Bath have swapped any of their forward pack for ours when we played them last? Would they swap Matt Stevens? (Lee) Mears? (David) Barnes? (Danny) Grewcock? I suspect they would not.

"We've got to understand that the side we've been putting out recently is maybe not as strong as what a lot of other sides have. We've got to go out and deliver better and that is why I think the underachieving tag we are getting is not necessarily the right one."

By Gaffney's own admission Saracens overachieved during the 2006/07 and did the same in their latest Heineken Cup adventure where they reached the knock-out stages for the first time before humbling Welsh glamour side Ospreys.

"The Ospreys win was a highlight but to even get into a position to be in a Heineken semi final was fantastic," reminisced Gaffney. "We could have easily won that game against Munster but it didn't happen.

"I couldn't speak after because I was so proud of what the boys had done. They showed me what they can do against arguably the premier side in Europe, and that was the bigger highlight for me. To go out there and do what they did gave me a lot of pride in my heart that day and a lot of emotion."

"The players now know where they want to be," he continued. "It has been rammed home this year that you have to achieve in your own league to qualify for Europe. We had every opportunity of doing that about three quarters through the season before falling away at the end. We've missed top six and the opportunity to compete in Europe next season."

Ones of Jones' top priorities will be to bring Heineken Cup rugby back to Vicarage Road and perhaps his own failings during his last club coaching spell provides him with even more incentive to succeed.

Last year Jones resigned as coach of the Queensland Reds just one season into a three year contract after his injury ravaged side finished bottom of the Super 14 table with a meagre two wins. However, his stock never diminished and he later helped South Africa become world champions after then coach Jake White recruited him as a technical advisor.

"Eddie knows what his own capabilities are," said Gaffney, who was once his right hand man in charge of the Wallabies. "He has performed on a high stage for a long time and has got his own points to prove but I don't think he is worried about what happened at Queensland.

"Being involved with South Africa in the World Cup probably took an edge off what may have happened in the previous 12 months but I don't think that will come into it. He will set his stall out to where he wants to be. He is a very well organised person and won't reflect on the past."

The close-season is always a time for players to reflect, however, and one of those with plenty of reason to is Richard Haughton.

"The club's Player of the Year recipient was in dazzling form last season but was deemed not good enough to even make the England Saxons squad for this summer's Churchill Cup defence. A remarkable snub to a player Gaffney describes as the Men in Black's Iron Man'.

"Richard Haughton has been outstanding but I would not have said that the season before. His performances last year led to questions over whether he going to make it, but this year he has been exceptional. He had been a sevens player for a long time and wasn't particularly resilient last season. He would be out at the drop of the hat whereas now he is the iron man of Saracens."

Other players to have impressed Gaffney last season were Fijian wing Kameli Ratuvou and skipper Neil de Kock, while he has high hopes over expensive import Chris Jack.

"Kameli wasn't in great form when he came back from the World Cup but we had to play him because of injuries," Gaffney recalled. "He had gone two seasons without a break so we sent him home around Christmas for two weeks he came back a totally different person.

"Neil de Kock has been a great buy while Hilly (Richard Hill) is Hilly. Chris Jack is going to be an outstanding player for the club, Adam Powell is a player on the way up and Kevin Sorrell has been a delight to work with because he is so consistent."

Gaffney will now enjoy a more relaxing role at Leinster in his beloved Ireland, a world away from the hustle and bustle of London and the relentless schedule of the Premiership. However, he won't be severing all ties with Sarries as he plans to forge close links between them and the current Magners League champions.

"Nothing has been formalised but Eddie and I go back a long way and I've been treated very well here," he added. ""I'll look at the videos from time to time and exchange ideas if need be which can benefit both clubs.

"Whether it happens or not is being talked as a very loose arrangement at the moment but we're very good friends and I'm sure we'll exchange ideas as time goes on.

"I've appreciated everything that has happened here for me. I really like the players and I want to see them go on and do well. If there is anything I can offer, whether it is a word here or there, if Eddie wants me to, I'm more than happy to do. The last thing in the world I would want is to interfere but if there is anything I can help with I would love to do so.

"If we can, I would like to build up somekind of relationship between Leinster and Sarries and perhaps arrange some A games and those sorts of things. I am sure we can develop something there."

"At my age variety is the spice of life and I'm going to enjoy that," said Gaffney about his Leinster role. "I'm excited about going back there and it is going to be interesting coaching with Michael Cheika (Leinster head coach). He and I go way back - I coached him in 1985 when he was just 17.

"They've got some exceptional talent in the back-line. You look at (Brian) O'Driscoll, (Gordon) D'Arcy, (Felipe) Contepomi, (Luke) Fitzgerald, (Rob) and Kearney, while the new boy (Isa Nacewa) they've brought in from Auckland is an outstanding Fijian. The list goes on and on."