If the fate of London Welsh does depend on a three-man RFU tribunal this week, then Lyn Jones for one will hope for more justice than he felt he got in north London on Sunday. The coach was spitting feathers after his side had played the last six minutes of the first half with 13 men and then had two tries turned down by the television official.
After seeing him deny Gavin Henson a try because of midfield obstruction and then, barely five minutes later, watch the England wing David Strettle go over in similar circumstances, Jones wondered why the television official had not been called in a second time.
He was also upset at the way the Devon referee, Luke Pearce, controlled the breakdown, suggesting different standards were applied before and after half-time. "You want to go from week to week with an understanding of what is a competitive ruck," said Jones. "I felt the first two breakdowns were clear wins for us, but we got penalised. That's fine. We now know what the rules are and we put the message on.
"But then second half it's not quite like that. Are you allowed to compete for the ball or not? I'm confused. I'm just a coach. I don't know what it must be like for players. One minute you are told one thing, then something else happens.
"I just struggle with the consistency. All you ask is: 'This is how I see it, this is how it's going to be.' Fine. Let's get on with the game," said Jones, whose team are three points off the relegation place and who face an RFU panel after admissions that they played an ineligible player – Tyson Keats, Sunday's scrum-half.
Previously clubs, including Sale, Leicester and most recently Exeter, have been docked at least a point and fined in similar circumstances and Jones clearly fears the worst. "I could tell you last July" – when Welsh won the court case which sanctioned their promotion to the Premiership – "that it wasn't going to be an easy season," he said.
"All the players can do is influence what they are in control of and that is their performances. And that's what we're trying to do. The hearing on Tuesday is out of the players' control. All they can do is look after themselves, prepare for rugby and get on with it. And we'll look forward to the last five games."
Unfortunately for Keats, a New Zealander who played nine games before London Welsh spotted difficulties with his registration, the omens are not good. Within a minute the scrum-half had his box-kick charged down and in the ensuing panic London Welsh gave away their first penalty of the day. By half-time they had given away a hatful and were down to 13 men after Pearce got fed up with issuing final warnings and decided to take action.
The fact that the interval lead was a mere five points was down to Saracens' policy of kicking almost everything into the corner and relying on a rock-solid line-out to win bigger rewards. Once it did, when the referee awarded a penalty try and sent the prop Tom Bristow to the sin-bin to join the wing Phil Mackenzie, but considering their privations and a lack of possession the Welsh would not have been unhappy with a scoreline which showed a try against the tightest defence in the league for their new boy, Seb Stegmann, and an ugly drop goal for Henson.
The try was a triumph for the Welsh defence which not only held firm on their own line but forced Saracens into silly errors which cost them 30 metres and possession. After that it was a team effort with 10 pairs of hands keeping the ball alive until it reached the former Harlequins wing in space on the left.
However, within seven minutes of the restart Saracens stretched the lead through Joel Tomkins. Once again Welsh were penalised at the breakdown but the move ended with Charlie Hodgson putting Duncan Taylor through a gap and the centre sending Tomkins in with three tacklers on his back.
Fifteen minutes later the game was effectively over and the television official was at the start of a hectic eight minutes, first of all confirming Will Fraser had got the ball down for a third try before ruling Welsh had been held up over the Saracens line and that Luke Arscott had obstructed the defence when Henson bundled his way over.
Saracens Wyles; Short (Ransom, 70), Tomkins, Taylor (Mordt, 52), Strettle; Hodgson, Wigglesworth (De Kock, 52); Gill, Brits (George, 63), Stevens (Du Plessis, 59), Borthwick, Hargreaves (Botha, 52), Wray, Fraser, Saull, 67), Joubert.
Tries Penalty, Tomkins, Fraser, Strettle Cons Hodgson 3 Pens Hodgson 3.
London Welsh Arscott; Mackenzie, Parker, Jewell, Stegmann; Henson, Keats (Davies, 78); Bristow, Bateman (D George, 57), Tideswell, Mills (capt), Kulemin (Corker, 57), Carbellow Farias, Hills, To'oala (Browne, 60).
Try Stegmann Pens Henson 2 Drop goal Henson. Sin-bin Mackenzie 30, Bristow 35.
Referee L Pearce (RFU). Attendance 9,968
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