Sarries turn to speakers as Munster fans amaze

No wonder Saracens want to leave Vicarage Road and head back to North London to a new home backed by sponsors’ money, and lots of it.

It seems the South African-backed English Premiership outfit will do anything to avoid playing in Watford before they take possession of their 10,000-capacity Allianz Park in the corner of the Barnet borough where the M1 motorway meets the North Circular Road.

Twickenham, Wembley and even the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels have been preferred to their nominal home ground this season, with Munster’s visit yesterday just the third time Watford FC’s stadium has housed its tenants.

Judging by the lack of noise generated by their own fans and the need for Sarries marketing men to crank up the volume on their public address system, matchday atmosphere is somewhat lacking in Watford.

Munster’s 5,000-strong travelling army in the 15,288 crowd brought their own, though, and boy did it sting the Premiership club.

Already thick on the ground before kick off, the Red Army made their presence felt come kick-off and when they ripped into The Fields of Athenry for the first time to pierce the murmurings, it echoed around a ground for which only three sides are fit for purpose (the media get to sit in the abandoned side).

So embarrassing must it have been to the Saracens suits that pressed ‘play’ on their awful theme song, Stand Up for the Saracens in an attempt to drown out the travelling support, a move that backfired badly in its transparency.

“I think any team will do what they can to try and enhance their own prospects at home,” Munster head coach Rob Penney said. “I think on the other side, I am just so amazed and blown away by the Munster supporters and how passionate they are.

“It’s really, really humbling for me to be in this seat thinking there’s such a wealth of support for their boys... it’s humbling, but also makes you that little bit more determined to try eke it out for them.”

Like Penney, Simon Zebo preferred not to criticise the home club but added his praise of Munster’s support.

“At times it felt like a home game, they’re such great supporters,” Zebo said. “If it wasn’t for them playing that song, I wouldn’t really have noticed that we were playing away from home because the Munster fans were so good. It was a brilliant atmosphere and brilliant to play in and you always expect that when you wear red for Munster so, I’m proud of the fans.”