Upstarts Sarrries given lesson by wily old campaigner Noves

Saracens were a north London parks team playing in front of the proverbial two men and a dog when Guy Noves began building the Toulouse empire 20 years ago.

All last week the old silver fox heard the talk about how the ‘English All Blacks’ would be coming to give the supposedly creaking old European masters the last rites.

Sarries, transformed into the prototype nouvea riche club of the professional era by Nigel Wray’s enduring largesse, would supposedly pick up where Connacht left off and give the biggest club in the game the heave-ho.