Schalk Brits will be celebrating win, lose or draw after Saturday’s Premiership final. The South African hooker brings the curtain down on nine remarkable years with Saracens after yet another final, before beginning another career in finance, starting with a masters degree at Oxford.
He admits the doubts of whether he may have a bit more rugby left in him have been surfacing more than usual of late – at the start of the season he was described as “Peter Pan” by his director of rugby – but it is not a decision the 37-year-old seems to regret.
Exeter should not be underestimated despite big names of Saracens
Just this week there was another offer from a different club but his final outing at Twickenham provides him with the chance to sign off with a fairytale ending. It is the measure of the man, however, that he will not let his season, or his career, be defined by one match. “It’s never been part of our makeup, we don’t focus on winning, we try to make memories,” he said. “It would be nice to finish on a high note, but if we don’t, as long as we try our best we’ll still celebrate a great season with great memories.”
Brits, despite his still remarkable form, continuing to redefine the limits of what a hooker is capable of with ball in hand, gives the impression that matches on a weekend are secondary to what he wants to take out of rugby. Asked what his best memories from his time in north London are, it is not European or Premiership finals that spring to mind. Rather the notorious team-bonding trips undertaken by Saracens to far-flung places such as Bermuda, Barcelona, the Alps or Oktoberfest.
“In Verbier, going crazy off the slopes in the toboggan, going to Munich beer festival, [driving around] Miami in RVs. There are a lot of games you do remember but it’s quite vague, it flashes by. But the memories after the game and the trips we’ve been on, that’s what I remember,” added Brits. “Everyone pulls energy from different sources, I’m not the ultimate rugby professional, I enjoy the game, but the person makes the difference so the times I’ve bought social capital with my friends is what matters more.”
Brits has been named on the bench against Exeter but he is sure to play a key role – Mark McCall would be crazy not to introduce him as the game breaks up in the second half, not least considering how he performed at Twickenham on the opening weekend of the season against Northampton. It is Jamie George who gets the nod at hooker though, and he has questioned whether Exeter will feel the strain of arriving as the defending champions. Exeter contest their third straight final at Twickenham, having struggled in their first, two years ago against Saracens, going down 28-20. Having beaten Wasps last year, however, they are a different animal but George believes they could find being champions rather than challengers a trickier proposition. “Exeter might feel a little bit more pressure, we’ve wanted to have a shot at Exeter in one of these big games since last season so it’s nice to be given the opportunity,” said George.
“We’ll have our individual battles, they’ve got a very good pack, good scrum, good maul. We’re at the front of that and we’ve got to make sure we’ve got our jobs right. A big part of the Wasps [semi-final] was the forwards – we were dominant in the scrum, didn’t give them anything at the maul and we’re looking to do the same.”
McCall is boosted by being able to name an unchanged starting XV from the side that defeated Wasps 57-33 – which means Billy Vunipola starts at No8 – but he acknowledges his side must improve defensively if they are to get their hands back on the trophy. “It is obviously something we were not happy about,” he said. “But we also think it is something we can correct and fix. We are a good defensive team, we all know that, but something like that happening the week before the final and getting away with it is probably not a bad thing.”