Press Notes | James Tirrell Pre-Ealing

Saracens Transition Coach, James Tirrell is expecting a real test for his young side this weekend travelling to Ealing Trailfinders.

The Men in Black kick off their Premiership Cup campaign this weekend against current Championship title holders Ealing Trailfinders at the Trailfinders Sports Ground.

Alongside Rob Webber, Tirrell will take charge of a youthful Saracens squad heading to West London. Awaiting the prospect of a physical battle, Tirrell is excited for the weekend ahead.

“This competition is a great opportunity to give different players the chance to wear the Saracens shirt.

A lot of these players help prepare the team on a weekly basis but only a few get to step into the first team during Premiership and European games, so it’s great to provide a competition for those players to show their qualities.”

With back-to-back London derbies awaiting Saracens across the next two weeks, the cup competition allows for Premiership sides to face various local Championship opposition.

"Ealing and London Scottish will present distinct challenges for us. Facing varied opposition allows us to test ourselves against different styles. It also reinforces the importance of focusing on our own game, something which we've prioritised this week."

With academy graduates such as Toby Knight and Tobias Elliott having breakthrough campaigns so far in the Gallagher Premiership, James Tirrell is hoping these group stage games can encourage more young players to put their hand up for first team opportunities.

“We have an incredibly good young core of players here. Angus Hall, Nathan Michelow, Brandon Jackson, Olamide Sodeke, Charlie and Jack Bracken have all shown their talents at age-grade level many on the international stage.

They’re all incredibly exciting young Saracens players who this weekend will go and represent Saracens and put on a Saracens performance.”

The competition also gives players returning from long term injuries a chance to get valuable game time under their belt. Tirrell is hoping that can be the case for a trio of side-lined stars.

“We’re hoping to give Olly Hartley, Sam Spink and Fraser Balmain their first minutes of the season in this competition. They’ve all had a tough time with injury at the start of this campaign but have worked so hard on the pitch to get themselves back into contention for this block of fixtures.”

Tirrell, alongside many of his players has also spent some time away from the StoneX this season with partner club Ampthill. Whilst still in the early stages of his coaching career Tirrell has welcomed the opportunity to work with the Championship outfit.

"We’ve developed a great relationship with Ampthill over the last couple of years. Many of our players and coaches have spent time at Dillingham Park, which has been beneficial for our development.

The Championship is a robust, tough competition that offers valuable lessons each week, which has proved invaluable for this group."