GOREY NATIVE EOIN SHERIFF got his first taste of Heineken Cup in an emphatic pool stage victory over Zebre in December and is hoping for more this weekend.
The 25-year-old lock, who was previously on Leinster’s books, has made seven appearances for the Saracens team this season. While club captain Steve Borthwick and Mouritz Botha may be head coach Mark McCall’s first choice second row, Sheriff will be hoping his name is included in the match-day squad — to be named this afternoon — for Saturday’s quarter final.
Sheriff played his schools rugby at Blackrock College and represented Ireland through the age grades. He made nine caps for the Ireland U20s and played at the 2008 Junior World Championship. Having failed to make the breakthrough at Leinster, the Wexford man earned a season’s trial at Saracens in 2011. He made his league debut in January 2012 and has since appeared 16 times for he current Premiership leaders.
Speaking about the popularity of rugby in Ireland, Sheriff said, “Those guys are like celebrities back home. Everybody follows their province and they really get behind him. They bring massive, vocal support to away games and really ramp it up another level at home. It’ll be a good atmosphere.” He added:
Because it’s provincial, a lot of the guys will be playing for the sides where they are from. A lot of the Ulster boys will have grown up in Belfast… they’ll be fired up, no doubt about that.”
If Sheriff can work his way into McCall’s plans for the trip to Ravenhill, he could well be facing a formidable Ulster second row unit of Dan Tuohy and Johann Muller. Another option for Ulster coach Mark Anscombe is to start Iain Henderson alongside his South African captain.
The Sarries’ line-out was an impressive and reliable set-piece in last season’s Heineken Cup. With Schalk Brits throwing the majority of the darts, the English side won 21 consecutive throws. That run came to an end at Thomond Park, in the pool stages, and Ulster will be hoping to ramp up the pressure on Saracens to duplicate the communication breakdown that was key in Munster’s success.
