Botha relishing Saracens reunion
Botha was a Premiership title winner during his time with the Allianz Park club, packing down in a much-changed Newcastle line-up for the 1pm Anglo-Welsh Cup kick-off.
Botha said: “I’m looking forward to getting a start and some much-needed game time under my belt. It has been frustrating watching from the stands, but I’ve got a chance now so hopefully I can take the opportunity.”
Assured of a fond reception from Saracens’ supporters, the South African-born forward said: “It’s a club very close to my heart so I’m looking forward to going back there. I’m not sure how many of my mates will be playing against me but I just want to get down there, get one over them and have a beer afterwards.
“They don’t really care what anyone else thinks about them, which is probably the way to go. They’re not bothered about the media perception or anything else, they just do what works for them and play rugby how they want to play it. They don’t care if it’s boring or whatever, they’ll just stick to it because it works for them.
“They’ve got a lot of things right but they’re up there now, and everyone wants to knock them down. So it would be nice to go down there and get one over them.”
Plotting a way to try and defeat the Premiership and European champions, Botha said: “Saracens play a physical, direct brand of rugby. Some people might brand it boring but they play the percentages, and we’ve got to go down there and dominate the set-piece battle.
“Their game is based around it, and we need to dominate their gain-line and physicality. If you get those two areas right you’re halfway there to winning.”
