All was quiet at the University of Hertfordshire campus in Hatfield on a mild weekday lunchtime. It looks more like a small business park than a student hang-out and nothing at all like a vibrant rugby hothouse. No one bothered Glen Jackson or Brent Russell, north London's supposed answer to James Hook and Shane Williams, as they wandered off for a post-training swim. On the eve of the biggest game in Saracens' history the quest for pre-match passion has rarely felt so misplaced.
It must be hard for the players, particularly the likes of Jackson and Russell who have previously been the darlings of tightly knit communities as, currently, are the Ospreys. Jackson, the fly-half who orchestrates most of Saracens' best performances, was a legend in the Bay of Plenty and was borne away shoulder-high following the province's unexpected Ranfurly Shield win over Auckland in 2004. Russell hails from Port Elizabeth and was long ago dubbed "the Pocket Rocket" after dazzling South African audiences with his extreme pace. Both are gifted ball-players currently plying their trade in relative anonymity.
Naturally that will change to some extent should Saracens defeat the super-confident Ospreys in Watford and reassert the club on the European map. But as Welsh supporters prepare to pour up the M4 to cheer an amalgamated region which did not exist this time five years ago, even Saracens players sound slightly downcast at the contrast between their followers and, say, the denizens of Munster, Gloucester or Toulouse.
"We've had a relatively successful season and yet we only got 5,000 spectators to our game last week when we scored 60 points," sighs Jackson. "I've found it very hard in terms of the support you get here. Where Brent and I come from, people get in behind you. Here they're very fickle. If you have one bad game the drop-off is quite significant. The fact we'll be playing in front of a full house for the first time in 10 years is pretty embarrassing."
Hence the importance of tomorrow's game, not just for Saracens' immediate prospects but the club's medium-term growth. If they under-perform as drastically as they did in losing 30-3 to the Ospreys in the EDF Cup semi-final at the Millennium Stadium a fortnight ago they can hardly expect the casual fans among tomorrow's sold-out audience to flock back to Vicarage Road. It is all very well signing umpteen big names but not if they fail to knit as a team. One trophy in the dozen years since Nigel Wray started pumping millions into his favourite club is a desperately meagre return.
It is up to the players, therefore, to propel their sceptical supporters' backsides from their seats and disprove the nagging suspicion that the team peaked in January. Jackson, this season's top scorer in the Heineken Cup with 98 points, has the darting instincts and the marksman's nerve to turn tight matches. "We'll hopefully fire a few more shots than we did in Cardiff. We probably didn't deserve to get three points," concedes Jackson. "To be able to play them again after that debacle has given us a bit of a lifeline."
The diminutive Russell, whose attacking impact was delayed by a broken collarbone sustained in pre-season training, also reckons the home side can inflict a nasty nip even without their injured Kiwi lock Chris Jack. "We're underdogs ... we're not expected to do anything," stresses the blond Springbok. "That definitely puts us in a stronger position because we've got nothing to lose."
The big irony of a tasty Anglo-Welsh affair, however, is that the outcome revolves around two former flat-mates from Waikato. Jackson lived with Marty Holah for two years when both played for the Chiefs and tried, unsuccessfully, to steer his friend towards Watford when he moved north. "In my opinion he's the second-best open-side in the world. If he hadn't been around at the same time as Richie McCaw he'd have had 1,000 All Black Tests. He's a class player and I think he's been one of the main reasons for the Ospreys' recent dominance."
Which raises another uncomfortable question: how many more Kiwis and Springboks will head over in the coming years as the commercial clout of the French and English leagues continues to increase? Russell is in no doubt - "I know a lot of South Africans are looking abroad" - and Jackson, who never won a Test cap and is theoretically qualified for England, reckons the offshore drift will continue. "No one from home asks me about playing in England because they're all here already," quips the 32-year-old, who is contracted until 2010 and hopes to become a top-level referee when his playing career ends. "I'd say the English game should be more concerned than New Zealand. If New Zealand ever needed to do so they could say, 'OK, you can go overseas and still play for the All Blacks.' But what do England do if their domestic league is full of foreigners?"
Saracens can point to Arsenal and argue it is possible to capture hearts and minds with a mostly imported playing squad. But Wray must gaze at the Ospreys and wonder why their rapid rise has not been replicated in his own backyard. Tomorrow he also needs reassurance his seed corn has not again fallen on barren ground.
