Following Saracens’ 35-20 Champions Cup triumph over the Ospreys at StoneX Stadium on Sunday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the action.
The top line
An absolutely compelling and wonderful game of rugby saw Saracens move into the Champions Cup quarter-finals, overcoming a spirited Ospreys side.
The scoreline didn’t do justice to the visitors, who gave Sarries the fright of their life in the first half, smashing gains at the breakdown, turning the hosts over eight times in 40 minutes and looking every inch the international quality outfit their 17 Test players suggest they are.
Tries from the impressive Keiran Williams and Michael Collins saw the O’s with a 14-6 lead just before half-time, but Williams saw yellow on 37 minutes as he deliberately failed to release after a brilliant Ben Earl break. The resulting position saw Max Malins scoot over for a vital try to narrow the gap just before the break.
Sarries were clearly read the riot act during the interval and their increase in intensity and speed in the second half was evident, characterised from monumental performances from Earl and Mako Vunipola took them away from Toby Booth’s men to a well earned win in a tremendous game of rugby, brilliantly officiated by Georgian test referee Nika Amashukeli, who yet another cracker of a day with the whistle.
Saracens DNA
The DNA of the Saracens win came from set-piece and disciplinary superiority. Mako Vunipola, Jamie George and Marco Riccioni all did a number on their opponents, with George and Vunipola absolutely outstanding in open play. Mako ran 12 times for some 54 bone crunching metres, with six completed passes and three sumptuous offloads as well as his 10 thundering tackles.
George was denied a probable try in the first half when driving over from a maul, but referee Nika Amashukeli and his officiating team had no way of seeing any form of grounding, due to several inconclusive TV angles.
But a key strand of that Sarries DNA has always been the vision of the exquisite Alex Goode at full-back, and his break and grubber from halfway for Andy Christie to run onto and gather before delivering a delightful inside ball to set Malins over for his second was the hammer blow of the game. Some would say it’s opportunism, but the corner grubber is a practiced art at Saracens every week, with the explicit purpose of creating defensive chaos, exactly the case in this instance.
Elsewhere, Maro Itoje always seems to play better without his head gear and once again he responded to recent criticisms with a fantastic all-round display against two fellow Lions locks.
It was a massive display of belief and calmness under pressure from the European veterans and one they can be mightily proud of but, if they’re to progress past La Rochelle in a week’s time, they really do need to tidy their breakdown work up.
Coach killers
For all of the Ospreys’ good things, conceding something approaching 20 penalties against a team of the quality of Saracens was always going to hamper their progress. Alun Wyn Jones’ catchphrase has always been ‘fire in your belly, head in the fridge’, but his team failed to live up to that mantra as time and time again they transgressed around contact, despite having a clear physical advantage for much of the match.
The Williams yellow was a crucial turning point – a brave but correct call from the officials – as the flanker’s break had left Saracens with a five on three had the ruck been recycled, but the Welsh centre had little choice, being the single defender in an isolated position.
On the subject of coach killers, Rhys Webb’s decision to take a quick lineout on his own 22 needed players to read his intention. One player duly obliged, but sadly it was a man in black, Duncan Taylor, who reacted with lightening speed to intercept the throw-in and stroll under the posts.
Oh no! Rhys Webb, what have you done!? 🤦♂️#HeinekenChampionsCup #SARvOSPpic.twitter.com/NfWqwIOv9d
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) April 2, 2023
A word too for Justin Tipuric. During the 30-minute period he was on the pitch, the Ospreys bossed everything with the Welsh centurion delivering a masterclass of back row skills, but when he limped off with an injured foot, the O’s never quite looked as sharp, despite a massive shift from Ethan Roots on the blindside flank.
Test quality
Given the context of the structural issues permeating both English and Welsh rugby right now, it was marvellous to see so many stars of both the Six Nations and British and Irish Lions Tests go hammer and tongs for 80 minutes.
With no fewer than 30 internationals on the pitch, it was no wonder that the match was such a high quality spectacle. Key match-ups were everywhere – Alun Wyn v Maro Itoje at lock, the battle of the Owens, Farrell and Williams, at 10, Tipuric versus Earl and many many more.
Toby Booth had placed a great deal of faith in his bench impact before kick-off, but with the Tipuric injury and the Williams yellow, Ospreys never gained the finishing momentum that Booth was looking for.
In contrast, the Saracens replacements had a field day, with Taylor, Jackson Wray, Aled Davies and Tom Woolstencroft all making huge impacts – in the case of Taylor and Woolstencroft, on the scoreboard too.
There were so many battles within battles in the units and so many friendships spanning across both teams that this was always promised to be a tense and high quality affair and the players duly delivered.
The bottom line
With Steve Borthwick in attendance, the Sarries backline players in the squad can have done nothing more to enhance their reputations. Owen Farrell offered variety and passing majesty at 10, Malins was opportunistic on the wing and Alex Lozowski reminded all that in England’s search for centres, he’s still one that needs exploring.
Up front, Mako and Maro had mighty games, but the Borthwick mind will be sent away pondering about his two back-row discards, Ben Earl and Billy Vunipola, both of whom had massive impacts, despite a few handling errors from big Billy.
Against many of his Welsh teammates, Nick Tompkins was spiky and combative and with Wales in a similar quandary over centres, both he and Keiran Williams put in displays to impress the national selectors.
However, one side goes through and the other goes home and, while it’s sad to see a team of the Ospreys’ quality leave the competition, Saracens must now prepare for a seven-day turnaround to face the mighty La Rochelle on the French Atlantic coast, with the knowledge that the Yellow and Blacks almost got turned over on Saturday versus Gloucester and with the confidence that they’ve gained on their thrilling comeback from today’s game.
READ MORE: Saracens withstand superb Ospreys effort to set up quarter-final with La Rochelle
Article courtesy of
Source link
