Saracens clinch final spot
MARK McCall hailed Saracens’ “extraordinary” defence as they swept aside Munster 26-10 at the Aviva Stadium to reach the Champions Cup final.
The holders will defend their crown in Edinburgh on May 13 against either Clermont or Leinster, who meet today. To book their place at Murrayfield they were forced to absorb a ferocious first-half onslaught from Munster, yet still led 6-3 at half time before pulling clear through tries from Mako Vunipola and Chris Wyles.
“I thought our defence was extraordinary. We soaked up a lot of pressure and coped with their attack really well,” director of rugby McCall said. “The game started exactly as they would have wanted. We couldn’t really escape our half but our defence remained good.
“It was a brilliant occasion. Munster’s supporters are as good as any in the world. In the face of that, the fight and the togetherness we had to show to win the game was brilliant.”
Victory nudged Saracens closer to a repeat of last season’s European and domestic double and, given the conclusive manner in which they demolished Munster, they have every chance of emulating the Leicester sides of 2001 and 2002.
“We think we can get better because the age profile of the team is really good,” McCall said. “We never talk about another double. This match was about this match. If we lose in the final then we lose.”
Owen Farrell maintained the scoreboard pressure with two conversions and four penalties in an immaculate afternoon for the England playmaker.
“We hope that we can adapt to anything. We defend the way we defend and that is it,” Farrell said.
“To go that long under that amount of pressure and still get off the line and still put them under pressure and hit the way we did was brilliant.”
Munster director of rugby Rassie Erasmus admitted the scoreline was a true reflection of Saracens’ superiority.
“We played against a team that were better than us. That’s a reality,” he said.
In the European Challenge Cup semi-final, Gloucester overcame La Rochelle 16-14 and will take on either Stade Francais or Bath who play today.