Holders hang on tight
Champions see off challengers’ bid to prise the silverware from their grasp. Stuart Bathgate reports from Murrayfield
THE best teams make the merely possible appear inevitable, and make no mistake, Saracens are one of the best teams. For most of yesterday’s European Champions Cup final at Murrayfield, their hold on the silverware was loosened by opponents who had the edge when it came to invention. But when the chips were down, man of the match Billy Vunipola and his team-mates demonstrated the clinical dominance that has swept everyone aside at home and in Europe this season and last.
This victory made Saracens the fourth club to win consecutive finals after Leicester, Leinster and Toulon, but they can now boast the longest unbeaten run in the competition, with 17 wins and a draw from the last two campaigns.
Clermont, whose supporters outnumbered their rivals by around three to one, are now the first club to have lost three finals, enhancing their unwanted reputation as perennial bridesmaids.
“It felt we were dominant for long periods, but we were never away on the scoreboard,” Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said. “We really attacked the game for the last 20 minutes, kicked behind them and put them under pressure, and I think we got what we deserved at the end.
“The pleasing thing was it felt and looked like we improved from last year. We showed a lot of great qualities, all parts of our game were strong today, and if we’re hungry enough there’s no reason why we can’t get better.”
Before the match, McCall had warned of the danger his team faced from the high-tempo start to games that Clermont can implement at their best. Given his team’s defensive prowess, he might have chosen to play a containing game at first and trust to stamina and experience to pull them through in the end, but instead he decided that attack was the best form of defence, and urged his side to take the game to Clermont.
It was a policy that Saracens eventually made pay after 12 minutes when a kick ahead from Alex Goode found Chris Ashton. The right winger was unstoppable from 10 metres out, and celebrated becoming the competition’s outright record try-scorer – with 37 to Vincent Clerc’s 36 – with his trademark swan dive over the line.
Owen Farrell hit a post with his conversion attempt, then was just short with a 19th-minute penalty, but Sarries’ next score was only delayed by a couple of minutes. Goode was again the creator, coming close with a dart before England lock George Kruis carried for the last few metres to the line. Farrell was on target this time, stretching the lead to 12-0.
Clermont had to get back into the game quickly, and they did so before the half-hour when Remi Lamerat applied the coup de grace after his centre partner Aurelien Rougerie had been held up a metre short. It was the first time in this season’s competition that the English champions had conceded a try in the first half, and when Morgan Parra added the extra points the contest was back in the balance.
Clermont began the second half at their creative best, but after Camille Lopez sent a drop-goal attempt wide, Farrell had the simplest of penalties after 50 minutes to put Saracens 15-7 up.
Again, the French team needed to respond, and they did so in spectacular style with a length-ofthe-field try. It began with a loose kick deep into Clermont territory, Scott Spedding ran it back, evading three would-betacklers then recycling. FritzLee, Parra and Lopez were all involved, then openside Peceli Yato made vital ground on the left before offloading to winger Nick Abendanon, who was unstoppable from the edge of the 22.
Parra made it 14-15, Farrell added a second penalty to give his side a modicum of breathing space, but then another Parra penalty closed the gap to a single point again. With 20 minutes left, the cup was there for the taking by the team that had that extra dash of strength and inspiration.
But at length, with eight minutes left, the pressure told, as an overlap on the right gave Goode the space to race through. Farrell converted, and Clermont saw their last chance of a comeback slip away when Lopez missed a long-range penalty four minutes from time.
A Farrell penalty in the closing moments put the winning margin into double figures – a harsh reflection of how close Clermont had come, but yet another indication of Saracens’ enviable ability to make the pressure count when it matters most. “We didn’t give up, we didn’t break, but Saracens were favourites and it showed,” said Franck Azema, the French club’s head coach. “We weren’t able to reverse the pressure.”
The pleasing thing was that it felt and looked like we had improved even from last year