DAY OF DEFIANCE
Relegated, written off, but now in a European semi-final, this was Saracens’...
THIS was Dublin’s day of defiance. The day when Saracens’ weakened, written-off and relegated side upset the odds to mark one of their finest hours.
The script had already been written for the team’s ‘last dance’. They were expected to be booted out of the party, but instead they will waltz into the Champions Cup semi- finals with one eye on a farewell trophy. The days of the Saracens dynasty may be numbered, but they are not over.
All of their adversity was channelled into an Aviva Stadium siege, ending Leinster’s 16-month unbeaten run. The reactions on the final whistle told the story. Mark McCall made a B-line for his departing skipper, Brad Barritt, and the pair shared a long embrace on the sideline.
‘ It was the prospect of having another week together ,’ said Barritt. ‘We know after this season there will be a slightly different looking squad and we owed it to ourselves to have a big game. We’ve showed a huge amount of character playing in games that don’t mean anything. Today was about fighting for something tangible. We owed it to ourselves to represent the Saracens badge and I couldn’t be more proud of my team.’
A five- week ban for talisman Owen Farrell was among Saracens’ challenges. However, Alex Goode stepped into his jersey and scored 19 points. It was not just Farrell in absentia. Saracens’ squad was sheared during the lockdown, with players jumping ship or being sent out on loan. They no longer have an international bench to fall back on in the closing stages, so the emphasis here was on a fast start.
Alex Lewington chased hard on the kick off to force a knock on. The tone was set. Every member of the Saracens staff cheered. Elliot Daly ran across t he pitch to congratulate him. From thereon in, very small victory was celebrated as a triumph. This was Saracens against the world. It is no secret that Johnny Sexton is the heartbeat of Leinster’s team. That was clear when he was rested for last week’s Pro14 final.
Saracens took a leaf out of England’s defensive playbook and suffocated the fly-half throughout. If he looked to step inside, he was greeted by snarling defenders like Michael Rhodes. Every member of the Saracens pack took their tackle count into double figures. And if Sexton looked to pass out wide, Duncan Taylor was rushing up in defence to spook him.
The Irish No 10 made errors, conceded penalties and was down on his haunches. It played out like a slow and painful execution.
Saracens chased every kick and overpowered their opposite man in contact. They forced Leinster to concede penalties and scored 15 points from the kicking tee inside half an hour. Leinster had not trailed by more than seven points in a single match this season, but two long- range penalties from Daly extended his side’s lead to 12 points.
The hosts were weakened by the absence of Lions prop Tadhg Furlong and, in total, they conceded seven penalties at the scrum. Goode will depart for a year in Japan after this campaign, but the veteran is determined to sign out on a high.
After holding out Leinster’s attacks, play switched ends and Goode cut open t he defence. Getting a second touch from Taylor’s inside pass, he sold a dummy to Jordan Larmour and squeezed out every inch of speed in his legs to score the opening try.
Leinster made changes three minutes into the second half, replacing veterans Sean Cronin and Devin Toner with the youthful exuberance of Ronan Kelleher and Ryan Baird. Sexton finally found his feet to make a break down the