ITOJE SCARE
England lock Maro Itoje went off with a damaged hand yesterday
SARACENS are relentless, and there was no drop off in intensity as they took the next step in the defence of their European title by blitzing a gritty Scarlets outfit, scoring five tries to two.
However, the celebrations after this bruising bonus point win will be muted until they find out whether the hand injury suffered by Maro Itoje, which forced the England star to the sidelines early in the second-half, is major or minor.
What is certain is that Saracens and Red Rose fans will be keeping their fingers crossed it is not serious enough to keep him out of the Autumn series, especially with George Kruis recovering from ankle surgery.
Itoje, who sustained the injury making a tackle, was not the only Saracens casualty, with captain Brad Barritt withdrawing after hurting his neck in the warm-up.
Wales coach Rob Howley will also be waiting nervously on the post-match medical reports, with fullback Liam Williams limping off after only 13 minutes and lock Jake Ball clutching his ribs as he was helped off with 12 minutes remaining.
By that time Saracens had moved up through the gears so sharply that the Welsh side were hanging on grimly after second-half tries by Marcelo Bosch and Chris Wyles left them trailing 34-12.
Scarlets were opened up with Owen Farrell and Alex Goode wielding the scalpels. Farrell picked up where he left off against Toulon by probing expertly before making the scoring pass in both instances, while the deep cuts made by Goode on the counterattack were equally damaging.
With Farrell also landing eight goal-kicks from eight attempts – the last after he had put Michael Rhodes over late on – it was always uphill for the Scarlets. Howsions ever, their tenacity found its reward in tries in the final quarter from Aaron Shingler and Jonathan Davies, the last after Ben Spencer left Saracens short-handed after being sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on.
This had all the hallmarks of an awkward assignment for Saracens, with the Scarlets having seen off Sale comfortably at home last week. They could also claim to have one of the most exciting back divi- in the competition with Welsh internationals Liam Williams, Gareth Davies, Scott Williams and Lions test centre Jonathan Davies on their roster.
However, with Scott Williams pulling out late in the week and Liam Williams also making an early exit, they lost some of that thrust. The same could not be said for Saracens, and although a Rhys Patchell penalty gave the visitors an early lead, it was Saracens who made the first strike with Mako Vunipola continuing his rich run of form by rampaging over from the edge of the 22.
The big man sold a dummy before rolling over the line after beating three Scarlets defenders, and with Farrell converting Saracens led 7-3. Although Saracens were making most of the inroads Scarlets defended tenaciously, and we’re still in touch after an exchange of penalties between Patchell and Farrell made it 10-6.
At that point Nick Tompkins, Barritt’s replacement, decided to announce himself properly, making the most of a drive by Juan Figallo by cutting against the grain from 30 metres out. Nipping past Ken Owens and John Barclay the young centre rounded Patchell to score between the posts. Farrell added the extras for a 17-6 advantage.
Scarlets succeeded in plugging the holes for the remainder of the half, and with Farrell adding a further penalty to the equally deadeye Patchell’s two, at the break Saracens had a 20-12 lead.
After the break Saracens went into overdrive, but Scarlets did not go quietly into the night as the casualty list from this Anglo-Welsh set-to suggested.