Goode day for Sarries as stand-in

Alex Goode inspired Saracens’ first-half bullying of Leinster in their own backyard as they left the Aviva Stadium with a quarter-final win and renewed hopes of a fourth Heineken Champions Cup title in five years.

Goode stood in for the suspended Owen Farrell at flyhalf and gave a masterful display, converting his own 36th-minute try and kicking four penalties in a 19-point haul. Elliot Daly also supplied two monster strikes.

With Covid-19 restrictions robbing this heavyweight clash of a capacity crowd, Goode quickly made an impact with three central penalties inside 11 minutes. The best of them was from 42 metres out as the visitors built a 9-3 lead.

Jonathan Sexton sandwiched in a meaty response from the left wing, with referee Pascal Gauzere keeping a keen eye on the breakdown. Leinster’s best first-quarter assault was foiled by a Maro Itoje interception.

Sarries were defending astutely to keep Leinster contained near the halfway line and after Vincent Koch drove Cian Healy backwards to win a 24th-minute penalty, Daly brilliantly turned it into three points.

The pair combined again soon after, Daly drilling over from distance after another dominant Sarries set-piece.

Leinster blew a big maul opportunity approaching the break, Sarries leaking a series of penalties but clearing the danger with a turnover and another scrum penalty.

The English giants then went for the jugular just outside the Leinster 22, Duncan Taylor deftly drawing in two defenders and offloading for the pacy Goode to score past Hugo Keenan’s last-ditch tackle.

The reigning European Player of the Year also converted to push the gap out to 19 points, with Daly failing with a late 63-metre penalty attempt. The England full-back missed an early second-half drop