Saracens’ European dreams left in doubt after battle of the boot
Saracens’ hopes of a third straight European crown are hanging by a thread after this dour encounter.
Like the final Test between the Lions and New Zealand last summer, it was hard to know what to make of a stalemate. But both Mark McCall’s men and the Ospreys can still make the quarterfinals should they win their respective final Pool 2 encounters.
This was far from a classic, dominated by John Lacey’s whistle, meaning it turned into a shoot-out between Owen Farrell and Dan Biggar, who kicked five penalties apiece.
Tournament winners for the past two seasons, Saracens will still fancy their chances of beating Northampton on home turf next week, while the Ospreys must win in Clermont.
One concern for Saracens is an arm injury suffered by England No8 Billy Vunipola, who will be assessed on the severity of the problem suffered in the first half. It remains unclear if he is a doubt for the Six Nations.
“We knew before the game the pool was very tight and things are completely out of our hands now. It’s a draw which feels like a defeat,” Saracens head coach McCall said. “It was scrappy and tight and it came down to the penalty count at scrum time and we were on the wrong side of that. It’s hugely disappointing. We said before the game that the Ospreys had a really good scrum and we saw that tonight.
“We conceded field position way too easily and we had a lot to contend with before the game. Jackson Wray pulled out before the game and then we lost Michael Rhodes and Billy. It’s an arm injury with Billy and we’ll have to wait and see how serious it is.”
On a run of three wins following their November slump, Saracens knew defeat was not an option if they wanted to progress. Steve Tandy’s men were able to field a strong side of their own but the hosts, who had caused a surprise by still being in contention for the last eight at this stage, went into the game as underdogs, fell behind to an early Owen Farrell penalty.
Ahead of announcing his squad for the Six Nations on Tuesday, Wales head coach Warren Gatland was an interested observer, but the supremo for the last two British & Irish Lions tours saw Saracens dominate territory, without stamping their mark on the game.
Lacey’s whistle dominated the opening 40 minutes. Farrell made it 6-0, but the Ospreys would not go away. Dan Biggar put the Ospreys on the board just after the half-hour mark, only for the three points to almost immediately be cancelled out by Farrell.
Biggar narrowed the Ospreys’ deficit to three points at the break after Callum Clark was pinged for offside.
Rhodes’s hamstring problem and Billy Vunipola’s stinger saw both players fail to return for the second period. Still, Lacey’s whistle continued to dominate. In truth the game was poor and a draw was probably a fair result.
Farrell and Biggar continued their personal war, exchanging shots at goal. It took the game to 12-12 before in the 73rd minute, Farrell stepped up to put Saracens back ahead but Alun Wyn Jones stepped up late on to win a penalty, Biggar turned down the chance of a try to settle for a share of the spoils.
Man of the match Justin Tipuric said: “It was a great performance from the pack and it was a pleasure to be a part of. Clermont will be a tough place to go but going to places like this is why you play the game.”
Biggar added: “We are pretty positive with a draw because we haven’t been in the position to qualify for the quarter-finals in quite a few years. We thought about going for the try late on, but common sense prevailed.”