Are irresistible
try to game.”
Clermont fought ferociously, flirted with the sin-bin in desperate defence and pulled out their version of the try from the end of the earth through Nick Abendanon, but still they ended up broken on the rocks, like so many others before.
“It was the two best teams in Europe going at it and I think every single neutral fan probably wanted us to win but it’s another year when we’ve fallen a bit short,” said Abendanon. “Sarries are an absolutely incredible outfit, which they have shown for the last five or six years.
“They have a very easy game plan and every player knows exactly what they have to be make it a one-point doing on the pitch at exactly the right time. It’s relentless.
“As a winger, I felt a lot of the time that I was under pressure. They are just great at putting you under pressure like that.
“When they are in the right areas, they come at you in wave after wave with big ball-runners – and big ball-runners with skill as well.”
So what does it feel like when 20st Billy Vunipola, a rampaging man of the match, is running at you?
“You know those glasses with the eyes on springs...?” said Abendanon, miming his eyes revealed the secret to the togetherness that has brought Saracens two Premiership titles and two European cups in three years – bottom patting during breaks in play.
“We love the bum-taps. It’s something we hold very high in getting the boys going. It’s strange but it works for us.”
Saracens have been given an extra day off today but will reconvene tomorrow with the message that they falling out of his head. “He was incredible today. He got over the gain line for Sarries pretty much every time he got the ball and he was a formidable force. He’s going to be great to watch in New Zealand in the summer.”
Saracens’ game is based around power but where 12 months ago in Lyon they simply squeezed the life out of Racing in the final, they showed their full hand against Clermont. There were three fine tries – one from Chris Ashton to set a new record of 37 in European Cup rugby, another one can make history. Director of rugby Mark McCall said: “The big thing we’ll say is, ‘We’ve put a lot into the Premiership in the last nine months, ignore Europe for now’.”
ENGLAND have named three New Zealand-born players – Denny Solomona, Willi Heinz and Jason Woodward – as well as South African Nick Schonert in their training squad that will meet in Brighton this week. before half-time from George Kruis and the match-winner from Goode in the closing stages but there could have been more.
It was an illustration of how they have become the complete team.
“Look at the type of rugby we played and we probably left three or four tries out there, which is a good thought,” said hooker Jamie George. “The battle was at the breakdown and at the setpiece, and at times Clermont got on top of us, but we managed to find a way and fix a few things on the move and adapted, which is the sign of a good side, I guess.”
Saracens have gone beyond good; they stand on the verge of greatness.
We showed how we have evolved in the final