GEORGE EYES UP DOUBLE DELIGHT
And Saracens star warns their best is yet to come
NOT ONLY was this scoreline and this performance ominous for Saracens’ rivals, so was the verdict afterwards.
Good, but not good enough. There’s more to come.
A couple of last-quarter tries by the outclassed visitors almost suggested that this Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final had been a contest, but in truth it was no such thing. Glasgow were buried under an onslaught. The English champions crossed the Scots’ line seven times to earn a last-four showdown with Munster at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
What a seismic collision that promises to be.
The Irish province will bring their Red Army and their European pedigree, after hanging on to beat Edinburgh at Murrayfield, but they will know that Saracens pose a serious threat. Mark McCall’s side are thundering towards a domestic and continental Double and their man of this mismatch set the stall out for a perfect climax to a glorious campaign.
England hooker Jamie George was magnificent on Saturday, in the contact areas and in the open spaces. Having delivered a masterclass, he delivered a stirring message of intent.
Asked if Saracens can improve in the coming weeks, he said: ‘Absolutely. That is the exciting thing. I honestly think we’re quite a long way off where we need to be.
‘We can’t be too hard on what we did today, but we were good with the ball and not so good without it. We value our defence, so we will get a bit of a kick for that from Al Sanderson (defence and forwards coach), I imagine.
‘We want to guarantee ourselves a home semi-final in the Premiership as well, so our aim, without doubt, is to go unbeaten for the rest of the season.
‘To be the only unbeaten team in the tournament is a statement of intent and we want to make sure we continue that for the next two games. We have to be tough on ourselves and make sure we are right up there with our standards in order to do that.’
Assessing the performance against Glasgow with a critical eye, George added: ‘ You win a European quarter-final with more than 50 points on the board and it’s great. But as ever, we will nit-pick every little detail.
‘We are disappointed with how we started the game and finished the game.’
There was pre-match disruption for the home team when Owen Farrell, who was due to start, withdrew to be at the birth of his first child. But Saracens coped admirably in his absence.
Frankly, they didn’t miss a beat, as Alex Goode stepped in to the primary playmaker role once again and ran the show with aplomb.
For the umpteenth time, the 30-year-old proved that while he is not a contender for further England honours, he is a valuable asset to Saracens.
George added: ‘He is one of the best players I’ve ever played with — one of the most skilful players I’ve ever played with. It was an easy transition, him coming in.’ The semi-final against Munster promises to be a brutally physical encounter and, asked what he learned about the Limerick-based team from working with some of their players on the 2017 Lions tour, George said: ‘They will fight for everything.’ The same could be said about Saracens. They have formidable intensity and mental resilience. Glasgow couldn’t cope with the gainline-busting exploits of Will Skelton, Billy Vunipola and so many other mighty carriers. They could not handle the aerial barrage unleashed by Goode and Ben Spencer and they couldn’t contain the dashing, weaving Liam Williams at full back. The only negative for Saracens was their captain Brad Barritt suffering an ankle injury which appeared serious. McCall’s team would miss him in Coventry but they are hunting the Double with conviction and the peak is still to come.