RETURN TO BIG TIME!
A year after being relegated for salary cap breach, unstoppable Saracens move to the brink of …
SARACENS made sure there will be no row over promotion to the Premiership this summer by thrashing Championship rivals Ealing in the first leg of their final.
The top flight and the RFU will breathe huge sighs of relief that the expected outcome occurred — a year after Sarries were relegated for breaching salary cap rules.
With Ealing’s Vallis Way ground well short of the 10,000capacity needed to meet minimum Premiership standards, the league and RFU did not want to entertain the Trailfinders’ pledge to find a suitable temporary home in the event they beat Saracens.
So this result was manna from heaven for those in charge of English rugby.
Of course, it was for Saracens too, who can be sure their club will not turn to dust in the doldrums of the second tier, their eight tries and 18 points from Owen Farrell all but ensuring their return to the big time.
‘Owen was amazing,’ said Sarries boss Mark McCall. ‘His game was exceptional. His leadership... you could see the way he led in the changing room before the game. He’s been like that all week. He lives for these important matches.
‘We’ve wanted and waited for this opportunity for many months and we were determined to take it. When we went 30 or 40 points up, we felt like everything mattered.’
Determined to put their lowkey season in the Championship to bed once and for all, Saracens approached this match as ruthlessly as they did many of their huge finals pre-salary cap breaches.
By half-time, the whole tie was all over bar the shouting, even with a second leg to come next weekend.
Sarries, with 12 Test players and five 2021 Lions, scored three tries and went into the break 27-0 up.
The 1,600 Ealing fans made plenty of noise — including drummers walking around the pitch at Vallis Way to rally the team — but Saracens emphatically silenced them.
Maro Itoje flopped over from close range before Aled Davies scored after Tim Swinson and Farrell ripped through the middle of the Trailfinders with fine offloads, and then Jamie George was on the end of a rolling maul to score too.
Farrell kicked two penalties, although inexplicably missed one from in front of the posts, as Sarries racked up as many points as possible.
After the break, Billy Vunipola crashed over for two tries, the second a classic powerful break off the back of the scrum, and there was a comfortable social- distance between the two sides on the scoreboard.
A penalty try for Saracens followed, with Ealing flanker Guy Thompson sent to the sinbin as the occasion all became a little flat and depressing for the hosts — who will have to suffer more pain next Sunday in the second leg.
Despite their comfortable position, Farrell was still cross with decisions and continually roared instructions of ‘smash him!’ and ‘hit him!’ at his team.
He was livid when the touch judge did not raise his flag close enough to the five-metre line when kicking a penalty to the corner, but happy again when he put Nick Tompkins away for try No 7, pushing Saracens past 50 points. Sean Maitland ran in the eighth try on full-time — Sarries hitting Ealing for 60 at a canter.
‘Can we have our seats back for next season now?’ an Ealing fan quipped to the assembled media sat in the stands at full- time. Unfortunately, Trailfinders may now be locked into their Championship chairs for years to come.