Humiliation for Saracens
Holders suffer worst European defeat
How Saracens might have yearned for a mid-match postponement. Instead, they were left to snatch and grasp and flail, going down to one of the most humiliating defeats in their history, their first loss in Europe in 2½ years, a run of 20 matches that stretched back to a Clermont victory in the 2015 semifinal.
Never mind the slightly improved weather conditions that allowed the postponed match to take place, it is Saracens’ European hopes that have been put in cold storage. Sunday saw meteorological snow storms in these parts. Last night, Saracens were hit by a blizzard of tries, six in all.
Both events chilled them to the bone, even if a gaggle of Jaunard diehards in the crowd of 2,661 had their cockles warmed. This was Saracens’ worst-ever loss in Europe, eclipsing a 30-point margin inflicted on them by Biarritz in 2006.
“It’s a sobering day for us, one we didn’t see coming,” said Saracens head coach Mark Mccall, who was left flummoxed by the fact that his side had missed a remarkable 37 tackles. “[Fixing] defence is our No 1 priority. We have clearly got to do way better.
“Let us see how we are by the end of January and see if we can be proud of how we have responded to this very difficult situation we find ourselves in, to see if we can get back to our true selves. The postponement wasn’t relevant.
“What we said in the changing room is that by the end of January we hope we can be proud of how we respond to this difficult situation we find ourselves in. Potentially, that isn’t just about outcomes because we have a difficult game against Clermont away in six days, it’s also about staying tight as a group and sticking together as a group.
“We’ve got enough good players to respond in the right way. We have three Champions Cup games and three Aviva Premiership games to try to get back to our true selves. That won’t be easy because we’ve got a few injuries, but let’s see how we respond in six weeks’ time to this difficult situation.”
Of course, it is only one pool match. But it was at home and Saracens have to travel to Stade Marcel Michelin on Sunday, a daunting prospect at the best of times.
Two teams might yet qualify from this group but the Ospreys are rejuvenated and Saracens will head to west Wales next month with no option but to secure victory if they are to make the knockout stages.
This was Saracens’ sixth successive loss in all competitions, their worst run in 14 years. They rejected the notion last week that they were in crisis. That view may have to be revised.
It is not as if Clermont are in their pomp, albeit there was a masterly performance from Fiji-born wing Alivereti Raka, who scored a first-half hat-trick in 25 minutes.
He then produced a wonder 60-metre run in the second half that took him past six defenders before unloading to Flip van der Merwe for the try.
It was a score for the annals. Yet the Top 14 champions have struggled this season and lie ninth with not a win to their name on the road in France. They were made to look as if they were Clermont of old, playing with swagger and pace and power right across the field.
This could well be the performance that kick-starts their season. It was as if the stored-up indignation caused by events of the previous 24 hours had been poured into their performance. Clermont were up for the contest, pumped and onmessage. Whatever happened to that hoary old myth of the French not travelling well?
And Saracens? They have thrived on their sense of togetherness, prided themselves on their ability to keep grounded during their success. They will need all that resolve, all that cussedness to endure.
They have injuries and lost a key man, their captain and defensive rock, Brad Barritt, to a head knock in the third minute. Clermont have
danger throughout their ranks but it was a relative unknown, 25-yearold Raka, now qualified for France, who did the damage with his hattrick, the second-fastest three-try haul in the history of the European Cup.
It is not as if Raka was obliged to do anything extraordinary for the scores. He ran hard. He ran fast. And Saracens missed their tackles.
It beggared belief to see how slipshod and half-cock Saracens were. Jamie George bombed a tackle for Raka’s first try in the 13th minute, while Richard Wigglesworth was left floundering as Wesley Fofana carved a way through to set up Raka’s second.
Scrum-half Morgan Parra cut an angle to create the third. That was 21-0 and it was effectively all over. Saracens opted for penalty lineouts and fluffed those just before half-time, although they were at least on the board with a penalty try before Van der Merwe’s try in the 46th minute sealed the deal.
Failed tackles continued to haunt Saracens and this time Juan Figallo and Jackson Wray were at fault as Fofana skipped over for the visitors’ fifth before Parra broke the 40-point mark with a penalty. Isaia Toeava added another try with George Kruis getting a late one for Saracens.
It was no consolation whatsoever.