Sarries shrug off Carre red to stay alive
IT WOULD not be a true Saracens story without a shot of drama. The past 12 months have brought as many twists as a soap opera and here it was the survival of a fifth-minute red card.
At one point, the disgraced champions were reduced to 13 men but fought back to keep alive their European campaign i n what Mark McCall described as one of his proudest days. This was a game that Saracens had no right to win.
McCall rested most of his A-list stars at the Liberty Stadium, but his scratch side showed the character of a group galvanised by adversity. The likes of Richard Wigglesworth have been tipped for the exit in light of the salary cap scandal, but it was the 36-year-old scrum- half who steadied the ship.
They now have the chance to book a place in the quarter-finals if they beat Racing 92 at home next Sunday, although t he odds were stacked against them when Rhys Carre was sent off in the early exchanges.
Some fans had barely taken their seats by the time Carre’s shoulder connected with the head of Ospreys full-back Dan Evans, yet McCall barely flinched in his seat as the prop left the pitch. After Manu Vunipola had kicked Saracens to an early lead, McCall was more animated about how his team adapted to playing with 14 men.
‘ We need someone in the backfield,’ shouted the Irishman at his assistant, having sacrificed full- back Elliott Obatoyinbo to keep eight forwards on the field. ‘I’ve told them a million times ,’ he replied.
‘Well tell them again,’ blasted McCall. ‘Too f****** slow.’
Luke Price levelled the scores and it took time for McCall’s sense of urgency to filter through to his players.
Vunipola added three more penalties, to the familiar backdrop of ‘CHEATS! CHEATS! CHEATS!’, but the visitors were reduced to 13 men when Calum Clark was shown a cheap yellow card for hands in the ruck. Suddenly, Ospreys could smell an upset.
They relied heavily on winger Luke Morgan to make yards but it was Evans who scored tries either side of half time to snatch the lead. A stronger team would have turned the screw but Ospreys are lacking confidence after 12 defeats in a row.
Ospreys coach Carl Hogg said: ‘ We missed a golden opportunity. In a matchday squad laced with inexperience, i t was t he wise heads of Wrigglesworth, George Kruis and Jackson W ray who adapted first.’
Ospreys dominated territory and possession but Saracens seized every chance. Back to 14 players, Wiggles worth box-kicked into the Ospreys 22 and Alex Lewington comfortably beat Shaun Venter in the air to catch and score.
Saracens almost added a second when Le wing ton, Wigglesworth and Vunipola combined down the left wing but centre Nick Tompkins knocked on in a desperate tackle by Alun Wyn Jones. In the veteran lock’s absence because of international commitments and a groin injury, the region had lost 13 out of 14 games this season before this match.
‘ Our senior players were magnificent and coming up with right answers to some of the problems that we were posed,’ said McCall.
‘When you’re down to 13 men you could panic and go off script but that didn’t happen.
‘This was all about togetherness, younger players listening to the senior players, doing it for each other — and the performance spoke volumes. It was really special.’
Vunipola added another penalty in the 68th minute to put Saracens seven points clear but the job was not done.
‘Biggest scrum of these ason !’ shouted McCall as Saracens packed down for a late set piece. His side stepped up to the challenge — setting up a final Pool 4 sequel next week.