A bit of a pattern is developing to Saracens’ matches in the buildup to Christmas – start slowly, fall behind, then start playing in the second half. Sometimes the last development is enough to take the win, but the past couple of matches it has not been.
Here against Connacht the recovery certainly was, an eight-try win more than sufficient for anyone in any kind of form. A rare home defeat to Northampton at the start of the month could have had the English champions scratching their heads, but a second defeat, even if at altitude on the other side of the world, to the Bulls will have hurt just as much. So Connacht were always in danger of suffering a backlash.
“Today was a good step in the right direction,” said Mark McCall. “There’s a lot more in us. I don’t even know if it was that sluggish. We had a lot of territory and possession. There’s a wearing-down process that has to happen with any good team, and Connacht are a good team.”
Connacht had disappointments of their own to work through, having shipped 40 points to Bordeaux last weekend under their own lights in the west of Ireland. Early indications were not auspicious for the visitors, Juan Martín González brandishing his formidable athleticism to gather Owen Farrell’s cross-kick and rampage through his opposite number to the line for Saracens’ first.
Farrell, who missed six kicks at goal for the first time in his career in that loss to Northampton, is not quite as reliable off the tee at the moment, however deadly his game in open play. He missed five kicks here (mind you, he did have 11 of them to take), including the conversion of that first try, but he continues to beat at the heart of Saracens, who will benefit greatly from his break from international rugby.
Leinster overcame a tougher-than-expected challenge from a much-changed Sale side, pulling clear in the second half to seal a 37-27 Champions Cup win at the RDS. Despite not capitalising on Robbie Henshaw’s early yellow card, Sale led 13-11 at half-time thanks to two Rob du Preez penalties and a slickly crafted try from Connor Doherty.
An off-colour Leinster, six days on from winning in La Rochelle, were 10 points in arrears at one stage. Josh van der Flier crossed just before the break, adding to Ciaran Frawley’s brace of penalties. However, Leo Cullen’s men controlled most of final 40 minutes, with Jamison Gibson-Park touching down before James Harper’s return from the sin-bin.
Henshaw and Ryan Baird took care of the bonus point and replacement Cian Healy added a fifth try before Tommy Taylor and Tom Curtis squeezed in late Sharks scores on the back of a Hugo Keenan yellow.
Bath took a major step towards the Champions Cup knockout phase by beating Cardiff 39-32 in an Arms Park thriller. They made it 10 points out of 10, backing up a dominant victory over Ulster by scoring six tries on the road. Cardiff pushed them every inch of the way, though, leading until South African forward Jaco Coetzee touched down twice during the final quarter.
Pat Lam made 13 changes for Bristol’s Champions Cup Pool away to Bordeaux-Bègles and his team suffered a 36-17 defeat at the Stade Chaban-Delmas. Only Rich Lane and Magnus Bradbury remained from the starting lineup that edged past Lyon last Saturday and free-scoring Bordeaux took advantage.
Lyon won a thriller against Bulls 29-28, also in Pool One, the French hosts having been 18-12 down against the South African side at the break.
Ulster turned on the style to beat Racing 92 to get their campaign up and running. Nick Timoney’s early try was quickly followed by another from Stuart McCloskey, Matty Rea adding a third try before the break.Timoney secured the bonus point at the start of the second half before two Janick Tarrit tries set up a tense finish. But John Cooney added a penalty to secure an important 31-15 win for Dan McFarland’s men.
La Rochelle, meanwhile, suffered an agonising defeat against the Stormers in Cape Town – the Champions Cup holders second successive loss – with a late Andre‑Hugo Venter try that Manie Libbok converted securing a 21-20 victory for the South African side. PA Media
Perhaps the early try lulled the hosts into a false sense of security. It was Connacht who took hold of proceedings for the next 20 minutes. Two tries, from attacking lineouts, helped them to establish a 17-8 lead on the half-hour. Bundee Aki joined a maul for the first, before Caolin Blake nipped round the fringes after a series of carries.
It was too early to consider a third defeat on the trot for Saracens, but these deficits will niggle at them. Not that there was any hint of disquiet. They resorted to the workmanlike for the last 10 minutes of the half, two tries by Jamie George at the back of further driven lineouts securing a 21-17 lead at the break.
So far, so pedestrian, but normal service was resumed in the second half. Three tries in the third quarter put the game to bed. Sean Maitland scored the second of them, after a fabulous pass from Farrell, but it was his break from deep that paved the way for Saracens’ bonus-point try two minutes into the second half, when Olly Hartley touched down after Alex Goode’s chip to the posts.
Cian Prendergast killed the ball after interception by George and the yellow card he saw for that facilitated Maitland’s try, number five, and another, by the long-striding Lucio Cinti just before the hour. At 43-17, that was more or less the game, but Maro Itoje was shown yellow on the hour, which helped Connacht to a well-deserved bonus point of their own.
JJ Hanrahan had only just replaced Connacht’s captain, Jack Carty, when he found a gap in Saracens’ midfield to go over, after good work down the right from Aki and Shayne Bolton. Hartley scored a second, from another chip to the posts, this one by his partner in the centre, Nick Tompkins, but Connacht’s bonus point followed three minutes later, when Joe Joyce drove over from close range.
In the last 10 minutes, Theo Dan finished another driven lineout, and Prendergast scored after his spell in the bin after Hanrahan’s interception. Hardly scintillating, but 13 tries at least lent the occasion an appropriate festival feel.
“That bonus point will be really important,” said Peter Wilkins, Connacht’s head coach. “We need to go after these next two games. We’ve got Bristol at home and Lyon away, both great challenges, but we think we’ll have opportunities.”
With the top four qualifying from each pool, Connacht’s campaign is far from over. Saracens’ is back on track, but they will want to shake off these slow starts before the festive season gets into them.
