Saracens’ third defeat in four Premiership matches showed the scale of transition facing the club – whether or not Owen Farrell goes to France.
Sarries slipped to a 19-10 defeat against Leicester Tigers at Welford Road for their fifth league loss of the season, as talisman Farrell still weighs up a summer move to Racing 92.
Saracens’ five defeats in 11 league matches this term has already equalled the total losses Mark McCall’s men suffered in the entirety of last season.
Rugby director McCall accepted that Saracens find themselves in a transitionary phase before kick-off in the East Midlands, and then his side effectively proved that point.
Farrell could yet opt to make his 15th year in Saracens’ senior side his last, with Parisian giants Racing increasingly confident of convincing the 32-year-old to quit English rugby this summer.
Boss McCall refused to comment on Farrell’s individual situation before this rugged contest, but did admit Saracens have another group of likely summer leavers they want to “send off with a bang”.
"Saracens are at a crossroads – both this season and in the long-run"
Many more defeats like this three tries to one loss on the road, and Saracens’ farewells will fail to ignite.
Farrell would lead the cast list of potential summer leavers, though Billy Vunipola has been courted by clubs in Japan, too.
Reigning league champions Sarries know full well their level will have to be far higher than this mixed-bag effort on their travels.
McCall’s men are still well capable of success in every area this season, but the margin for error is running out.
If potential summer silverware would be allied to any Farrell farewell, then all in north London will be acutely aware of the need to do justice to one of English rugby’s greatest ever players.
This messy defeat certainly did not do Farrell justice, but the man himself will have been frustrated with his own staccato showing.
Dan Kelly, Matt Rogerson and Harry Simmonds all crossed to hand the hosts a win in which Tom Parton claimed Saracens’ sole try.
Saracens will face Bordeaux and Lyon as Europe returns next, at which point the champion in these players must emerge.
Kapeli Pifeleti trudged off injured less than 10 minutes in, leaving England man Theo Dan forced to grind through the bulk of the match.
Sarries held up a Tigers maul over their own line, but then shot themselves in the foot. Farrell’s loose pass was picked off by the lurking Kelly, and the Tigers 13 raced home.
Talisman Farrell quickly chastised himself but then set about making amends, starting with a neat pass to set Elliot Daly en route to a smart line break.
Daly then drew the cover delightfully, to send Parton in for a quick riposte try. Farrell nailed the tricky conversion to put Saracens into the lead, that he later extended to 10-5 from a penalty shot.
Two pinpoint cross-field kicks – to Lucio Cinti and then Rotimi Segun – in the same attack set up that penalty shot, and Farrell made no mistake from the tee.
Farrell’s recovery took a couple more dents before the break though, firstly through a cheap knock-on – and secondly from a crucial clearance-kick mistake.
The 112-cap England star booted out on the full from a shank just outside his own 22. Leicester lapped up the field position, and eventually former London Irish man Rogerson powered home.
Handre Pollard’s conversion handed Leicester a 12-10 lead that they carried to the break. Sarries were fortunate not to give more ground before the break though, as Daly was judged to have stopped Kelly grounding over the line.
Kelly chipped the line with no one at home for Saracens, leaving Daly to race back and try to fill the void.
Daly managed to roll Kelly in the act of collecting his own kick and trying to finish, and it appeared for all the world that the Leicester man had claimed the try.
The TV reviewers deemed otherwise though, to hand Saracens a big half-time boost. Saracens returned after the break like a team that had been read the riot act.
Suddenly the visitors were flying into rucks and starting to generate far faster ball. A period of sustained Sarries pressure ended in ex-Harlequin Mike Brown winning a crucial turnover on Tigers’ own line.
Leicester upped the ante in response, and when Maro Itoje was sin-binned the Tigers struck through right wing Simmonds. Pollard’s conversion proved the final score, to leave Saracens at a crossroads – both in this season and the long-run.
