Perhaps the days of Saracens as an Investec Champions Cup force are not quite as distant as they had seemed. Seven years on from their last European title, here was a scalp to savour, the hosts snarling with the attitude of old in a significant win over Toulouse.
Last week, director of rugby Mark McCall had read his side the riot act after a distinctly limp defeat to Leicester, lacking in the wolfpack mentality that had taken his team to three titles in four seasons in the inglorious glory years. Here, that mindset was back most forcefully as a cohesive collective overcame Antoine Dupont, Jack Willis et al to leave the hosts’ route to the latter stages more straightforward than that of their visitors.
