This one lived up to the hype. Two teams with little time for entertaining the neutrals have made strong claims to being the best in the land by employing a brutal approach. The winner was never going to prevail thanks to an exhilarating gameplan but by successfully shifting an immovable object with unstoppable force.
Saracens edged it, avenging a stoppage-time loss in October with a 34-27 win over Leicester. In sideways rain and bitter cold, Mark McCall’s team sent a strong reminder that a year in the wilderness hadn’t blunted their title credentials.
