That’s about all from me, but, right on cue, the match report has landed. Enjoy, and as ever, thanks for reading!
So … Saracens have become the first English champions of Europe since 2007 and the first winners in the competition’s history to win all nine of their matches. And deservedly so.
After two semi-final defeats, and one in the final, in the last three years Saracens’ persistence has finally paid off and they out-thought and out-fought a Racing team who lost both their influential half-backs – Dan Carter and Maxime Machenaud – to injury.
It was a pretty shocking match in truth and they could probably be out there playing this time next week and still not even look like scoring a try but, as we know by now, Saracens could not give a hoot.
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) May 14, 2016
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Saracens’ captain Brad Barritt has had this to say: “I’m hugely proud to be party of an unbelievable club. We came up short against Toulon but we were persistent. We spoke about pounding the rock and eventually it cracked today.
“There’s going to be a pack of teams chasing us but there’s a group of hungry guys out there who want to win things in the years to come.”
Their season has, of course, not finished yet. Next week they face Leicester in the Premiership semi-finals and few would bet against a double. This Saracens side is not going anywhere in a hurry and the rest of Europe is playing catch-up.
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Here Saracens come to lift the trophy that has become somewhat of an obsession in the last few years, ever since a 22-3 thumping by Clermont in the 2012 quarter-final. That defeat hammered home the need to realign to achieve their European ambitions and after a couple of near misses, none more so than 2014, they are kings of Europe for the first time.
Mark McCall looks on with barely a smile, just basking with a look of satisfaction on his face. Nigel Wray is more animated and having bankrolled the club for a while, you’d have thought he would.
Saracens are worthy champions. But for a slightly sticky five-minute period around the hour they were in complete control. As Billy Vunipola said, they made fewer mistakes and Owen Farrell demonstrated the kind of club form he has all season. Wigglesworth was immaculate when kicking from hand and Fraser had the kind of game at openside that will have Eddie Jones taking note. Itoje and Kruis were not too shabby either and both Vunipola’s were at their powerful best.
For Racing, injuries did not help – losing Machenaud so early was a blow – but Carter was patently not fit and the risk to start him backfired. Chris Masoe kept going but Racing are not the first side to have the life squeezed out of them by Saracens.
In retrospect, that performance was eerily similar to that of Toulon, against Saracens back in 2014.
“This group have been working towards this for the last seven years,” says Itoje. “We’ve had some disappointment but we’ve come back stronger, long may it continue.”
Billy says: “We managed to pull it odd and win this trophy, I’m just thankful I did it with such good people. We’re going to enjoy tonight but then it’s on to next week.
“It was such an arm wrestle but we made less mistakes, credit to the front five and Faz for holding his nerve.”
And Farrell, somewhat understatedly, says: “It’s a great moment for the club. To come out with this trophy is brilliant. I’m just glad I could put the points over for the lads who won the penalties.”
Full time! SARACENS WIN THE CHAMPIONS CUP!
It wasn’t quite over, but it is now. Saracens are deserved winners of the Champions Cup with a 21-9 win over Racing!
It wasn’t pretty but bearing in mind the weather, that was pretty much pitch perfect from Saracens. Wigglesworth and Farrell were awesome, as was Fraser and Billy V. The best team in Europe are now champions of Europe.
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80 mins: Farrell and Wigglesworth go off with huge smiles on their faces – Charlie Hodgson gets some time on the field in his swansong season. Saracens have another penalty, that may just be that.
Penalty! (Farrell) Racing 9-21 Saracens
79 mins: Farrell makes it seven from seven from in front of the posts after some relentless work at the breakdown from Saracens yields a penalty. That’s all she wrote …
78 mins: Rokocoko comes up the middle but makes little ground. Racing are panicking and Saracens pinch the ball back and Farrell kicks deep into Racing territory. Saracens are all over Racing here, the game appears to be up …
77 mins: Taylor takes the restart and punts clear. It’s a Racing lineout on halfway and the French side need a score very quickly …
Penalty! (Farrell) Racing 9-18 Saracens
76 mins: Farrell makes no mistake and Saracens are closing in on the Champions Cup! A little over four minutes to see off but Racing need two scores. Woof!
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75 mins: Itoje takes the lineout and Saracens get the drive on. The backs join in and they’re five metres short. They have a penalty and Farrell goes for a cross-kick. Wyles can’t take it but Farrell has a penalty to give Saracens some breathing space …
73 mins: The end result was Goode being tackled into touch but Saracens steal the lineout and have in back near halfway. And it’s a penalty to Saracens, that could be huge if they keep their heads, and the ball from the imminent lineout.
72 mins: Goode takes the next kick cleanly but can’t get on the end of his own. Tales goes high but it’s pretty poor and Wyles takes it comfortably. Wigglesworth kicks to Tales, who’s hit by Wyles but Dulin kicks clear. Kicking back and forth in short.
71 mins: Saracens were getting pushed backwards but have the ball and make fast yards down the left through Billy V and Wyles. Mako carries into the 22 but Racing have the interception and now the ball back.
70 mins: The scrum is on Saracens’ 10-metre line, it’s a mess and we’ll go again. Saracens won’t be too disappointed.
68 mins: Racing pilfer the ball from the lineout and test out Goode who spills the high ball and is promptly disgusted with himself. Are nerves creeping in? The next score in this match is MASSIF!
67 mins: Penalty to Saracens, which looked fortunate. Wigglesworth was isolated but he’s got away with it and Farrell belts it into touch near halfway.
66 mins: Szarzewski is off, replaced by Lacombe. That’s some experience that Racing have lost but clear hands and the confidence to go wide but yet yield something. The scrum needs to be reset.
66 mins: Excellent resilience from Saracens, who eventually force the mistake. It isn’t exactly subtle from Racing but Fraser, Billy and Kruis are making some enormous hits and they’ve won themselves the put-in.
65 mins: Racing are coming around the fringes, Tameifuna has a strong carry and Racing are testing the Saracens defence here. It’s narrow but it’s working at the moment.
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64 mins: Racing bring it over half way but no further. Phillips kicks straight to Goode, who returns the favour to Dulin, whose kick is much better. Wigglesworth is covering but finds Phillips who has a dash. So does Imhoff and Racing are closing in on Saracens’ 22.
63 mins: Racing get a penalty with Kruis not rolling away from the restart. The crowd are getting behind Racing a bit more now. Saracens may rue failing to get the extra score.
Penalty! (Goosen) Racing 9-15 Saracens
61 mins: Tales kicks for Dulin in the corner, it doesn’t work but Owens was playing advantage and now Goosen goes for goal, and Racing are back to within a score.
60 mins: Racing go short and get the drive on but it goes backwards. Tameifuna gets Racing back on the front foot though, so does Ben Arous and the crowd are getting behind the French side.
59 mins: Farrell goes for that corner again but it’s ever so slightly overcooked so Racing have a lineout on halfway. It’s over everyone but Racing still have it and are awarded a penalty on halfway. Goosen does not go for goal but he does kick well into Saracens’ right-hand corner. Racing need a score from this …
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57 mins: A bit of a stoppage in play as Dumoulin limps off. That’s Nos 9, 10 and 12 off for Racing, who can’t really get out of their half. Phillips kicks clear but Saracens have it over halfway. A hefty carry from Mako is followed by a high kick from Wigglesworth and again it’s inch perfect.
57 mins: Saracens are very much in the ascendancy at the moment. They’ll want more points to show for it though.
56 mins: Billy came back on for Rhodes so Wray is still there by the by. Saracens find a bit of space down the left and Taylor takes them to Racing’s 22. Farrell threatens the drop goal but cuts back to the left. Wyles kicks through and Rokocoko can’t gather but Taylor pushed him and it’s a penalty to Racing, much to their relief.
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55 mins: Owens is happy enough. Play on with a lineout to Saracens on Racing’s 10-metre line.
55 mins: Tales takes his eye of the ball and Racing are under pressure near their own line! Phillips buys some time with a kick to touch but Racing are rattled. Owens is now checking the hit on Farrell …
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54 mins: Farrell is hit hard on halfway but Saracens still have it and Wigglesworth goes for Racing’s right-hand corner again. Farrell appears to have been hit late but play continues for now.
53 mins: Terrible kick from Racing, Tales I think, fails to find touch. A let-off for Saracens. Racing are forcing it at the moment.
Owens is consulting with the TMO, the crowd are making their thoughts clear … sounds like Farrell is in a wee bit of a trouble. He’s called over by Owens who adjudges a high tackle by Farrell on Masoe – just a penalty.
Andy Farrell is in the crowd and not impressed.
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Nigel Owens is looking at a replay for a high tackle from Farrell … in the meantime George comes on for Brits.
52 mins: Billy is back on as the TV pictures show Carter getting treatment to his leg. You wonder if he should have started. Anyhow, another big carry from Masoe gets the crowd going but again a handling error costs Racing. Phillips this time.
Penalty! (Farrell) Racing 6-15 Saracens
50 mins: Five from five from Farrell and in this sort of match, that’s a sizeable lead. Racing are furious, so are the crowd but the French side will have to regroup now. In effect they need a try you feel.
49 mins: Szarzewski can’t mind his man and it’s chaos – Saracens have it now, six metres short. Farrell changes the angle of attack but is swamped, only for Szarzewski to give away a penalty. Racing are not happy at all …
48 mins: Phillips eventually clears – that was a let-off for Racing but in-keeping with the scrappy nature of the match. Saracens have the lineout just outside the Racing 22. A couple of phases get nowhere so Farrell kicks Racing right back into their right-hand corner. Very shrewd.
46 mins: Saracens turn the ball over though and an expert kick over the top from Wigglesworth pins Racing back with a lineout right by their own line. Kruis almost pinches it and Saracens have driven Szarzewski into touch. Itoje gets the plaudits from his team-mates and now it’s Saracens lineout – pounced on by Ben Arous after Kruis fails to gather.
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45 mins: Another clever kick from Dulin brings us to a Saracens lineout. It’s gathered cleanly enough and Wigglesworth clears after a bit of dithering. Dulin claims it and offloads and Racing move the ball towards the right.
43 mins: They’re dropping like flies - Wray is on for Billy as a blood replacement. We’re having another scrum now after Saracens failed to make good use of some quick ball. A pretty awful Wigglesworth knock-on in truth.
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42 mins: Racing turn the ball over though and Phillips wriggles up the middle but Saracens win the penalty, much to their relief. That was a powerful drive through the heart of Saracens. Tales is coming on for Carter who has not looked right at all really.
Peeeeeeeeeeeeep!
41 mins: Farrell gets the second half up and running and Phillips clears. Not very far but Racing still have it and Phillips finds Carter who clears, not very well either though and Billy brings Saracens over halfway with a powerful carry.
Already replacements have had a bit of say in this match so here are the remaining benchmen …
Racing: Lacombe, Vartanov, Ducalon, Carizza, Claassen, Tales, Chavancy
Saracens: George, Barrington, Figallo, Hamilton, Wray, Spencer, Hodgson, Bosch
Philip West has been in touch and, to be honest, I can see his point so from now on, Racing in scoreline …
Hello! You just gave me a heart attack on seeing Racing 923 – Saracens 6.Perhaps you could do a small favour to Emergency wards across the country by using only Racing?Cheers, Phil
Well that was difficult going at times but Farrell’s unerring kicking from the tee means Saracens have a six-point lead at the interval. In truth, they have the lead because Farrell, Goode and Wigglesworth have been pretty faultless when kicking from hand and Saracens kick-chase, as is often the case, has been excellent.
Dulin has shone for Racing, producing a couple of delightful kicks, and it is Racing who have put more phases together on a couple of occasions. They haven’t really threatened a try (neither have Saracens) but will hope their opponents will tire and hope for more incision if they can improve their handling. The scrum seems pretty even, maybe Racing have lost their slight edge, and while they have lost Machenaud to injury, Phillips looks in the mood.
Evenly poised in short but Saracens will hope to strangle the life out of the second half and rely on Farrell’s kicking. It’s up to Racing to make something happen …
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Half-time! Racing 92 6-12 Saracens
40+1 mins: Rhodes gathers for Saracens and Wigglesworth kicks out comfortably enough.
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40 mins: Wigglesworh clears for the umpteenth time and Racing have it in their own half. Phillips puts it high but Goode is equal to it but a beauty from Dulin, with a bit of swerve, gives Saracens a lineout to win near their own line before half-time.
Penalty! (Farrell) Racing 92 6-12 Saracens
39 mins: On the angle, a long way out … but Farrell is up to the challenge. The England fly-half is imperious today.
38 mins: Saracens win the penalty. It’s near halfway but it’s in the Racing half and Farrell wants the ball. So close to half-time this feels like a very important kick …
37 mins: Racing clear through Phillips and looking to be breaking through Ben Arous, who knocks on near halfway. Owens gives Ashton a ticking off and we’ll have another scrum.
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Penalty! (Goosen) Racing 92 6-9 Saracens
36 mins: Saracens are penalised and Racing try to go quickly but Nigel Owens is having none of it so Goosen knocks it over.
34 mins: Phillips is doing a better job of marshalling his forwards than Machenaud though and Racing, despite a loose pass from Carter, are inside the 22. They’re building some momentum – they’ve got some big, strong boys up front – and this must be draining for Saracens.
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33 mins: Wigglesworth clears Saracens’ lines from the restart but Masoe leads the charge until a couple of tackles form the Vunipola tries knocks the French side back temporarily.
Penalty! (Farrell) Racing 92 3-9 Saracens
32 mins: The kick is right in front of the posts … and Farrell extends Saracens’ lead to six points. Brits is back on for George.
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31 mins: A powerful run from Masoe ends when Kruis dives on the loose ball. Wigglesworth has it on the 22 and Sarries have advantage so Farrell kicks ahead and Ashton is again very, very close. Farrell is outshining Carter at the moment.
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30 mins: Saracens just about keep the ball from their lineout. But not for long, Phillips box-kicks and Goode gathers on halfway before wriggling out of a tackle and finding Farrell in a spot of space on the left. Sarries make it to Racing’s 22 before turning over but Goode – the standout performer of the half so far – kicks low to the right-hand corner. Racing under pressure.
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28 mins: Phillips will stay on for Racing for whom Rokocoko now chases back and dives on the ball near his own line. Phillips kicks to touch. It was Wigglesworth who kicked ahead after Carter had fumbled.
27 mins: Kruis does not gather the restart cleanly though. Lineout for Racing after Imhoff allowed the ball to go into touch. Racing’s driving maul gets a few metres and Phillips is now sending his forwards around the corner.
Saracens slow the ball down well. Charteris has a go and gets nowhere before Imhoff gets the chance to stretch his legs but Wigglesworth keeps calm and dives on the ball after a clever kick through.
Penalty! (Farrell) Racing 92 3-6 Saracens
25 mins: And that he does. Saracens are back ahead in what has been a mess of a match so far. Set-pieces, as expected even before the rain, are proving pivotal.
24 mins: George hits Kruis and Saracens look to set up the drive but get nowhere fast. Ashton gets could in possession but Ben Arous is penalised for not rolling away. Penalty to Saracens and Farrell will kick at goal. He should be making this …
23 mins: Another scrum. Saracens will hope to fare better with Jamie George at hooker. And they do. Penalty to Saracens this time, on halfway. Farrell kicks to the Racing 22.
22 mins: A crafty drop out from Carter and Racing are up to halfway. Owens stops the game though. He’s seen Brits take a blow to the head and he wants him off. Very sensible.
21 mins: Machenaud’s kick forward is a bit of strange one though and Goode shows his stepping ability. Saracens keep coming and with Machenaud down, Farrell has a drop goal effort … it’s off target and Farrell gets a few boos for his troubles.
Machenaud is off, Mike Phillips is on.
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20 mins: Kruis takes the lineout this time and Saracens move it quickly. Barritt boshes up the middle, then Brits and then Mako. Billy juggles and Sarries are into the Racing 22. Itoje looses it though and Rokocoko gets the crowd excited with an intercept.
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19 mins: Imhoff takes the restart and Carter clears to touch. Very smooth from the New Zealander.
Penalty! (Goosen) Racing 92 3-3 Saracens
18 mins: It’s a monster kick but with a monster boot Goosen is going for goal. From inside his own half but it’s right between the posts. All square.
17 mins: Another scrum, this one is being reset. At least the sun is out again but it still seems to be raining. Scrum goes down, penalty to Racing. Looks like Mako is to blame in Nigel Owens’ eyes.
16 mins: Masoe has a carry on Saracens’ 10-metre line but a fumble from Szarzewski eventually brings proceedings to a hault. With the ball so wet, neither side can hold it for more than a couple of phases.
15 mins: An excellent kick from Dulin, who has started well, who piles the pressure on Saracens. They have a lineout right on their own line. It’s to the front, to Itoje and Wigglesworth clears as the rain relents a bit.
14 mins: A flurry of errors ends when Nigel Owens, thankfully, blows up. Scrum time. Racing have pinched the ball and are into the Saracens 22. But Sarries have turned the ball over and Farrell clears. Carter is down.
12 mins: Imhoff almost gets a clean offload away though. Saracens would have been in trouble had that gone to hand. Racing keep ploughing away without making much yardage but they are at least working Saracens.
11 mins: Rokocoko gets his hands on the ball for the first time, in field. Racing are going through the phases on the right, and making a bit of ground. Not much though after some excellent doubling up from Brits and Itoje. The rain is sheeting down.
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Penalty! (Farrell) Racing 92 0-3 Saracens
10 mins: A penalty to Saracens this time, seems a pretty even contest at the scrum. Farrell grabs the ball and will go for the posts. Tameifuna was the offender. Farrell slots without any problems.
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7 mins: Kruis gathers cleanly and Saracens look to get the maul going only for Racing to stand off. Really aggressive defence from Ben Arous knocks Saracens back but Ashton almost gets on the end of a clever kick from Farrell in the right-hand corner. Nigel Owens is checking if Dulin has knocked it out on purpose … he hasn’t.
Owens is giving Barritt a talking to after the Saracens captain gets a little hot under the colour. Saracens have a five-metre scrum though …
6 mins: Good restart from Farrell, good chase from Ashton. Racing clear but Goode uncharacteristically runs into Itoje. Sarries continue though and Itoje has a bullocking run with Billy V used as a decoy. Another good kick-chase and Sarries have a lineout in Racing territory.
5 mins: In keeping with the start to the match, Machenaud misses the kick. We’ll see who takes the next one.
4 mins: This scrum goes to ground, and Racing are awarded a penalty, Brits is the culprit. Machenaud to kick at goal, even though it’s within Carter’s range. Interessant.
3 mins: Hmmm. Hopefully things are going to improve but a horrible pass from Carter is knocked on by Goosen. Nerves seem to be a-jangling.
2 mins: Carter goes to the skies and finds Goode who steps forward confidently. Taylor has a dart but Saracens are going nowhere really before Kruis with a pretty average knock-on. Time for a scrum.
Peeeeeeeeeep!
1 min: Carter gets us underway before Dulin knocks-on Wigglesworth’s box-kick clearance. He gets another go and Dulin fields this one. Scrappy opening minute.
My colleague Dan Lucas has been in touch with a prediction … will hold him to it at full-time …
Saracens by nine. Racing’s pack is massive but I reckon it’ll start to blow in the second half and Sarries are too fit. Hope I’m wrong.
Here the players come through a fog of smoke. Racing in their traditional white and sky blue hoops, Saracens in their usual black and red …
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Five minutes until kick-off. The trophy seems to be being hoisted aloft through some sort of pulley system. Best if we just ignore that and hope it stops. The awful music continues, not for much longer thankfully.
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Time to briefly digress … just a matter of hours after Wasps announced the signing of Kurtley Beale on a reported £700,000 a year contract he suffered a serious looking knee injury playing for the Waratahs. Read more here …
10 minutes until kick-off and the brain-twistingly awful music begins to play in the stadium…
And the dwindling numbers of Irish fans buying tickets in the expectation that they would have someone to cheer in the final tells its own story of the plight of Leinster, Munster and Ulster.
15 minutes to go until kick-off and the sun is poking its head out in Lyon where there appears to be a healthy turn-out after both semi-finals came nowhere near selling out. Scheduling the quarter-finals on the busiest sporting day of the year so far wasn’t exactly a masterstroke but the organisers have redeemed themselves a bit today. Get the feeling that it is not quite die hard Racing supporters, rather French fans in general swelling the ranks. Either way, Sarries followers seemed to be outnumbered.
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The man in the middle today is Nigel Owens, widely recognised as one of, if not the best in the business. He is not quite held in as high esteem in France and he did make one or two baffling decisions in the semi-final between Racing and Leicester but his quiet authority and ability to gauge the temperature of proceedings is unrivalled.
Let’s get the Carter v Farrell chit chat out of the way shall we? Both have been paying each other compliments this week – Farrell highlighting Carter’s composure, Carter praising Farrell’s aggression. Hardly groundbreaking stuff but it is worth pointing out that Farrell’s ability with the ball has been so far improved this season and Carter is no shrinking violet in defence.
The fact that Farrell was at pains to avoid the idea of a match descending into a battle of the fly-halves is not surprising, let’s just say media training has not been wasted on him, but as is always the case, the forwards will determine to destination of the trophy.
Kruis and Itoje were so dominant against Wales during the Six Nations but Charteris did not start at Twickenham so that contest will be fascinating. The front row battle will be bruising but it is Saracens’ work at the breakdown, and how close they can get to Machenaud that will set the tone.
Saracens’ blitz defence does have its pitfalls though. Wasps could not exploit them but Northampton came closer to doing so in the quarter-finals and there are few better playmakers at exploiting weaknesses than Carter, if he can get clean ball.
Time for some statistics …
- Saracens are trying to become the first English champions of Europe since Wasps in 2007.
- Racing meanwhile, are looking to make it a fourth straight win for the Top 14.
- In Anglo-French finals, England lead the way 3-2 – Bath, Leicester and Wasps (1998, 2001 and 2004) to Brive and Toulon (1997 and 2014).
- Chris Masoe is aiming to become the sixth player to win the tournament with two different clubs, joining Philippe Carbonneau (Toulouse and Brive), Cedric Heymans (Brive and Toulouse), Federico Mendez (Bath and Northampton Saints), Frederic Michalak (Toulouse and Toulon) and Eoin Reddan (Wasps and Leinster).
- Martin Castrogiovanni would be doing likewise if he hadn’t told the club porkies before living it up with Zlatan and co in Vegas.
There are eight of the Saracens side that lost to Toulon in 2014 start today by the by, with a few more on the bench. It’s tipping down in Lyon which is unlikely to alter expectations of an arm wrestle, but a gripping (geddit!) one nonetheless.
Saracens team
A Goode; C Ashton, D Taylor, B Barritt (capt), C Wyles; O Farrell, R Wigglesworth; M Vunipola, S Brits, P du Plessis, M Itoje, G Kruis, M Rhodes, W Fraser, B Vunipola.
Not many surprises here. Saracens are unchanged from their semi-final win against Wasps. Mako Vunipola was superb in that victory and alongside him Schalk Brits will empty the tank before Jamie George comes on and Petrus du Plessis is rock solid. George Kruis and Maro Itoje can do no wrong this season and will hope to give Sarries the edge at the lineout and while Billy Vunipola’s ball-carrying is key, how much Michael Rhodes and Will Fraser, who will want a performance of note to give Eddie Jones a reminder of his talents, can disturb Machenaud and Carter will be similarly significant.
Richard Wigglesworth’s England days are probably behind him but he remains the country’s best kicking scrum-half and Owen Farrell has been near perfect for his club this season. Outside him, his captain Brad Barritt leads the defence and Duncan Taylor continues to get better and better in the outside centre channel. In the back three, Chris Ashton is in red-hot try-scoring form and his understanding with Alex Goode, playing so well this season, is wonderful. Chris Wyles’ consistent excellence on the other wing demonstrates what Saracens are all about.
Jacques Burger is, of course, absent, having retired after Sarries’ penultimate regular season Premiership match. He’s busy today anyway …
The band with our hero pic.twitter.com/myPkz0ZTWz
— James Thompson (@jwt99412) May 14, 2016
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Raing 92 team
B Dulin; J Rokocoko, J Goosen, A Dumoulin, J Imhoff; D Carter, M Machenaud; E Ben Arous, D Szarzewski (capt), B Tameifuna, L Charteris, F van der Merwe, W Lauret, B Le Roux, C Masoe.
A star-studded lineup, in which Dan Carter understandably stands out. His opposite number today, Owen Farrell, has this week waxed lyrical about the Kiwi’s unwavering composure, which was at the fore in both knockout successes against Toulon and Leicester. Against the Tigers, his half-back partner Maxime Machenaud was also excellent, as was the No8 Chris Masoe.
It’s a bruising front row – Ben Tameifuna is enormous, Eddy Ben Arous is not small and the captain Dimitri Szarzewski returns at hooker to bring a wealth of experience. In the second row, Luke Charteris has made the most tackles in this season’s competition, Francois van der Merwe is an unassuming South African lock and in Wenceslas Lauret and Bernard Le Roux, Masoe has two workhorses either side of him.
Alexandre Dumoulin and Johan Goosen are solid in midfield, the later with a spectacularly big boot, and their are fireworks in the back three in Joe Rokocoko, Juan Imhoff and Brice Dulin.
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Preamble
Hello world and welcome to the second edition of the Not The Heineken Cup final! Neither Saracens nor Racing 92 (or their previous incarnation as Racing Metro) have lifted Europe’s top trophy, in either of its guises, so one thing is for certain … we will have an 11th winner of the tournament today.
Racing 92 v Saracens is a fixture that perhaps does not quite get the nostalgic juices flowing in the way that Anglo-French fixtures of years gone by do – neither can boast the kind of support that say Leicester, Clermont or Wasps can and neither are particularly popular among the neutrals. And the similarities do not end there. Jacky Lorenzetti began pumping his money into Racing 10 years ago and would have expected a place in a major European final to have been achieved by now while as my colleague Robert Kitson points out here, Nigel Wray’s Saracens have taken double that time to get to this position.
Both teams however, with their financial muscle and depth of talent, look set to be leading lights in the Champions Cup era. Leinster, Munster, Toulouse and Toulon may have been the dominant forces of the Heineken Cup but all four, for various reasons, are playing catch-up to today’s finalists.
The bookies can’t really separate them but Saracens are marginal favourites, despite giving up home nation advantage, if for no other reason – and they do not mind reminding us – that they have suffered enough disappointments in recent years, that they are battled-hardened, have learned from their defeats and are ready to confirm their European supremacy. ‘Pound the rock’ is one of their many mantras and the feeling is that after defeat in the final in 2014 by Toulon, and last season’s loss to Clermont in the semis, this is their year. And with a young English core of Owen Farrell – so impressive in Saracens colours this season – Maro Itoje, George Kruis, the Vunipola brothers and the outstanding Alex Goode, today may signify the start of their continental dominance.
In the opposite corner of what is expected to be a match high on intensity and power, if lacking in a pinch of je ne sais quoi, is a side with a wealth of world-class individuals who have perhaps not quite yet developed the team spirit of their opponents. Maybe the fact that they will have been more contented with simply reaching the final may ultimately prove decisive. If Saracens are to prevail however, the influence of Racing’s half-backs Dan Carter and Maxime Machenaud must be kept to a minimum. Saracens make no secret of their game plan and much rests on how their pack, and their back row in particular perform – Billy Vunipola against Chris Masoe, so impressive against Leicester in the semis and attempting to win a third European title in four years, is just one of a number of matchups that will shake the foundations of the spanking new Grande Stade de Lyon.
It is unlikely to be pretty and is expected to be tantalisingly close – even if yours truly has a feeling that Saracens may just click into gear and produce the kind of performance, if not quite the winning margin, of their 2014 semi-final victory over Clermont at Twickenham.
Kick-off is at 4.45pm (BST) and I will have teams for you shortly. In the meantime, relive what happened the last time these sides met, in last season’s quarter-final.
Before we get things going, let’s have a re-cap of last-night’s European Challenge Cup final where a spirited Harlequins side were overpowered by Montpellier 26-19. You can read Robert Kitson’s match report here while today, the major talking point has been Ben Botica’s bizarre decision to kick the ball away with the clock in the red and Quins needing a converted try to take the match into extra-time. It was, of course, Botica’s final match for Quins before joining … Montpellier. We will refrain from casting aspersions and it is worth the conspiracy theorists noting that Montpellier would have qualified for next season’s Champions Cup through their Top 14 position and therefore Botica stood little to gain. Still though, a very poor mistake and not the way Conor O’Shea will have wanted to end his Quins tenure. Just look at O’Shea’s reaction below.
"Why? Why the kick?" @QuinsRugbyUnion's Ben Botica boots ball away to end his side's #ChallengeCupFinal hopes. https://t.co/pvpRahqLXu
— BT Sport Rugby (@btsportrugby) May 13, 2016
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Good afternoon! The countdown to the European Champions Cup final begins early this year but while there are a few hours to go until kick-off, get your teeth into some pre-match reading in the mean time …
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Gerard will be here shortly.
