Saracens won the league and European double last season for a reason. A team often pilloried for being rugby’s equivalent of the old Wimbledon FC on a dull day, they so ruthlessly exposed Toulon’s fault line that at times they resembled Barcelona.
Toulon like to direct their opponents into quicksand, bogging them down in a game where the ball struggles for breath. Saracens are no mean constrictors themselves but their rise from the arch-mediocrity of the Premiership to become the leading side in Europe has been based on an ability to expose the weakest point of teams. Here they kept the team they deposed as European champions on the move in an exhilarating first 40 minutes.
Toulon had no time to pause for thought and at times looked like a pub team that had just been thrown together rather than an expensive collection of players from around the world, all-sorts rather than all-stars.
If the final scoreline suggested there was not much between the teams, Saracens conceded two tries when they had a player in the sin-bin, the second coming when they had two others needing medical attention and out of play.
They were a few cuts above and will again be the team to stop in Europe this season. Their one failure was to pick up a bonus point having been in serene control. A loss of discipline after 50 minutes gave Toulon a way back but otherwise they exerted a strong grip at forward and behind, where Owen Farrell looked anything but a player making his first appearance for four months following a back injury, running as hard at the end as he had at the start, when Saracens launched a wave of attacks that left the home side gasping.
“I was a bit stiff at the end but I was ready for that,” said the England international. “It was a good game to come back in for and I feel fine. I will have to see how I feel in the next few days, but it is not about me but the performance the lads put in.
“The first half was one of our best attacking-wise. We played both sides of the ruck really well and were able to go both sides, where the spaces were, and we created chances. There is always a stuff you can get better at and we were hanging on a bit in the second-half. There are things we need to look at, but we showed we are a team that likes the big occasion.”
Saracens started the match on the front foot and finished it on the back one, equally comfortable in possession as in defence. “We talk about not being a team that picks and chooses when it turns up,” said Farrell. “People can say whatever they want about our style; we are not bothered. We will look at it when we stop doing well. We do what we do because we believe in it: that is all that matters. This was a big win and we intend to crack on from it.”
The Scarlets, who beat Sale on Saturday evening, are next up at Allianz Park this weekend. Saracens will be expected to win and secure a bonus point whereas Saturday’s was the game out of their first two that they targeted, as Farrell’s return in the starting lineup, rather than on the bench, showed. They are a team for all seasons and while this was a game between two of the European club powerhouses who were both captained by South Africans, the performances of Saracens’ five England forwards stood out for their athleticism, technical ability and assurance.
Toulon’s team contained a number of players whose best days are behind them but Saracens have the fresh bouquet of youth, complemented by a few seasoned stems, including Schalk Burger. The South Africa wing-forward spent the final eight minutes in the sin-bin after thwarting a counter-attack by means outside the laws that potentially saved his side seven points and with it a notable victory. Fragrance comes in different scents.
Toulon Halfpenny; Tuiosva (Escande, 65), Carraro, Nonu (Bastareaud, 56), Habana; Trinh-Duc, Tillous-Borde (Bernard, 73); Fresia (Chiocci, 52), Guirado (Orioli, 68), Chilachava (Saulo, 68), Manoa (Taofifenua, 52), Gorgodze, Ollivon, Fernandez Lobbe (Gill, 77), Vermeulen.
Tries Chilachava, Habana Pens Halfpenny 3 Cons Halfpenny 2.
Saracens Goode; Maitland, Bosch, Barritt (Lozowski, 78), Wyles; Farrell, Wigglesworth (Spencer, 65); M Vunipola, George (Brits, 51), Figallo (Du Plessis, 53), Itoje (Hamilton, 79), Kruis, Wray (Rhodes, 57), S Burger, B Vunipola.
Tries Maitland, Wigglesworth, Wyles Pens Farrell 4 Cons Farrell 2. Sin-bin Itoje (54), S Burger (72).
Referee J Lacey (Ire) Attendance 14,103
