Saracens machine building speed yet again

Editor

We have seen this before. Saracens’ ability to ride out the early Munster onslaught before capitalising in the second half proved again why Mark McCall’s side are the team to beat in Europe.

Not that it matters now, but in fact Saracens should have won by more. The bombed pass from Sean Maitland to Richard Wigglesworth looked a certain five-pointer from around 15 metres out. George Kruis watched the ball fly out of his hand reaching for the line when a metre short.

A likely 10 points, probably 14 given Farrell’s accurate day of the tee, which would have added more of gap to the scoreboard that already felt a little out of touch given the opening barrage Munster unleashed. Although in the cold light of day facing up to Munster’s failure to add points, 26-10 seems fair.

How Munster started though. The roar that followed the opening scrum, John Ryan sending Mako Vunipola up and backwards, before the chase onto the subsequent kick as Munster swarmed over Farrell was quite something.

Saracens negated that threat as they so often do, killing the ball to make sure the damage was limited to three points, and that was more or less the tale of the first half, absorbing Munster carries and producing turnovers with a combination of timing and patience.

Bodies were rarely over-committed to the breakdown. And if they were, the ball was more than likely half available.

Riding out the sin-bin period of Jackson Wray with no more points allowed only built confidence, even with Munster still the dominant side and in near complete control of territory and possession.

This return to the final was built around the Lions contingent but with cameos from Springbok prop in Vincent Koch, winning that penalty for the go-ahead three points before half-time after Munster’s assault had come to an end.

Marcelo Bosch is too good to not be playing Test rugby even at 33, with Argentina’s selection policy making the Champions Cup his biggest stage this year, and he seemed to relish the occasion.

And the calls for Wigglesworth to be included in the Lions squad in some outlets last week were not farfetched. For game management at the scrum-half position in Europe, there are few better. Michael Rhodes too was relentless.

Be it Farrell’s ankle-tap on Bleyendaal, Billy Vunipola’s break and kick before the interval or Mako Vunipola crashing over for the first try, Saracens’ big players all made their presence felt.

But the best of that sextet picked by Warren Gatland in Dublin might well have been Kruis, back in only his second game since recovering early from knee surgery and topping the tackle count (18) while winning five lineouts, which somewhat makes up for that spill forced by Jean Deysel.

Naturally those waking up in Limerick will be frustrated to go out in the final four, but there was no shame in losing to a team as complete as the reigning champions, particularly when Munster have surpassed expectations in the first year on a new cycle under Rassie Erasmus.

Conor Murray of course was missed, with Duncan Williams noticeably nervous, while Tyler Bleyenaal needed his best game of the season and fell short of that mark. There was too much kicking with too little accuracy. Once Saracens’ carriers looked as though they were in charge, the narrow approach played into their hands.

Whether the presence of Murray and a fully-fit CJ Stander would have altered the result can be debated but the gut reaction is not this time, not against this Saracens side who Erasmus acknowledged were a few years ahead of where Munster hope to be.

“I think the disappointment is more for the supporters. But then we have to be realistic. This is the reality we only got this far. We are 15 or 20 points behind Saracens.” That all too rare honesty should be commended.

Make no mistake, the PRO12 title is very much up for grabs, and in this most surreal of season spurred on by the memory of Anthony Foley a first league title in six years would be some return. A return to the Aviva Stadium at the end of May for the PRO12 final feels more than achievable.

Saracens’ task of winning a third straight Premiership title feels a little harder given the leaps made by Exeter Chiefs and Wasps this time around.

The double double is on though. And whatever Clermont and Leinster serve up in Lyon on Sunday, the title holders will be rightly favourites.

The defensive masterclass in Dublin, followed by another tutorial in how to squeeze the belief out of their opponents, makes them look almightily difficult to stop once more.

by Ben Coles