Champions Cup: Five takeaways from La Rochelle v Saracens as the French physically dominate their English opponents

James While
Gregory Alldritt

Following La Rochelle’s 24-10 Champions Cup triumph over Saracens at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the action.

The top line

Champions La Rochelle continued their defence of their title as they saw off Saracens in a scrappy match that saw the hosts’ immense defence dominate the day’s proceedings.

The very first play of the match saw Mako Vunipola turned over by Gregory Alldritt at kick off and that pretty much defined the rest of the game, as the La Rochelle breakdown crew, powered by the brilliant Levani Botia, jackalled Saracens out of the competition.

Two tries from Tawera Kerr-Barlow were enough to see the Black and Yellows through, and the Kiwi scrum-half, alongside Botia, was just about the most influential player on the pitch, as he put in an immense defensive display to go alongside his scoring antics.

Saracens were way off the pace – 18 penalties away from home in a quarter-final is twice as many as their target – but discipline aside, their inability to break over the La Rochelle line coupled with a stodgy and lacklustre display in the backline will be bitterly disappointing to the North London side.

La Rochelle’s defensive effort was huge, for sure, but Saracens’ own indiscipline, lack of accuracy and naivety were just as key as any of the defensive efforts.

Breakdown

This game was absolutely defined by both breakdown and defence, most of it from La Rochelle. They were absolutely huge on the gain line, smashing rucks, pilfering ball and pushing the letter of the law to its limits.

Saracens were turned over in one way or another on 11 separate occasions, absolutely criminal in a match as big as this. In part, it was a combination of carrier isolation and lack of clearing support, and the slowness of the Sarries pack to get over and remove predatory jackallers or to disrupt the La Rochelle clearing effort was noticeable.

They may argue that referee Andrew Brace abdicated any form of legality and boundary around the rucks, but whilst they would have a point, that still doesn’t excuse their own failure to react to what was in front of them.

With Will Skelton, Alldritt and Uini Atonio offering massive disruptive power and also placing their big frames in any avenue of speedy Sarries ball, it cried out for Billy Vunipola to fire counter shots, but the big number eight was carried off after 20 minutes with what appears to be a serious knee injury.

In the second half, Sarries fired some shots of their own at rucktime – Maro Itoje and Ben Earl chalked a few turnovers back – but it was all too little and too late; La Rochelle simply steamrollered them on the gain line and the visitors meekly surrendered.

Pragmatism

La Rochelle’s breakdown work was matched only by their committed defensive effort. Sometimes it’s not how many tackles but how many effective tackles that’s the key question, and the work of Skelton, Kerr-Barlow, Antoine Hastoy and Jonathan Danty in hammering and harrying the Sarries carriers and kickers all afternoon was effective with a capital D.

It didn’t help that the Saracens midfield insisted on trying to go through the big men down the middle of the park– that wasn’t going to work – and given Gloucester’s performance last week, when they played with as much width as they could possibly muster, one has to question the thought process of Owen Farrell. There was also an inability to get the likes of Alex Goode (five carries for 11m) and Nick Tompkins (five carries for six metres) into spaces they could exploit away from heavy artillery.

Pragmatism was also the name of the game in attack for the hosts. Happy to own the scoreboard through the boot of Antoine Hastoy, their patience to set up chances paid them dividends. When they eventually scored, in both instances it was the two wonderful back-rows Alldritt and Botia that delivered the killer blows.

Alldritt stood the Sarries defence up with a lovely pop offload with Kerr-Barlow coming around on the loop and his second try was made by a 25m break from the flying Fijian flanker, as Botia broke through the visiting defence to set the half-back up with a cruise over the try line.

Travelling poorly

Much has been made this weekend of the South African teams, Sharks and Stormers, hurdles around 24-hour transits and economy flights. Whilst they may have had some form of excuse for heavy legs and tired minds, Saracens’ sprint over the channel into north west France had no such obstacles, yet they simply looked a shadow of the side we’ve seen at Premiership and Champions Cup level this season.

The enforced decision to play Nick Isiekwe on the blindside highlighted the lack of breakdown specialist in the Saracens side. Ben Earl does many things well, and he’s competitive in jackal, but breakdown shifting isn’t one of them and there was no-one doing the clearing and committing graft around the ruck, something the missing Andy Christie and Theo McFarland both do so very well. Many Saracens supporters are asking why Earl and Isiekwe aren’t getting Test match time with England. Rewatch this match and you’ll find out precisely why; they don’t boss rucks.

Once Billy Vunipola went off, despite Jackson Wray carrying well, their weaknesses were compounded by the lack of a focal carrier that can commit twos and threes to defence contact and without that power carrier, Botia and his mates almost picked Saracens off at will as they completely bossed events.

It’s an old adage in rugby that forwards win matches and backs decide by how many and rarely can that sage assessment been proven more conclusively than this match in La Rochelle.

The bottom line

Saracens crash out of the Champions Cup leaving them able to focus on their run in to the Premiership. But based on today’s showings (combined with the injuries they picked up in the game) they are almost threadbare in terms of fit players and very much appear to be on a form slide at a time they need to be at their sharpest.

For La Rochelle, they will face Exeter 100 miles down the A837 in Bordeaux, where their fanatical fans who, for the 79th consecutive match, sold out the Stade Marcel-Deflandre and will travel to add colour and noise once again to the occasion.

La Rochelle cannot afford to rest on this win nor to be complacent. Exeter will test them with a completely different style of rugby: width, phases and patience are the Chiefs’ watchwords, three things Saracens didn’t come close to doing today.

The encounter should be an absolute classic as Exeter look to be on an upslope of form at precisely the right time, whereas La Rochelle will be proud of their power and defence, but will accept they will need to do a lot more in attack if they’re to repeat their final appearance in May.

READ MORE: Holders La Rochelle overwhelm three-time winners Saracens to reach the Champions Cup semi-finals

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