Saracens player ratings: ‘Heartbeat’ Owen Farrell bows out but not without a fight as Premiership champions dethroned
Following a 22-20 defeat to Northampton Saints in the Premiership semi-final at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday, here are the player ratings for Saracens.
15 Elliot Daly: A veritable shocker from the England man. Started by kicking a free-kick straight into touch before making several more errors. Not a good day. 3
14 Alex Lewington: Finished off Saracens’ try nicely but was beaten in the aerial battle by the Saints back three. Still had a decent game, however. 6
13 Lucio Cinti: Tried manfully throughout but was well shackled by the Northampton defence, who had him covered for most of the match. 6
12 Nick Tompkins: Was very good in defence considering the pressure Sarries were put under. Didn’t make much of an impact in attack but his work without the ball at least gave them a shot. 7
11 Tom Parton: Taken off midway through the first half so unfortunately couldn’t impact the game in the way he would have liked. 5
Saracens’ heartbeat
10 Owen Farrell (c): The heartbeat of the side, who did everything he could to get his team to the Premiership final, including playing a key part in both of their tries. There was the odd mistake, but he was outstanding. 8
9 Ivan van Zyl: A couple of excellent moments defensively, while his kicking was also good. Ultimately did well behind a beaten pack. 7
8 Billy Vunipola: Certainly not the player he once was. Vunipola was again easily handled by the Saints defence, who rarely let him across the gain line. 5
7 Ben Earl: Didn’t make the ground he would have liked in contact but was a ubiquitous presence in the game. 7
6 Juan Martin Gonzalez: Sublime defensive effort from the Argentine, who made one of the great cover tackles on Alex Mitchell. 7
5 Nick Isiekwe: A couple of lineout steals relieved the pressure, while he put himself about defensively, but he was hooked relatively early in the second period. 6
4 Maro Itoje: Was a nuisance all game and made some important interventions, but ultimately it was not enough. 7
3 Marco Riccioni: Didn’t make the required impact in the set-piece as Northampton Saints controlled the battle up front. 5
2 Jamie George: Showed great hands for his disallowed try but was outplayed by opposite number Curtis Langdon. Lineout went reasonably well but scrum was a penalty machine. 5
1 Mako Vunipola: Like his brother, Mako failed to make an impact in the carry while he really struggled in the scrum. 4
Replacements: If only they had a scrum. Theo Dan, Theo McFarland and Tom Willis all made their presence felt, but the reserve front-row was constantly sent into reverse. 7
READ MORE: Fin Smith kicks 17 points as Northampton Saints knock out Saracens in Premiership semi-final