Sarries book a play-off spot
MATCH REPORT: Saracens guaranteed a spot in the quarter-finals after comfortably dispatching Lyon 28-10 to remain the only side in the Champions Cup with an unbeaten record this season.
Jonathan Wisniewski’s early drop goal gave Lyon the lead but it was the two-time champions, Saracens, that looked the better side in the opening half.
Silky hands Mako Vunipola put Nick Tompkins through for Saracens’ first points and with Owen Farrell’s conversion, the English side went 7-0 ahead.
Further good work from prop forward Vunipola set up Jackson Wray for the visitors’ second try and Owen Farrell continued his flawless form from the tee to add the extra two points.
English centre Tompkins claimed his second try after the break, using terrific strength to power over the whitewash and give Saracens a comfortable lead. Farrell made his conversion to stretch the score to 21-3.
After Maro Itoje and Albertus Buckle were sent to the bin for foul play in separate incidents, Saracens secured a try-scoring bonus point following some excellent work from Alex Goode.
The full-back broke clear and set up replacement scrumhalf Ben Spencer to dot down under the sticks. Owen Farrell’s conversion confirmed his 100% record from the tee.
Lyon did score a consolation try late on through Alexis Palisson, who converted his own effort, but Saracens ran out deserved winners at the Stade de Gerland, triumphing 28-10.
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall spoke after the match: “We’re thrilled to get three great away victories in the competition and today was tough place to go. They were going to fight for everything and we had to work hard for the four tries
“It felt like old Saracens. We dominated field position, put them in a position they didn’t want to be in and we defended really well.
“It was important [to get the win] for this competition and with 23 points we still have not won the group.
“We look forward to a big game against Glasgow next week.”
The scorers:
For Lyon:
Try: Pallison
Con: Pallison
Drop-Goal: Wisniewski
For Saracens:
Tries: Tompkins 2, Wray, Spencer
Cons: Farrell 4
Yellow card: Maro Itoje (Saracens, 54) Albertus Buckle (Lyon, 54)
Teams
Lyon: 15 Toby Arnold, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Thibaut Regard, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Jonathan Wisniewski, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Deon Fourie, 7 Dylan Cretin, 6 Julien Puricelli (captain), 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Hendrik Roodt, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Virgile Lacombe, 1 Alexandre Menini.
Replacements: 16 Jeremie Maurouard, 17 Albertus Buckle, 18 Kévin Yaméogo, 19 Etienne Oosthuizen, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Rudi Wulf, 22 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 23 Charl McLeod.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Alex Lozowski, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Owen Farrell (captain), 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Jackson Wray, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Marcelo Bosch, 23 David Strettle.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Joy Neville (Ireland), Nigel Correll (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
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