Saracens 12 – Racing Métro 11
The teams were in similar situation, because they were in the race just behind the leaders or joint-leaders in their domestic competitions.
Saracens were hungry for silverware: they had lost the English Premiership final last year and also the European Rugby Cup final.
First half
At 6-5 to the visitors the first half doesn’t sound like a barrel of laughs but there were some expansive moments of interest.
Saracens scored a penalty goal by Charlie Hodgson at five minutes and had two good try-scoring chances when fullback Alex Goode grubbered ahead at 22 minutes and forced a five-metre scrum—and later when winger Chris Ashton kicked forward for 12 Chris Wyles late in the half which obliged Racing winger Teddy Thomas to run from near his goal-line just to clear for Racing.
Racing had several promising moves with fullback Brice Dulin often on fire for the home team.
At ten minutes a Jamie Roberts’ bust had Thomas chipping ahead only to be blocked on his chase. His team was pinged on the Saracens’ goal-line for leaving their feet, because he was not there to be first tackler.
After 25 minutes Racing was denied again when Sarries’ lock Jim Hamilton did not release a Racing player on his goal-line—legally, he thought from a collapsed maul, but referee Nigel Owens had a different opinion. Hamilton got a yellow card for his trouble from Owens who was in one of his fussy moods and did not brook Hamilton’s explanation.
Commentator Ben Kay said later of Owens:
He would make a good doorman, wouldn’t he?
Racing scored a try from a lineout maul straight after the binning. Sarries were a man short but it was poorly defended regardless, and was not a good look when a scrumhalf (Maxim Machenaud) scored, peeling off.
The home team led 5-3 at 26 minutes but Johnny Sexton’s comfortable conversion hit the upright—would this be significant?
Hodgson missed two penalty goals but at least it used up three minutes of the yellow card time. To redeem himself he nailed one late to make the score at half-time: Saracens 6 – Racing 5.
Racing had only themselves to blame: although they looked more likely to score, their self-restraint was wanting
Maxime Machenaud – scores only try of the day .
Second half
There was a momentum shift to Sarries after the break and when Racing went off their feet, Goode kicked a penalty goal: 9-5 Saracens,
The French team got their mojo back but a sweeping move was called back for a forward pass. They got the ball back from the scrum in a good position but got pinged for holding on.
.
Near the hour mark Machenaud kicked a penalty goal after his team had blown a five-metre lineout chance, but they were still behind 8-9.
Saracens were able to keep Racing in their own half for long periods but Racing got a scrum penalty 43 metres out and Machenaud nailed that one too for the home team to retake the lead 11-9 with nine minutes remaining.
Sarries had to get the ball in the Racing half to have a chance but they blew a couple of opportunities. After a scrum for a forward pass near half way Racing got the ball back with 70 seconds to go. They tried to run the clock down but Owens pinged then for leaving their feet 43 metres out and with 24 seconds left. To be fair he had warned them at the previous ruck.
Marcelo Bosch, the Saracens’ long kicker, nailed the winning goal from 43 metres out to break the hearts of the Racing Métro team and their fans. It was only his second kick at goal for the season, and the first one had missed.
Racing had pushed the discipline envelope once too often.
Final score: Saracens 12 – Racing Métro 11.
David Strettle – up in the air .
Racing Métro had enough chances during the game to win but they lacked the firepower of Clermont in their effort the day before. They will also be second-guessing themselves for not kicking the ball downfield after the last scrum to get rid of it and taking their chances of keeping the Englanders in their own half. After all, the visitors had shown no great skill of running the ball out of their own territory: only of kicking it back to them.
In the Top 14 they would have confident that a French whistler would have let them kill the ball at the end, but Owens was not that kind of referee.
On that performance you wouldn’t back Saracens to win in a Semi-Final, but you have to be in it to win it, and they are in it.
Toulon scrumhalf Maxime Machenaud was the deserved man of the match and he kept Racing in the game, but Nigel Owens was probably the most influential presence on the park in a dog of a contest, and he had to be.
Scoring
Saracens 12 ( C.Hodgson 2, A. Goode, M.Bosch pens) def. Racing Métro 11 (M. Machenaud try, 2 pens)
