Toulon run 72 points past Saracens in chaotic 16-try Champions Cup tie
It is not often a team can ship 10 tries, concede more than 70 points and strike a defiant tone in the aftermath, but this was no ordinary contest.Saracens’ director of rugby, Mark McCall, was evidently irked by the criticism he received for resting five England players, the suggestion being that he had disrespected the competition.Though there was an inevitability to Toulon cantering to victory once they had gathered themselves, an understrength Saracens side gave their hosts a sizeable scare.It is impossible to tell if Maro Itoje, Jamie George, Ben Earl, Tom Willis and Elliot Daly would have made enough of a difference, but the suspicion is – not least because Saracens are not the first English club to be on the wrong side of a hiding against French opposition this season – they would still be bowing out in the last 16.Maybe the final margin would not have been 30 points, but when French sides get on a roll the evidence shows us that English teams find them nigh-on impossible to stop.
Saracens led by 22 points after 32 minutes,Theo Dan was inspired – tipped by teammates as a British & Irish Lions bolter afterwards – while Olly Hartley, Theo McFarland and Hugh Tizard could hold their heads high,In the ensuing 48 minutes, however, Toulon scored 59 points, Saracens seven,Facundo Isa and Melvyn Jaminet finished with hat-tricks, Baptiste Serin with his reputation further enhanced for the manner he controlled proceedings after coming on from the bench,The upshot was the second-highest scoring match in European Cup history.
“There was too much talk about who wasn’t playing and not enough talk about who was playing,” said McCall,“We had some very good players who are very proud,There were some very young players in that 23 and some experienced players,We conceded a lot of points, but other English teams have conceded a lot of points in France this year,”It was all a far cry from this fixture nine years ago when Saracens came here as the kings of Europe and ended Toulon’s unbeaten run in this competition on the way to successfully defending their crown.
Even if McCall had selected the five England players, this current side is some way off that of their heyday.The gulf between the Premiership and the Top 14 is most pronounced in terms of physicality and it feels as if it is widening.All is not lost for McCall, however.“I remember going to Toulouse in 2016 for a pool match and the stadium was half-empty,” he said.“We won with a bonus point pretty easily and Toulouse, who had been a force, weren’t a force then, but have become a force again.
Their big thing was committing to promoting from within, they were going to bring through their own players.“English rugby has got piles of young players coming through who need to be given opportunities and time.Investing in youth, everybody being patient with the youth, rather than just grabbing players from overseas is ultimately what is going to make the difference.”Granted, Toulon’s first-half implosion registered high on the Richter scale, but the opening half-hour could hardly have gone better for Saracens.Juan Martín González scored the first try after Jaminet’s errant pass and while Jiuta Wainiqolo replied instantly, Saracens were unbowed.
Sign up to The BreakdownThe latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewedafter newsletter promotionTries from Nick Tompkins and Hartley, who raced between the posts from near halfway, were followed by another for González and the fifth for Ivan van Zyl after another strong carry and offload by Dan.If Saracens could have taken their 22-point lead into the interval things might have panned out differently, but Toulon flexed their muscles with scores from Isa and Jaminet – a warning of what was to come.After the break, Brian Alainu’uese was next on the scoresheet before Isa had his second and third, the visitors’ resistance broken to pieces.Another for Leicester Fainga’anuku ensured Toulon reached 40 unanswered points.Saracens finally scored again through the replacement hooker, James Hadfield – Toulon penalised for briefly playing with 16 players and handing the visitors some long overdue territory – but three more dazzling tries through Jaminet, Serin and Seta Tuicuvu completed the rout.
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