English side Saracens have become the champions of Europe for the first time, after beating Racing 92 of France. They lifted the cup after a 21-9
ADVERTISEMENTEnglish side Saracens have become the champions of Europe for the first time, after beating Racing 92 of France.
They lifted the cup after a 21-9 win at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, in Lyon.
It was Owen Farrell’s seven penalties that earned the Saracens their maiden title.
Racing, who replied with three penalties from Johan Goosen, were relying on Dan Carter – but he limped off the field early in the second half to join scrumhalf Maxime Machenaud on the sidelines.
“I think we had them in the scrum, the scrum was a little bit of lottery today, but I thought we dug deep, I thought our defence was really good,” said Saracens’ Maro Itoje, the man of the match.
“We didn’t give them many opportunities to break our line. Also, our kicking game was phenomenal, we put them under a lot of pressure and it basically paid dividends at the end.”
The captain of the French side admits the match – played in rainy conditions – was a tough one.
“It’s difficult and, especially with these climatic conditions, it’s even more complicated,” said Dimitri Szarzewski.
“There was a lot of kicking today, and we weren’t able to keep the ball. And when we did, we failed to put them in danger. Unfortunately, we failed to reverse the pressure.”
Saracens win in Lyon also makes them the first English champs since Wasps triumphed almost a decade ago, in 2007.