Following Saracens’ 28-17 triumph over Stade Francais, here are our five takeaways from the Champions Cup encounter at the Stade Jean Bouin on Sunday.
The top line
These sides came into this fixture after making contrasting starts to their respective Champions Cup campaigns with Sarries in a confident mood after beating the Bulls while Stade Francais suffered a comprehensive loss to Munster.
Despite that, the Top 14 outfit made an excellent start and raced into a 10-0 lead courtesy of a well-executed early converted try from Peniasi Dakuwaqa and a Zack Henry penalty.
However, the visitors received a shot in the arm when Sekou Macalou received a red card in the 22nd minute and Sarries soon took control of proceedings and the match was evenly poised at half-time with the three-time Champions Cup winners holding a slender 13-10 lead.
Although they were at a numerical disadvantage for the rest of the match, Stade did not raise the white flag and continued to put in a brave fight as the match progressed.
A Jamie George five-pointer and Fergus Burke penalty gave Saracens a 21-10 lead but the hosts gave their fans some hope when Leo Barre’s try narrowed the gap to just four points inside the final quarter.
It wasn’t to be, however, a Sarries finished stronger and sealed their win when Theo Dan crossed for their third try in the game’s dying moments.
Sekou Macalou’s red card a game-changer
Despite their poor showing in their Champions Cup opener last week, Stade Francais made an impressive start to this fixture and looked like they meant business when they raced into that early 10-0 lead.
However, the whole complexion of the match changed midway through the opening half when France back-row star Macalou was red carded by referee Hollie Davidson.
This, after he initially tripped the visitors’ scrum-half Ivan van Zyl and although the former Springbok gathered the ball at the base of the set-piece, Macalou then caught him with a swinging arm to the face and Davidson brought play to a halt with a shrill blast of her whistle.
It was a disgraceful act from Macalou and after watching television replays, Davidson had little hesitation in issuing the red card.
The player’s moment of madness is difficult to argue against in the modern game as the players’ welfare is amongst the top priorities in the game currently and he is set for a lengthy suspension.
Although Stade were without Macalou’s services for the bulk of the match, they were still competitive for the rest of the match and
Fergus Burke catches the eye
The former Crusaders fly-half had big boots to fill when he joined Saracens as a direct for England great Owen Farrell – who was an interested spectator in the crowd – at the start of the season but he showed in this fixture that he is capable of doing just that.
Although he missed a couple of shots at goal – both conversions during the opening half – Burke caught the eye with an assured all-round performance for the full 80 minutes.
Despite those two misses off the kicking tee, Burke still finished with a 13-point contribution after slotting three penalties and two conversions. Meanwhile, his tactical kicking was of a good standard while his distribution skills, decision making and game management was solid throughout.
Stade’s disciplinary issues prove costly
Apart from Macalou receiving his marching orders, the home side also had Tanginoa Halaifonua and Hugo N’Diaye sent to the sin bin which meant they played with 13 players on the field for a large portion of this match.
Halaifonua was sent off for a dangerous hit on Rotimi Segun early in the second half and that offence could easily have been punished with a red card although referee Davidson saw mitigation after a late change in direction from the Sarries wing.
The visitors also had a player sent off when Rhys Carre was yellow carded for a dangerous fend on Lucas Peyresblanques but that did not have a big impact on the outcome.
However, Stade’s discipline in general continued to be their Achilles heel as they committed a plethora of penalties as the match progressed.
They were especially guilty at the breakdowns where their players infringed continuously and in the 73rd minute Hugo N’Diaye was also yellw carded when he illegally collapsed a Saracens maul.
The visitors put the resulting penalty into touch and secured their victory when Theo Dan dotted from a lineout drive.
Liam Williams impresses on Sarries return
At the age of 33, the Wales and British and Irish Lions star is in the twilight of his career but he showed he still has plenty to offer as he made a try-scoring return on his second debut for Saracens.
From the outset, Williams looked dangerous on attack as he tested Stade Francais’ defence with some strong carries on attack although the defence did well to keep him in check early on.
However, after Macalou received his marching orders it didn’t take long for Williams to leave his stamp on this match as in the 24th minute he crossed the whitewash after gathering a pass from Elliot Daly.
Apart from that score, Williams continued to ask questions of the home side’s defence during the rest of the match. Although it’s still early days upon his Saracens return, he made an immediate impact and should be one of the first names to be added to Wales’ squad for next year’s Six Nations.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/stade-francais-v-saracens-five-takeaways-as-france-stars-disgraceful-red-card-helps-sarries-to-victory
