sport news Saracens 34-17 Harlequins: Sarries take giant step down road to their ... trends now
View
comments
The sight of Owen Farrell, bloodied and bandaged but buoyed by victory at the final whistle, perfectly summed up the grit of Mark McCall’s Saracens in this brutal Premiership semi-final.
Success over champions Harlequins not only ended their bitter rivals’ hopes of back-to-back titles, but also took Saracens to within one game of what would be their sixth top-flight crown. This is a team that does not go quietly into the night. Here, they never took a backward step.
Led by hat-trick hero Ben Earl — who showed why he was last week named the Premiership’s player of the season — Saracens had to show warrior spirit to win. They have that in spades.
A bloodied and bandaged Owen Farrell celebrates after Saracens beat Harlequins
Harlequins were dominant in the first quarter, and in the second half Saracens lost Elliot Daly, Billy Vunipola and Alex Lozowski all to yellow cards for high tackles. In their absence, Saracens produced a remarkable rearguard effort.
Their defence, even when down to 13, was destructive. They will now face Leicester in Saturday’s final at Twickenham.
It means McCall’s men, relegated to the Championship in 2020 for salary cap breaches, are now just one game away from returning to the big time with a bang and at the first time of asking too.
Saracens director of rugby McCall, rarely one to show his emotions, let out his feelings at the final whistle. It will
