Saracens go out as Racing Metro win at Vicarage Road

By now youve probably already watched the now infamous Brendan Venter interview from the weekend. This is the Heineken Cup game that preceded the theatrics, as Racing Metro beat Saracens 24-12 at Vicarage Road.

It was the third straight defeat for Saracens, who now have no chance of qualifying for the quarter finals of the highly competitive tournament. The two sides will meet again on Friday night, this time in Paris, but it will be somewhat of a dead rubber unfortunately.

Things could have been different though if not for a few blunders and somewhat of an injury crisis. Venter, who kept mum to Sky Sports directly after the game, later heaped praise on some of the youngsters that have come through for the club.

"The Heineken Cup is a magnificent competition, one that gives you the chance to test yourselves against the very best in Europe. Once again we've witnessed how our young players have stepped up to the mark, a testament to many years of hard work by our academy staff," he said.

Since the game, Venter has been warned by the ERC over his future conduct in interviews.

"ERC would like to point out that it expects key representatives of clubs participating in its tournaments to engage with the media in a co-operative and respectful manner. It is therefore disappointed by Mr Venter's approach throughout the interview," a statement read.

"ERC has asked Saracens to confirm that Mr Venter will not adopt the same approach, or one in anyway similar, when giving media interviews before or after Friday's Heineken Cup Pool 3 game between Racing Metro 92 and Saracens."

Martin Gillingham, the man behind the mic for that interview, has since said that he had no idea what was going on. "You know how it goes, at the time you're listening but it doesn't sink in because of the adrenaline. I thought it was a bit strange, and when we stopped, I turned around and saw the dropped jaws. Then it sank in," the Sky Sports commentator said.

You can watch that interview here , and highlights from the match below.

Three cheers for Sireli Bobo. Very good. Very good.

Posted at 3:43 pm | 21 comments

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