Saracens cruised through to the Heineken Cup Final following a physically dominant performance against Clermont at Twickenham. They reach the final for the first time, where they will hope to back up their 46-6 victory with a win over champions Toulon.
Saracens flew out the blocks and put in a mammoth physical effort in the first twenty minutes at HQ. Namibian Jacques Burger and South African Schalk Brits in particular were everywhere, with Burger chopping down runners and Brits adding his usual finesse with ball in hand.
Man of the Match Burger made 27 tackles in what was one of the finest tackling displays ever seen.
“You talk about putting your body on the line, there’s no one that does it more than him. When you see people hitting like that it makes you want to do it,” said teammate Owen Farrell.
“I know if I was playing against him, you’d be looking for where he is all the time because you wouldn’t want him hitting you from the blindside,” he added.
By halftime Saracens were 24-6 up, following a Chris Ashton try and a contentious Nigel Owens awarded Penalty Try and yellow card for Clermont flyhalf Brock James. They also scored through Farrell, who eventually got on the end of a nice bit of play down the right hand flank.
Ashton picked up an opportunistic try in the second half, taking him to a record tally for this seasons tournament, and his second of the match. With under ten minutes left, he got his hands on the ball again and sparked a well created try for Chris Wyles, as Clermont looked dead and buried.
Tim Streather added a try late in the game as Saracens completed a very impressive showing that totally blew the French side off the park. They’ll face the Top 14 leaders in the final, following Toulon’s victory over Munser in the second Semi Final earlier today.
Below are quick highlights of the match, featuring the tries that were scored
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