The cream of the Premiership beaten by a middle ranking Celtic side. Believe we have to believe.
Colin
Shocker
Moderator: Moderators
Shocker
Just noticed this on the ERC website. Edinburgh Gunners beat London Wasps 32 : 31
The cream of the Premiership beaten by a middle ranking Celtic side. Believe we have to believe.
Colin
The cream of the Premiership beaten by a middle ranking Celtic side. Believe we have to believe.
Colin
Romeo47 Alpha 52
Swansea and E'boro both worthy of their wins. Big upsets though. The Swansea defence was superb against Stade while Eboro showed super hands for the final try.
Sarries beating Biarritz isn't such a shock but it has to give us belief for next week and especially at home. Again the French don't travel.
Sarries beating Biarritz isn't such a shock but it has to give us belief for next week and especially at home. Again the French don't travel.
We could be at the hands of a backlash next week, I would have preferred to see Biarritz win then they might have taken the foot of the gas.cjp wrote: Sarries beating Biarritz isn't such a shock but it has to give us belief for next week and especially at home. Again the French don't travel.
“That made me feel very special and underlined to me that Ulster is more than a team, it is a community and a rugby family"
Rory Best
Rory Best
-
browner
- Lord Chancellor
- Posts: 8670
- Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2005 10:38 pm
- Location: Globe Vienna crashed and burned...Giant TCR SL2 rising from the ashes.
Saracens 22 Biarritz 10
Saracens marked their return to the Heineken Cup with a stunning victory over French champions Biarritz.
Steve Diamond’s Saracens, who rejoined Europe’s elite after a five-year absence via the play-offs, not only held their own against one of the tournament favourites but positively put Biarritz to the sword.
Man of the match Glen Jackson finished with 14 points and created the first-half try for Ben Johnstone with a perfectly-executed off-load under the Biarritz posts.
The Saracens pack, having been tested early, assumed control as the game wore on and the 11,167 inside Vicarage Road knew it was to be their day when captain Hugh Vyvyan, a loose-forward by trade, landed a 40-metre drop goal.
Biarritz reached last year’s Heineken Cup final and destroyed Leicester in the semi-final en route but they could not cope with the Saracens’ intensity as Jackson dictated proceedings with a supreme tactical kicking display.
Not since 2000, when Saracens beat the mighty Toulouse home and away, have the supporters’ fez been raised to acclaim such a European performance.
Saracens began brightly and led through Jackson’s fourth-minute penalty when Biarritz, with a formidable pack featuring French internationals Thomas Lievremont, Imanol Harinordoquy and Jerome Thion, put the squeeze on.
Three times they rumbled towards the Saracens line but the defence held firm, twice heaving the French pack into touch, and when Biarritz executed an impressive drive from the lineout, Kyran Bracken got himself under the ball and denied blind-side flanker Thierry Dusautoir the score.
The resolute defence, epitomised by a crunching tackle from centre Kevin Sorrell on his opposite number Damien Traille, preserved Saracens’ narrow 3-0 lead.
Jackson missed with a drop-goal attempt and then a second penalty shot before Saracens received a major let-off when Biarritz centre Frederico Martin Arramburu skipped a grubber kick into touch when a simple outside pass would almost certainly have created the opening score.
And Saracens ruthlessly took full advantage. Jackson’s kicking game was in prime shape and twice he pressed Biarritz back onto their own try-line with raking cross-field touch-finders.
Biarritz hooker Benoit August was penalised for a crooked throw and from the five-metre scrum Bracken sent the ball wide left in search of an opening.
The chance eventually came back inside when Jackson created the space with a superb offload and Johnstone burst onto the ball and under the posts.
Traille, who had gone down injured in the build-up to the score, was replaced immediately and left the field nursing his arm that could render him doubtful for France’s autumn Tests against Australia, Canada, Tonga and South Africa.
Biarritz launched one final attack before the interval but another crunching midfield tackle, this time from lock Simon Raiwalui, forced Arramburu to spill the ball and secured Saracens a 10-0 half-time lead.
If Biarritz had any hopes of making a quick start to the second half, Saracens dashed them with a rolling maul that powered on for fully 35 metres.
Biarritz, running out of numbers, eventually had to concede the penalty and although Jackson sent his kick across the posts, it was an emphatic statement of intent from Saracens.
Quickly they were back in Biarritz territory, on the back of another superb clearance from Jackson and then arrived the moment which confirmed this was to be Saracens’ day.
Vyvyan, playing today at blindside flanker, took the ball in midfield and launched a long-range drop goal that sailed between the posts and brought Vicarage Road to its feet.
Yachvili finally got Biarritz on the board with a 57th-minute penalty after Saracens had been caught offside.
But it did nothing to inspire a slipshod Biarritz side and Saracens simply came back stronger. Another monstrous drive from the forwards and a break from Jackson took them to within five metres of the line.
Biarritz were penalised for offside at the ruck and Jackson slotted his second penalty to put Saracens 16-3 ahead.
Biarritz could not relieve the pressure applied by Jackson’s kicking game and he was on target again with five minutes remaining to put Saracens three scores clear when Denis Avril was caught off-side and sent packing to the sin-bin.
Biarritz eventually worked a breakthrough, with fly-half Julien Peyrelongue scoring in the last minute of injury time, but Jackson provided the coup de grace with another giant drop-goal.
Saracens marked their return to the Heineken Cup with a stunning victory over French champions Biarritz.
Steve Diamond’s Saracens, who rejoined Europe’s elite after a five-year absence via the play-offs, not only held their own against one of the tournament favourites but positively put Biarritz to the sword.
Man of the match Glen Jackson finished with 14 points and created the first-half try for Ben Johnstone with a perfectly-executed off-load under the Biarritz posts.
The Saracens pack, having been tested early, assumed control as the game wore on and the 11,167 inside Vicarage Road knew it was to be their day when captain Hugh Vyvyan, a loose-forward by trade, landed a 40-metre drop goal.
Biarritz reached last year’s Heineken Cup final and destroyed Leicester in the semi-final en route but they could not cope with the Saracens’ intensity as Jackson dictated proceedings with a supreme tactical kicking display.
Not since 2000, when Saracens beat the mighty Toulouse home and away, have the supporters’ fez been raised to acclaim such a European performance.
Saracens began brightly and led through Jackson’s fourth-minute penalty when Biarritz, with a formidable pack featuring French internationals Thomas Lievremont, Imanol Harinordoquy and Jerome Thion, put the squeeze on.
Three times they rumbled towards the Saracens line but the defence held firm, twice heaving the French pack into touch, and when Biarritz executed an impressive drive from the lineout, Kyran Bracken got himself under the ball and denied blind-side flanker Thierry Dusautoir the score.
The resolute defence, epitomised by a crunching tackle from centre Kevin Sorrell on his opposite number Damien Traille, preserved Saracens’ narrow 3-0 lead.
Jackson missed with a drop-goal attempt and then a second penalty shot before Saracens received a major let-off when Biarritz centre Frederico Martin Arramburu skipped a grubber kick into touch when a simple outside pass would almost certainly have created the opening score.
And Saracens ruthlessly took full advantage. Jackson’s kicking game was in prime shape and twice he pressed Biarritz back onto their own try-line with raking cross-field touch-finders.
Biarritz hooker Benoit August was penalised for a crooked throw and from the five-metre scrum Bracken sent the ball wide left in search of an opening.
The chance eventually came back inside when Jackson created the space with a superb offload and Johnstone burst onto the ball and under the posts.
Traille, who had gone down injured in the build-up to the score, was replaced immediately and left the field nursing his arm that could render him doubtful for France’s autumn Tests against Australia, Canada, Tonga and South Africa.
Biarritz launched one final attack before the interval but another crunching midfield tackle, this time from lock Simon Raiwalui, forced Arramburu to spill the ball and secured Saracens a 10-0 half-time lead.
If Biarritz had any hopes of making a quick start to the second half, Saracens dashed them with a rolling maul that powered on for fully 35 metres.
Biarritz, running out of numbers, eventually had to concede the penalty and although Jackson sent his kick across the posts, it was an emphatic statement of intent from Saracens.
Quickly they were back in Biarritz territory, on the back of another superb clearance from Jackson and then arrived the moment which confirmed this was to be Saracens’ day.
Vyvyan, playing today at blindside flanker, took the ball in midfield and launched a long-range drop goal that sailed between the posts and brought Vicarage Road to its feet.
Yachvili finally got Biarritz on the board with a 57th-minute penalty after Saracens had been caught offside.
But it did nothing to inspire a slipshod Biarritz side and Saracens simply came back stronger. Another monstrous drive from the forwards and a break from Jackson took them to within five metres of the line.
Biarritz were penalised for offside at the ruck and Jackson slotted his second penalty to put Saracens 16-3 ahead.
Biarritz could not relieve the pressure applied by Jackson’s kicking game and he was on target again with five minutes remaining to put Saracens three scores clear when Denis Avril was caught off-side and sent packing to the sin-bin.
Biarritz eventually worked a breakthrough, with fly-half Julien Peyrelongue scoring in the last minute of injury time, but Jackson provided the coup de grace with another giant drop-goal.
Stand up for PICU R.V.H.
-
Freddie Benson
- Lord Chancellor
- Posts: 5654
- Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2005 11:55 am
Welford Roadcjp wrote:Sarries beating Biarritz isn't such a shock but it has to give us belief for next week and especially at home. Again the French don't travel.
(Biarritz last season I'm referring to - not us the year before 
)Well we know however that Stade don't travel well to Celtic countries
I hope some of the results gave lie to the suggestions of mosr pundits that the strength of the competition is in the Top 14 and GP - early days I know but we need CL teams to qualify.
No longer the Celtic League winning coach
-
Freddie Benson
- Lord Chancellor
- Posts: 5654
- Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2005 11:55 am
As Reggie was pointing out last night, it's no wonder the Stade pack played like a bunch of girls (no offence MUnch 
) when they were wearing those pink shirts. WTFITAA
Maybe they thought they were playing those Ospreys cheerleaders.....
Interesting aside.....on the Sky highlights programme they do a brief preview to do with each of the home teams. Ryan Jones did a tour of the new Liberty stadium. At one point there was a bit of banter with some guys doing indoor training. Everyone took in good humour, except for..............yes you've guessed it - Henson.
) when they were wearing those pink shirts. WTFITAA Maybe they thought they were playing those Ospreys cheerleaders.....
Interesting aside.....on the Sky highlights programme they do a brief preview to do with each of the home teams. Ryan Jones did a tour of the new Liberty stadium. At one point there was a bit of banter with some guys doing indoor training. Everyone took in good humour, except for..............yes you've guessed it - Henson.
No longer the Celtic League winning coach
-
Jackie Brown
- Rí na Cúige Uladh
- Posts: 11723
- Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:15 pm
- Location: Carrickfergus
I noticed that myself Freddie, he was sulking like a 12yr old when they were laughing at his flat hair! I like the way Ulster got absolutly no time on the prgramme, felt i had wasted valuable sleep time to see a 40second clip and then none of the guys in the studio even talked about it! They now seem to think Sarries are gonna win this group and walk into the Quarter finals. They're gonna have to show up at Ravenhill first!
Gonna Party Like It's 1999