By Behind the Bench
November 21 2015

The weather in Belfast today was a mixture of snow, heavy rain and periods of bright sunshine. Perhaps a metaphor of today's performance where Saracens mixed solid and functional defence with some inspired moments of creativity from Alex Goode and Owen Farrell, and a strong finish which yielded a try bonus point  

Ulster made a number of changes to the side which had been projected to face Oyannax. Most notably, Iain Henderson returned from injury to slot into the back row rather than at lock as in the World Cup. Louis Ludik started at full back, with Andrew Trimble and Craig Gilroy a dangerous wing combination outside a centre pairing of Darren Cave and Stuart McCloskey, and a first appearance this season of the Paddy Jackson - Ruan Pienaar fly half - scrum half combination. Forwards-wise Callum Black was at loosehead, captain Rory Best at hooker and Wiehahn Herbst at tighthead. Dan Tuohy and Franco van der Merwe were at lock with Chris Henry and Nick Williams alongside Henderson in the back row.

Saracens brought in Schalk Brits for Jamie George and Jacques Burger for Will Fraser, a harsh call perhaps but precisely the sort of the game the Namibian captain relishes. Otherwise it was as per last Saturday, with Alex Goode at full back, Chris Ashton and Chris Wyles on the wings and a centre partnership of Duncan Taylor and captain Brad Barritt, with Owen Farrell at fly half and Richard Wigglesworth at scrum half. Into the forwards, and the front row consisted of Mako Vunipola, Brits and Petrus du Plessis, George Kruis and Maro Itoje continued in the second row, whilst the back row was made up of Michael Rhodes, Burger and Billy Vunipola.

In a measured match preview in the Belfast Telegraph, the "odyessy" of Saracens' European journey was compared to Munster's ten years ago. Whilst some current and former associates with the club may not appreciate the comparison, it feels like it is only a matter of time before Sarries lift the ultimate prize: Toulon can't be at the top for ever, and after results like this, you can dare to dream.

However, before the 27 unanswered points, Saracens had found themselves 9-0 down in the first half after some moments of ill discipline. After an early kick-fest, Rhodes was yellow carded for challenging Trimble in the air, but Jackson missed the kick in the fifth minute, and a long distance effort from Farrell suffered a similar fate as Ulster were penalised for not releasing the player. Ulster nudged ahead in the twelfth minute after some crashing McCloskey drives earnt the penalty, but the match was marked by incessant kicking. One saw Saracens penalised for holding on, and the penalty took the hosts into the opposition 22. Some fine tackling meant they didn't earn much ground, but Jackson was able to knock over the drop goal with 21 minutes played.

Saracens were starting to concede territory although the ball was being kept away from the dangerous Ulster backline as the hosts chose to go through the phases rather than use the width. Jackson made it 9-0 when Burger was guilty of a no-arms tackle. It took until the 27th minute for Saracens to reach the home 22, but when they did, a try ensued. The move originated through a neat half-break along the left which forced the home side to knock on and gave Sarries a scrum just inside the danger zone. Goode kicked through and forced Pienaar to concede a five metre line out. Some excellent long range passing from right to left saw a deft flick out to Goode, allowing him to set up Wyles for an unconverted try in the left corner.

As the half came to a close, mistakes began to creep into Ulster's play with stray lineouts and kicks, whilst Saracens were opting to go through the phases, but Farrell missed the chance to make it 9-8 from the right touchline. However, there seemed a sense at this stage that the visitors were growing into the game, with Goode showing some clever kicking and runs from deep, as well as having a hand in the try.

A nervy restart saw Ulster escape twice in three minutes as Saracens pressure was thwarted by penalties for holding on and then from their own scrum. Ulster then did well to blunt the visitors' rolling maul on 44 minutes. However, Sarries continued to hold the edge in territory and possession, with a flowing crossfield move narrowly failing to bear fruit as they knocked on Wyles' incisive diagonal kick.

That uncapitalised pressure appeared to have been costly, as, with the snow falling again, Billy Vunipola was sin-binned on 55 minutes for a dangerous tackle. However, in the decisive spell of the match, Saracens not only repelled the visitors but claimed two tries to build an eight point lead. More magic from Goode saw him send an angled kick for Taylor to collect, whose return pass sent the full back in beside the posts on the hour as the visitors led 12-9. Five minutes later, it was try number three. Farrell had already shaped for the drop goal once before firing a quick pass out wide to catch the defence short, and whilst Ulster escaped once, the second time set up Taylor for an easy run to the posts.

As they dreamed of the bonus point, Mako Vunipola, Taylor and Wyles combined promisingly on the left only to be hauled into touch. With their late dominance, they effectively made the game all but safe as Farrell converted a scrum penalty for 9-20 with eight minutes remaining. In the 76th minute, they kicked another penalty for touch and after a series of infringements which saw Best sin-binned for the closing minutes, Billy Vunipola finished off a rolling maul in the last move of the match, with Charlie Hodgson converting to seal an impressive triumph.

Ulster
15. Louis Ludik (Peter Nelson 73) 14. Andrew Trimble 13. Darren Cave 12. Stuart McCloskey 11. Craig Gilroy 10. Paddy Jackson (Ian Humphreys 70) 9. Ruan Pienaar (Paul Marshall 75) 1. Callum Black (Kyle McCall 58) 2. Rory Best (c) 3. Wiehahn Herbst (Ricky Lutton 70) 4. Dan Tuohy 5. Franco van der Merwe (Robbie Diack 66). Iain Henderson 7. Chris Henry (Roger Wilson 49) 8. Nick Williams (Rob Herring 66)

Saracens
15. Alex Goode 14. Chris Ashton 13. Duncan Taylor (Marcelo
Bosch 70) 12. Brad Barritt (c) (Charlie Hodgson 73) 11. Chris Wyles 10. Owen Farrell 9. Richard Wigglesworth (Neil de Kock 76)1. Mako Vunipola  (Rhys Gill 75) 2. Schalk Brits  (Jamie George 51) 3. Petrus du Plessis (Juan Figallo 54) 4. George Kruis 5. Maro  Itoje (Alistair Hargreaves 76) 6. Michael Rhodes (Jackson Wray 58) 7. Jacques Burger 8. Billy Vunipola

Referee; Roman Poite