1
Saracens' Rotimi Segun showcases his 11.03 second 100-metre pace in Ospreys rout
By Online Editors
Saracens wing Rotimi Segun showed off his remarkable pace with a well-taken brace as the North London club breezed by the Ospreys at Allianz Park.
DoR Mark McCall believes the Champions Cup can be retained if they defy the crisis that has engulfed the club by reaching the quarter-finals.
A 35-point deduction for breach of salary-cap regulations has left the double winners fighting a desperate battle for Gallagher Premiership survival, forcing McCall to prioritise domestic action knowing his playing resources will be depleted by international call-ups during the Six Nations.
But after the Ospreys were swept aside 44-3 in front of a subdued crowd of 7,531 at Allianz Park, McCall refused to rule out a successful defence of their European crown.
“We are still ambitious to do well in the competition and we still want to win the games,” he said.
“We have just got some decisions to make along the way about when the internationals play and we will make some decisions along the way.
“If we get through to the quarter-finals we’ve got a chance – a good chance – because in my experience this team in pretty good in knockout rugby.”
Elliot Daly was named man of the match on his debut after setting up two tries for wing Rotimi Segun in a comfortable bonus-point victory that restored Saracens to winning ways after their defeat at Racing 92 last weekend.
Segun showed exceptional pace for his second try in the 46th minute.
His first try followed a brilliant half volley from Tom Whiteley and a subsequent offload from man of the match Elliot Daly.
“Overall it was a good performance. We were a bit sloppy in the first half of the first half in particular,” McCall said.
“We were a little bit sideways and not as confrontational as we wanted to be, but our performance improved as the game went on.”
Ospreys head coach Allen Clarke admitted his injury-ravaged side, who were also missing their Wales stars following the World Cup, were taught a lesson at Allianz Park.
“We were chasing the game and you don’t want to be doing that against Saracens in their own back yard,” Clarke said.
“There’s undoubtedly a bit of self-belief that’s missing amongst the group at the moment based on the run we’ve been on.
“There’s no lack of desire or work ethic but when you’re chasing a confidence-boosting win this is a tough place to come.
“We’re in the game to win so this is tough and as a club we have a lot of work to do.
“Saracens were excellent and they do what they do very well.”
The Ospreys have lost their opening two Champions Cup group games and Clarke revealed the likes of Alun Wyn Jones, George North and Justin Tipuric are at least two weeks away from returning to action.
Trending on RugbyPass
2
OTD – Declan Kidney takes step up into Test rugby
3
'Damaging' Jordie Barrett move only helps All Blacks- ex-Ireland wing
4
Stuart Hogg addresses rumours of rugby return
5
Latest Comments
Who got the benefits out of Schmidt, Lowe, Aki, and Gibson Park?
Go to commentsI’m all for speeding up the game. But can we be certain that the slowness of the game contributed to fans walking out? I’m not so sure. Super rugby largely suffered from most fans only being able to, really, follow the games played in their own time zone. So at least a third of the fan base wasn’t engaged at any point in time. As a Saffer following SA teams in the URC - I now watch virtually every European game played on the weekend. In SR, I wouldn’t be bothered to follow the games being played on the other side of the world, at weird hours, if my team wasn’t playing. I now follow the whole tournament and not just the games in my time zone. Second, with New Zealand teams always winning. It’s like formula one. When one team dominates, people lose interest. After COVID, with SA leaving and Australia dipping in form, SR became an even greater one horse race. Thats why I think Japan’s league needs to get in the mix. The international flavor of those teams could make for a great spectacle. But surely if we believe that shaving seconds off lost time events in rugby is going to draw fans back, we should be shown some figures that supports this idea before we draw any major conclusions. Where are the stats that shows these changes have made that sort of impact? We’ve measured down to the average no. Of seconds per game. Where the measurement of the impact on the fanbase? Does a rugby “fan” who lost interest because of ball in play time suddenly have a revived interest because we’ve saved or brought back into play a matter of seconds or a few minutes each game? I doubt it. I don’t thinks it’s even a noticeable difference to be impactful. The 20 min red card idea. Agreed. Let’s give it a go. But I think it’s fairer that the player sent off is substituted and plays no further part in the game as a consequence.
Go to comments