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Ben Earl scored Saracens' second try at Lyon in Round 2
Saracens are seeking a third straight win in Heineken Champions Cup Pool A when they host Lyon in Round 3 at StoneX Stadium on Saturday.
The three-time champions have kicked off their campaign in impressive fashion, battling to a 30-26 home win over Edinburgh Rugby in the opening round, before holding on for a 28-20 success at Lyon.
Lyon, last season’s EPCR Challenge Cup winners, proved tricky customers at Matmut Stadium de Gerland and were similarly competitive in their entertaining 42-36 loss at Vodacom Bulls in the opening round.
However, their two defeats leave them 10th in Pool A on two points – and crucially outside the qualification places as it stands – while Saracens sit third on nine points.
Following their Round 2 tussle, Saracens have won twice in three Gallagher Premiership games, while Lyon have managed one in three in the TOP 14.
The game gets underway at 20:00 (UK & Irish time), with coverage coming from BT Sport, beIN SPORTS, SuperSport and FloRugby.
We're BACK 😍
Which #HeinekenChampionsCup R3️⃣ thriller will you be watching? pic.twitter.com/JIVp8KDboC
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 10, 2023
Key quote:
Saracens flanker Ben Earl: “We’re fighting on two fronts – this is what we love doing. We’ve got amazing memories of both competitions as a club and we’ll go for silverware in both.”
Saracens
- Saracens have the lowest rate for ball retention in the ruck in the competition (90.5%).
- They have made the joint-fewest unforced handling errors (2).
- Nick Tompkins has made as many cover tackles an any other player (3).
Lyon
- Félix Lambey stole two lineouts in Round 2, the highest total for the round, and made the joint-most offloads for a forward (5).
- Lyon have made the most offloads in the competition so far (42), with Noa Nakaitaci notching a tournament-high six alone.
- They have kicked the ball 48 times, retaining it a joint tournament-high 11 times.
Saracens' Elliot Daly dives over for the first of his three tries against Lyon
Saracens qualified for the Heineken Champions Cup Round of 16 as Elliot Daly’s stunning seven-minute hat-trick helped them thrash Lyon 48-28 at the StoneX Stadium on Saturday – their third successive Pool A victory.
Alex Lozowski, Marco Riccioni, Andrew Christie and Ben Earl also crossed for the three-time champions, with Alex Goode adding 13 points from the tee.
Lyon were well beaten in Barnet, but a took a bonus point back to France amid tries from Ethan Dumortier (2), Josiah Maraku and Arno Botha.
🤯 @elliotdaly 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩
A piece of individual brilliance from the @Saracens 1️⃣5️⃣#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/Hu1YXyNVaA
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 14, 2023
Lyon endured a poor start to the game as flanker Dylan Cretin was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on, with Saracens punishing the visitors as centre Lozowski intercepted and ran in from 70 metres.
The hosts notched another seconds before Cretin returned, Daly producing a stunning individual try as he dummied and weaved through the Lyon defence from inside his own half.
Daly was over again moments later as a strong fend allowed him to dart over in the corner, and he completed his hat-trick in style with 23 minutes on the clock as he finished acrobatically.
Cente Maraku gathered a loose ball and crossed in a brief reprieve for Lyon, but Saracens continued to turn the screw and crossed through prop Riccioni and flanker Christie amid powerful play from their forwards.
Lyon ended the first half on a positive note as Dumortier dotted down, and full-back crossed again two minutes after the restart as he ran from inside his own half in a sublime individual effort.
The step 🤩
The pace ⚡️
The kick 🎯
The chase 🏃♂️Ethan Dumortier has his second of the day and @LeLOURugby are one try away from a bonus point and a step closer to completing a comeback 💪#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/TrdCuGVu4X
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 14, 2023
Fly-half Goode nudged a penalty on 53 minutes as Saracens look to stem the Lyon tide, but the TOP 14 outfit crossed for a fourth try moments later, a brilliant offload from wing Josua Tuisova allowing No.8 Botha to breeze over.
Saracens closed the game out over the remaining 24 minutes, and as Lyon’s hopes of an improbable turnaround faded, Tuisova was shown yellow for an illegal fend.
Saracens then ended the contest with a flourish, another driving maul causing havoc before flanker Early planted down for try number seven.
The final round of pool stage games next weekend sees Saracens visit Edinburgh Rugby on Sunday and Lyon host Vodacom Bulls on Friday.Daly hat-trick as Saracens book Round of 16 place
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