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Saracens will send a statement to their Champions Cup Pool One rivals if they can continue their dream start at Oyonnax on Saturday.
The 2014 runners-up have disposed of European heavyweights Toulouse and Ulster Rugby to claim nine points from their opening pair of matches. Mark McCall’s men are in-charge ahead of their double-header with Oyonnax, who narrowly missed out on a triumph in their first Champions Cup match ever – a 24-18 defeat at Toulouse.
Saracens may not be used to the Alpine conditions, but they will be playing on a similar 3G surface to the one at their Allianz Park home. The Top14 strugglers have failed to turn Stade Charles Mathon into a fortress this season, with just two wins from their five matches at home.
In contrast, Saracens have steamrollered their way through the early stages of the Premiership and still have a 100% record intact with six wins out of six. The more stats you look at, the larger the task gets fort Oyonnax. The North London side have scored 180 points, an average of 30 points a match, in their six domestic matches. They have carried that scoring form in the Champions Cup scoring 59 in their first two matches and conceding only 16. But Saracens centre Marcelo Bosch is not expecting an easy ride out n France.
“It’s always a tough going away to France, every team structures their training differently to English sides and are very strong at home. They will be desperate for a positive result so I am expecting a very tough game on Saturday. But we’ve training really well this week and we are going out their confident we can get a positive result.
“They have an artificial pitch just like ours at Allianz Park, so we have the knowledge of playing on that surface. It's a positive thing for us and nothing will change for us.”
Match Facts
- Oyonnax will be playing in their first ever home in match in the Champions Cup, in the Challenge Cup they have won four and drawn one of their six home matches.
- Oyonnax will also be facing a team from outside of France in the competition for the first time having played Toulouse in their opening Champions Cup game.
- Saracens have won just three of their 10 Pool Stage games away to French opposition, including the last two in a row.
- Five of Saracens’ seven tries in the competition have originated from a lineout win, the most of any side.
Saracens cemented their place at the top of Pool 1 of the European Rugby Champions Cup with a 45-10 bonus-point win over Oyonnax at Stade Charles Mathon.
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