As Brad Barritt and Owen Farrell triumphantly hoisted the European Champions Cup skywards there was no question Saracens had just achieved something truly
Authentic Jake Allen Youth Jersey special. Only one previous English club – Leicester – has ever won back-to-back European titles and no team on the continent has even gone 18 European games unbeaten. Even more significantly, the manner in which this latest heist was
executed hinted at a whole lot more silverware to come.Whether or not that includes retaining their Premiership title this month – the spirit will be willing but several bodies will be achingly sore after this – the Saracens era looks set to continue for a good while yet. When opponents as powerful as Clermont find themselves on the back foot for as long as they were in Edinburgh, it indicates the presence of a genuine champion side and there were periods when Saracens looked as good as anything the European club scene has seen this century.Mark McCall, their director of rugby, prefers to leave it to others to debate where his squad sit on the all-time list
http://www.officialheatauthentic.com/authentic-7-goran-dragic-jersey.html but even he could not deny a deep surge of pride: “What is pleasing is that we showed everybody – and ourselves – how much we have evolved. If you just base everything on trophies you are going to be in trouble.” Simply sitting around counting their baubles is not enough; Saracens’ primary focus these days is on how much
http://www.officialbluesauthentic.com/authentic-19-jay-bouwmeester-jersey.html higher they can raise the bar year on year.It has not been an entirely straightforward ascent. Only five years ago they were so totally outclassed by Clermont in a quarter-final in Watford that the whole of English club rugby felt the sting. As recently as two years ago in Saint-Étienne, when Clermont were again too strong, there was also a fear the bigger French clubs might be pulling away, with no Premiership team having conquered Europe for nine years. McCall now regards that sobering period as pivotal to Sarries’ subsequent development.“When we lost to Clermont in Saint-Étienne it was a really raw time for us as a club. We had lost two finals the year before [2014] and we were on the verge of being known as that sort of team that couldn’t deliver on the big stage. Then we went to Franklin’s Gardens and won a Premiership semi-final; it was a big moment of change squad ethos is well documented but the increasing influence of Owen Farrell and the Vunipola brothers has been almost as crucial. Farrell was a thoroughly deserved choice for European player of the year, earning himself one million air miles from Turkish Airlines in the process, and increasingly gives his side an air of total certainty regardless of the occasion. “It’s amazing for someone so young to be so driven,” said Billy Vunipola, whose own hunger
Goran Dragic Womens Jersey for improvement is still far from satisfied. “We’re different people but I admire him a lot for how driven he is. He’s a bit like Kobe Bryant – he gets annoyed at everyone and shouts at everyone but you can see where he’s coming from. He just wants everyone to perform at his level.”AdvertisementClermont’s English wing Nick Abendanon, scorer of the final’s most eye-catching try, also singled out Farrell for particular mention as he reflected on his side’s latest failure to win a high-profile final. “Owen Farrell is a complete player. He showed a lot of class. With him at 10, they are a great side. He just waits, delays the pass and waits for someone to fly up behind him, then puts a big guy into space. He controls their game plan very, very well. Every player knows exactly what they have to be doing on the pitch, at exactly the right time. It’s relentless. They are just great at putting you under pressure.”As a summary of precisely how Saracens operate, Abendanon’s observations are inch-perfect. Playing Werewolves of London over the public address after the game was an appropriate choice: the wolf-pack mentality was clear for everyone to see in the first half as they threatened to run Clermont right out of town.
