Bordeaux humiliate Saracens to lay down Champions Cup marker
Bordeaux Begles scored nine tries against a lacklustre Saracens in a thumping 55-15 Investec Champions Cup victory on Sunday evening to leave the Londoners humiliated and on the brink of exiting the continental competition.
Owen Farrell – reportedly eyeing up a move to Parisian side Racing 92 – put the three-time winners ahead in the fourth minute with a penalty before Bordeaux scored 50 points to blow Saracens away.
Superstar wingers Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey crossed the whitewash for braces for the team second in the French Top 14 while Romain Buros, Maxime Lamothe, Nicolas Depoortère, Matthieu Jalibert and Pablo Uberti picked up one try apiece.
Wales international Nick Tompkins and England hooker Theo Dan restored some pride for Saracens but it was not enough.
The result is Saracens’ biggest ever defeat in the history of the Champions Cup with the loss leaving the north Londoners fifth in Pool 1, equal on points with fellow Premiership side Bristol Bears.
Only four sides from each pool can qualify for the round of 16 and it looks as though only one of the two English sides in Pool 1 will make it.
Saracens have a great history in the Champions Cup, lifting the iconic trophy in 2016, 2017 and 2019.
The last time they failed to get out of the pool stages was in 2011, when they struggled against Racing 92, Clermont and Leinster.
Mark McCall’s men can still qualify, though, but they will need a dominant win over French side Lyon next Saturday at the Stone X Stadium and hope Bristol Bears fail to match their result away to Connacht on Friday night.