Tom earns bragging rights in Willis affair

Even for the world’s best rugby player itis not all glamour.

- Robert Kitson

As he sniffed the damp air on blustery, cheerless night in north London, Antoine Dupont must privately have been wondering if this was some sort of fiendish Anglo-Saxon conspiracy. Any similarity with the classic cathedrals and comforting familiarity of the Stade de France in next month’s Six Nations was conspicuously lacking.

For a defiant Saracens, though, this chilly evening delivered the most beautiful of outcomes and a result that transforms the mood of their previous flagging season. They fully deserved this rousing victory, two first-half tries from Rotimi Segun and a barnstorming display from man-of-the-match Tom Willis laying the foundations for the hosts’ best performance of the season which has sharply improved their Champions Cup knockout qualification prospects.

Saracens had spoken about regaining some self-respect after a sobering defeat in Leicester that prompted a collective honesty session and a blunt message from the director of rugby, Mark McCall, “to do our talking on the field”. They more than delivered on that pledge, although their presence in the last 16 is not yet assured and depends on what happens away at the unbeaten Glasgow Warriors on Sunday. “It isa brilliant feeling” said a delighted Willis.