Saracens won’t be daunted by Toulon, Eddie Jones shows his spikier side now the EPS agreement is signed and Mathew Tait revels in his injury-free run
Saracens will begin the defence of their European title this week with every reason to be cheerful. Toulon may not have lost a European Cup tie on home turf but they will have to dig particularly deep to crack the toughest current challenge on the continent. Sarries have conceded just four tries in their six Premiership games, remarkable even by their standards and even more impressive given the absence of key backline figures such as Owen Farrell, Alex Goode, Duncan Taylor and Chris Ashton. “We put them under a lot of pressure,” said a delighted Mark McCall, after watching his side complete their bonus point win over Wasps at Allianz Park. “For us to have played the first six league games and won five without Owen, Duncan and, latterly, Alex and Chris is a good achievement. I don’t think Toulon have ever lost a European Cup match at home so it’s a good challenge for us but, regardless of that, we’ve got to fight and scrap for everything.” Robert Kitson
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