Mark McCall, Saracens' the director of rugby admitted after the game that Billy Vunipola's knee injury was «a huge worry»; Photo: Getty Images/David Rogers
The Saracens' hopes of winning the first Premier League title since 2019 were dashed on Sunday when Billy Vunipola was carried away on a stretcher in the league leaders' Lost in the European quarter-final in La Rochelle.
Mark McCall, Saracens' the director of rugby admitted after the game that the knee injury sustained by his start number 8 was «a huge worry»; as the Premier League finalists who lost last season look to go further this season. An injury, even as serious as feared, will also not dampen Vunipola's hopes of regaining Steve Borthwick's England place.
"It was his fault. knee" Rugby director Mark McCall said. "I've never seen Billy taken away before. He is on crutches. It doesn't look very good. This is a big concern. We'll know more about this early next week."
France beat Saracens again in Europe — Toulon also won the semi-finals of last year's Challenge Cup — two tries by Tavera Kerr-Barlow and a great performance by Levani Botia gave La Rochelle a date for the semi-finals. with Exeter to Bordeaux at the end of April.
With the home Premier League semi-final secured, the Saracens now have five weeks to correct Sunday's mistakes on the French west coast and prepare. to domestic playoffs.
"We are disappointed" McCall added. Today we had a lesson on how precise and accurate you need to be to play against one of the best teams in Europe.
"Yes [discipline was a problem]. Eight penalties for holding on. It gave them early points and hindered us the whole game. If you're going to go against Botia, then you need to be outstanding. And we weren't good enough. Today he was phenomenal. We knew the threat was coming and prepared for it. We were not far behind, but not good enough.
“We are on a new journey after the championship. We have five weeks until the home semi-final of the Premier League. I'm glad we have that luxury as we have some bodies to take care of and I'm honestly not sure how many of them will be playing in the next few weeks. We have five weeks to learn everything we need from today's game ahead of the semi-finals.
Levani Botia dominates the Saracens — so how will Exeter stop him? 
Levani Bothia dominated as La Rochelle booked a spot in the semi-finals against Exeter. />If he doesn't already have them, Levani Botia deserves the keys to La Rochelle. This competition has witnessed some great individual performances throughout its illustrious history, but never has the flank been such a palpable difference between two teams; however, not before Sunday, when the Fijians lead the quarter-final extermination of the Saracens in La Rochelle.
Sold-out bear pits on the French west coast jumped to their feet and chanted the name of Botia in unison as the pocket rocket that had been with La Rochelle since they played in the French second division went off in the 60th minute, his day's work done Fine. They call it 'La Machine' in these places and on this evidence it is easy to see why. Flanker, who also prowls the center of Ronan O'Gara's team, won only four assists, with his break and an inside pass for Tavera Kerr-Barlow's second try to stalemate the match. The Saracens strike the decisive blow.
"This is the best atmosphere I have ever experienced" Bothia said. “People love rugby and the players. I do everything I can for them, the fans. We are here to make them happy. I love my job."
It's easy to see why. A rendezvous with Exeter in Bordeaux now awaits the defending champions in the semi-finals, and no one will envy the Chiefs. It wasn't always pretty in La Rochelle when they calmly brushed off the Saracens, the fugitive leaders of the English league, but it was always ruthless and at times brutal with the ever-present fighting.
At one point, the hosts had a Fijian winger defending in midfield as a hybrid center alongside France international Jonathan Danti. No wonder the Saracens found that this door remained tightly closed; now Exeter's task is to find the key — if it exists.
But how can Exeter stop it? Absolutely, Mark McCall, Saracens' the director of rugby, admitted that Bothia was «phenomenal» and the winger also revealed that he had been working on his jackal technique after referee Andrew Brace said he was keeping an eye on the Fijian due to his penchant for leak penalties. In particular, one jackal in the first half, in which the winger also made a tackle, was played so well that it was hard to believe. But the Saracens' support players may have been a bit behind the pace; Exeter's support should look like a saucer due to its proximity to cancer. «It's a race to win the breakdown.» McCall added. And Botsia won.
La Rochelle's unbeaten home run in Europe dates back to December 2019, but if Exeter were looking for a crumb of comfort, the semi-final will be played two hours from their stronghold, the Marseille Deflandre stadium, a stadium that Les Maritimes tickets were sold out at 77 domestic league matches in a row.
After being knocked out of last year's Challenge Cup away in Toulon, France was once again a thorn in the side of the Saracens. However, against all odds, the visitors were thwarted before they even started. The Saracens conceded four misses in the first five minutes — Bothia and Gregory Aldritt ran across the floor — and were six points behind in the same number of minutes because of Antoine Hastoj's boot.
The Saracens were already feeding. leftovers, but sometimes they filled their plate. There were moments that breathed life into the guests in a half in which they found themselves in a very bad position. Losing Billy Vunipola, stretched out due to a knee injury, didn't help.
In the end, Aldritt was on the wrong side of referee Andrew Brace's whistle, and after he had previously turned down a takeable penalty, the Saracens decided to score points. On the scoreboard, the sides were separated by only three points, but in reality the difference was greater. In addition, a few moments later, La Rochelle also came off on the scoreboard.
“Botia, Botia, Botia,” the crowd demanded, and Botia got it. Another jackal from the open side gave Hasta the chance to add three more before the hosts landed a devastating blow. Will Skelton thundered through the heart of the Saracens against his former club. When the La Rochelles are straight forward, their attack can be overwhelming, and it turned out to be; After a silky pass from Hastoja charmed the visiting defenders, Alldritt made a pass to Kerr-Barlow, and the scrum half rushed around on the first try.
La Rochelle adds to his three opening penalties as Tavera Kerr-Barlow scores the first try 💪#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/9JVQXFdVNi
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby ) April 9, 2023
With La Rochelle winning nine assists in the first half alone, it seemed like a miracle that the Saracens were only 13 points behind at half-time. However, the biggest disappointment of the leaders of the Premier League is that they could not start the second half more accurately than the first. Nick Tompkins made a pass straight to the touch; Mako Vunipola converted a pointless penalty on a ruck; and only Brace's confusing call prevented La Rochelle from immediately extending the lead.
Brace, however, simply delayed the inevitable, and Kerr-Barlow added his second by drawing an intelligent support line inside Botia at halftime to give La Rochelle an undeniable 18-point lead.
La Rochelle getting ready for Tavera Kerr-Barlow's second try ⚙️#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/zbvzdJv6VE
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) April 9, 2023
The Saracens, to their credit, never turned over, and when Eroni Mavi scored the first score of the guests, they seemed to believe. Maro Itoye also had a great match, but La Rochelle was caught in that slump again, and another penalty from Hasta gave Botia a well-earned one. that task now belongs to the last English winner of this competition, Exeter, with the Chiefs' first mission to put out a Fijian firecracker in the middle of this French gunfight.
Match Details
Scoring Sequence: 3-0 Hastoy pen, 6-0 Hastoy pen, 6-3 Farrell pen, 9-3 Hastoy pen, 14-3 try Kerr-Barlow, 16-3 Hastoy vs, 21-3 try Kerr-Barlow, 21-8 Try Mawi, 21-10 Farrell con, 24-10 Hastoy pen.
H-T: 16-3
La Rochelle : B Doolin; R Rhule, U Seuteni, J Danty, J Favre (T Thomas 68); A. Hastoy, T. Kerr-Barlow (T. Berjon 70); R. Vardy (H. Thompson-Stringer, 58), P. Burgari (K. Lespiok, 44), U. Atonio (H. Sclavy, 58), T. Lavoe (R. Sazy, 66), W. Skelton, W. Dillane (R. Burdo, 66), L. Bothia (Y. Tanga 60), G. Aldritt (c) (Y. Tanga, 46, Aldritt, 58).
Yellow card: Doolin 72
Saracens: Hood (Lewington 65); M. Malins, A. Lozovsky, N. Tompkins (D. Taylor, 60), S. Maitland; O Farrell (c), I van Zyl (R de Haas 76); M. Vunipola (E. Mavi, 61), J. George (T. Woolstencroft, 61), M. Riccioni (C., Judge, 61), M. Itohe, H. Tizard (C. Hunter-Hill, 68) , N. Isiekwe, B. Earl, B. Vunipola (J. Ray, 22) .
Yellow card: Woolstencroft 76
Referee : Andrew Brace
Attendance: 16,000
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