This was never going to live up to last season’s sensational semi-final at Twickenham but, as opening Pool games go, it really was very good. Saracens have been unable to reach the stratospheric heights they touched that day, when they routed the French giants in April with one of the most astonishing English club performances ever witnessed. Back-to-back defeats in domestic and European finals proved a bitter pill to swallow. But Saturday’s bonus-point win over the star- studded Top 14 outfit proved that performance was no fluke and reminded everyone that Mark McCall’s team are likely to be serious contenders again this season.
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Chris Ashton and David Strettle both scored two tries at Allianz Park
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Duo hoping to be selected in the England squad for November Tests
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Charlie Hodgson also impressed in the Champions Cup clash
Saracens insist the composite rubber crumb pitch is no more dangerous than a normal grass playing track but @placeholder’s unnecessarily prickly response to legitimate questions about the subject seemed overly defensive.