Imhoff strikes late as Racing end Saracens dreams of Champions Cup glory

Sports

Juan Imhoff scored the game’s only try in the dying minutes as France’s Racing 92 came from behind to beat defending champions Saracens 19-15 in their European Champions Cup semifinal on Saturday.

The victory sent Racing, who have never won the title, into their third final at the expense of the three-times champions, and they await the winner of the second Anglo-French semifinal between Exeter Chiefs and Toulouse.

After heading into the break trailing 9-6, Saracens turned up the heat, with Alex Goode scoring three penalties after the restart to give the Premiership club a six-point lead.

Substitute Maxime Machenaud pulled Racing back to within three points with a penalty in the 68th minute before a moment of brilliance from Finn Russell sparked the game’s decisive moment.

Russell found Virimi Vakatawa with a delicate chip over the Saracens midfield and the New Zealand-born centre powered into space before offloading the ball back to the Racing flyhalf, who released Imhoff to cross with three minutes left on the clock.

Machenaud made no mistake with the conversion, shredding Saracens’ dreams of European glory.

Products You May Like

Articles You May Like

Former O’s pitcher, No. 4 pick Matusz dies at 37
Here are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in January 2025
Fresh amber warning for snow issued – and temperatures could drop to -16C this week
Grooming gangs are ‘in every single part of our country’, Jess Phillips says
The Jimmy Butler-Miami Heat saga escalated quickly — here’s what we know and what could be next

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *