Saracens hooker Jamie George hailed his side’s ability to grind out a victory over Lyon and make it two wins from two in the Champions Cup.
George admits that the three-time Champions Cup winners still have plenty to improve on but praised the character of his side, who were down to 14 men.
After a two-year absence from the competition, Saracens showed their mettle by defeating Challenge Cup holders Lyon 28-20 at Matmut Stadium.
A great result
The hooker, who signed a contract extension with Saracens this week, put in a strong performance for the Premiership side, including a superb crosskick try assist for Sean Maitland.
🔴⚫️ Take a bow, Jamie George! The Saracens hooker with an inch-perfect cross-kick which Sean Maitland gathers before scoring! 👏#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/IsL3auJLfa
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) December 17, 2022
That try gave Saracens, who were down a man following replacement prop Alec Clarey’s red card with 14 remaining, a lead that they never lost.
“It was a great result, that’s what we have got to take away from it,” said George.
“It is probably another performance we are going to be frustrated looking back on it, but fundamentally it is a results-based competition. So while we are very happy with the result, we also have plenty of work to do.
“It is very hard to come here, Lyon are a great team, and when they get momentum they are really hard to stop. I felt like the crowd got behind them in that respect.
“We gave them opportunities with regards to giving them the ball with ill-discipline. We gave them all their points rather than them putting us under pressure.
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“That is something we need to identify and work out and fix because it was very similar against Edinburgh last week as well.”
Character in difficult win
George added that his side showed character to come away with the victory, as French clubs are never easy to beat at home, while he paid tribute to the Saracens’ travelling fans.
“We showed a lot of character; coming away to France is always very difficult; coming away with a win was huge and exactly what we wanted as well,” he added.
“I would also like to pay a massive tribute to all the travelling Sarries fans; they made a lot of noise, so we are very happy with the result.
“We have every confidence in the group that we are taking steps in the right direction. This competition means a lot to us, and we want to make a good account of ourselves.”
Saracens moved into third place in Pool A thanks to the win over Lyon and are now well in contention for a place in the knockout stages.
They are just one point behind Leinster and Exeter Chiefs.