Below are the Saracens player ratings following their 22-20 defeat to Northampton Saints in the Premiership semi-final at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday.
15 Elliot Daly: An absolutely shocking performance from the Englishman. He started by smashing a free kick into touch and then made a few more mistakes. It was not a good day. 3
14 Alex Lewington: Good tries for Saracens but they were outplayed in the air by the Saints back three, but it was still a good game. 6
13 Lucio Cinti: He tried bravely throughout the game but was well-contained by the Northampton defence who covered him for much of the game. 6
12 Nick Tompkins: Defensively he was very good considering the pressure Salaries was under, and although he didn’t have much of an impact offensively, his work without the ball at least gave them chances. 7
11. Tom Parton: Unfortunately, he was unable to influence the game as he would have liked, as he was substituted midway through the first half. Five
Saracen’s Heartbeat
10 Owen Farrell (c): He was the heart of the team and gave everything they needed to reach the Premiership final, playing a key role in scoring two tries and performing brilliantly despite the occasional mistake. 8
9 Ivan van Zyl: We had some great moments defensively, good kicking and we did well behind a losing team in the end. 7
8 Billy Vunipola: Certainly, he was not the player he once was, with Vunipola once again being easily contained by the Saints defence and barely getting over the gainline. Five
7. Ben Earl: Although he wasn’t able to get on the ground as he would have liked when making contact, he made his presence felt throughout the game. 7
6 Juan MartÃn González: A great defensive effort from the Argentine, who made one of his finest covering tackles on Alex Mitchell. 7
5. Nick Isiekwe: He made a few steals at lineouts to ease the pressure and worked hard on defense, but was replaced relatively early in the second period. 6
4 Maro Itoje: He was a nuisance throughout the match and made some important interventions, but in the end it wasn’t enough. 7
3 Marco Riccioni: With Northampton Saints controlling the battle up front, they were unable to make the needed impact from set pieces. Five
2 Jamie George: Although he didn’t get a try awarded, he showed some excellent handling but was beaten by his opponent Curtis Langdon, his lineouts were decent but his scrums were penalty machines. Five
1 Mako Vunipola: Like his brother, Mako was unable to make an impact with carries and struggled in the scrum. Four
replacement: All they needed was a scrum. Theo Dunne, Theo McFarland and Tom Willis all made their presence felt but the reserve front row was constantly sent in the wrong direction. 7
read more: Finn Smith scores 17 points as Northampton Saints beat Saracens in Premiership semi-final
