Sarries keep hopes alive
Saracens have kept alive their hopes of qualifying from Pool Three of the Challenge Cup after they beat Castres Olympique 18-14.
Last Updated: 20/12/09 10:54am
Saracens have kept alive their hopes of qualifying from Pool Three of the Amlin Challenge Cup after they beat Castres Olympique 18-14 at a frosty Vicarage Road.
The Guinness Premiership leaders were out-scored two tries to nil by their French counterparts but six penalties from fly-half Glen Jackson proved enough to take Saracens level on points with Toulon.
The latter outfit face Rovigo on Sunday after their game was postponed due to a frozen pitch.
Jackson kicked his first penalty in the 20th minute after Mouritz Botha had almost scored for the visitors, only to spill the ball under the weight of a tackle as he crossed the line.
Castres nevertheless grabbed the opening try through wing Paul Bonnefond after captain and former England wing Philip Christophers had beaten three defenders in midfield before lock Rodrigo Capo Ortega put Bonnefond over in the corner.
Full-back Thomas Bouquie converted.
The score was against the run of play as Sarries dominated the first half and three more penalties from the reliable boot of Jackson gave them a deserved 12-7 half-time lead.
However it was the Top 14 side who were managing to score tries and their second came after 56 minutes.
Replacement Yohan Audrin was first to react to a loose ball, catching Saracens short of numbers in defence as he hacked it upfield before collecting a fortunate bounce to score.
Bouquie converted again to put Castres two points ahead, however more home pressure forced the visitors into conceding another penalty deep inside their own territory.
Christophers was shown the yellow card, leaving Castres down to 14 men for a tense climax, which saw Jackson convert the resulting penalty before adding another five minutes from time.
