Heineken Cup Review:Saracens produced a terrific all-round performance to overwhelm the Ospreys 19-10 while Toulouse thrashed Cardiff Blues 41-17 on a bad day for Wales in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.
Saracens, into the semis for the first time, will now face
Munster at Coventry's Ricoh Arena after the Irish province
clinically defeated Gloucester 16-3 away on Saturday.
Three-times champions Toulouse will travel to Twickenham to
face London Irish, also in the last four for the first time after
Saturday's 20-9 victory over Perpignan.
Saracens were in control for most of their game against an
Ospreys side who embarrassed them 30-3 in the EDF Energy Cup
semi-finals two weeks ago and contained the bulk of the Wales team
who won the Six Nations grand slam last month.
Saracens led 6-3 at halftime after two Glen Jackson
penalties, though they should have been further ahead as the
Ospreys failed to spark.
The game turned decisively in Saracens' direction two minutes
after the restart when Argentine replacement Francisco Leonelli ran
60 metres to score the opening try.
The Ospreys finally got going in the last quarter and
replacement Paul James ended several minutes of forward pressure to
score a converted try to cut the lead to six with six minutes
remaining.
Saracens, though, kept their heads and set up Jackson for a
sharply-taken drop goal to take it to 19-10 which proved enough.
Jean-Baptiste Elissalde had been identified as a potential
weak link for Toulouse after the scrumhalf was pressed into action
at number 10 but instead he produced a match-winning performance as
the French favourites proved too strong.
Toulouse hit the ground running with a first-minute try by
Maxime Medard which Elissalde converted before adding a penalty to
make it 10-0 after five minutes.
Cardiff hit back as a Jason Spice try took them within three
but Toulouse always looked to have more in the tank and they drew
clear with a Maleli Kunavore try after 63 minutes.
Ben Blair crossed again for the Welshmen but Toulouse were
never threatened and hammered the scoreboard in the closing stages
with tries from Vincent Clerc and Jean Bouilhou and a 50-metre
last-minute drop goal by Cedric Heymans.