Matthieu Jalibert and Owen Farrell miss crunch Champions Cup clash as Saracens star sustains ‘minor injury’
Bordeaux fly-half Matthieu Jalibert and Saracens captain Owen Farrell.
Star Bordeaux-Begles and Saracens fly-halves Matthieu Jalibert and Owen Farrell will both miss the Champions Cup last-16 clash on Saturday.
Both clubs will be significantly impacted by the injury-related absence of their key players for the play-off match, as Mateo Garcia steps in for Bordeaux and Alex Goode for Saracens.
Minor injury for Owen Farrell
Saracens confirmed that Farrell suffered a “minor hamstring injury” in the Premiership defeat to Northampton Saints last weekend.
The injury means that the club captain may well have played his final European fixture for Saracens ahead of his move to Racing 92 next season.
The 32-year-old has been a key cog in all three of Saracens’ previous Investec Champions Cup victories in 2016, 2017, and 2019.
Sarries added that the injury would keep Farrell sidelined “for the next few weeks,” which could result in him missing the quarter-final if the Londoners defeat Bordeaux.
In Farrell’s absence, hooker Jamie George will lead the team at Stade Chaban-Delmas.
Meanwhile, Jalibert will also miss the clash because of some discomfort in his left knee. The 25-year-old recently returned from the injury that ended his Six Nations campaign, featuring in the 31-28 victory over Toulouse.
Jalibert was named player of the match the last time these two sides faced off, scoring a try in the 55-15 victory for the French side in the pool stages of the tournament.
Hugo Keenan and RG Snyman passed fit for Irish giants but Owen Farrell out of Champions Cup showdown
The fixtures also sees Saracens back-rower Tom Willis front up against the side he represented last season.
“There’s a really good energy around the place as we’ve got an unbelievable opportunity ahead of us. This club has a great history in Europe and the boys are all very excited for such a big game,” Willis said.
“After the last game there we had a lot of honest conversations about where we were at and we feel like we’ve kicked on since then. It’s a massive challenge but one that we will put all our energy into.
“Bordeaux is a place that means a lot to me after they gave me an opportunity, so personally it’s really exciting to be taking them on.”
Bordeaux-Begles v Saracens teams
Bordeaux: 15 Romain Buros, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Nicolas Depoortere, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matéo Garcia, 9 Maxime Lucu (c), 8 Tevita Tatafu, 7 Pete Samu, 6 Antoine Miquel, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Cyril Cazeaux, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements: 16 Romain Latterrade, 17 Lekso Kaulashvili, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Thomas Jolmes, 21 Guido Petti, 22 Yann Lesgourgues, 23 Pablo Uberti
Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Alex Goode, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Christian Judge, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 20 Tom Willis, 21 Gareth Simpson, 22 Manu Vunipola, 23 Olly Hartley
Venue: Stade Chaban-Delmas
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 GMT)
Referee: Frank Murphy (IRE)
Assistant Referees: Eoghan Cros (IRE), Andrew Cole (IRE)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRE)
