When top-flight rugby came to Brussels

Saracens top their pool after a comfortable 30-13 victory over Racing Métro in Brussels.

England’s Saracens were more than convincing playing ‘at home’ in Brussels on Saturday against Parisians Racing Métro 92, in their Heineken Cup Pool 1 second-round match. Despite going behind in the second minute when Racing were awarded a penalty, there never seemed any doubt that Saracens were going to continue their successful campaign.

The match at the Roi Baudouin stadium in Heysel was the latest in a series of travelling encounters as Sarries wait for their soon-to-be home stadium in Mill Hill, north London, to be refurbished (and renamed Allianz Park). So far the wanderers have had home fixtures across London and are proving adept at performing on the move.

For rugby fans from Brussels and beyond it was a rare treat to have top-flight play on home turf. A multinational crowd of more than 18,000 took advantage of the autumn sunshine to cheer on the two teams in a lively atmosphere. While Saracens maintained a firm grip on the game, Racing disappointed in their persistent and misplaced kicking forward. Repeated handling errors and their opponent’s impressive defence contributed to their inability to seriously threaten. In the first half, Saracens’ Chris Wyles and skipper Steve Borthwick ran in tries which were both converted by Charlie Hodgson, who also kicked a penalty to take the score to 20-3 at half-time. After the break Hodgson increased the lead from another penalty, but the visitors finally picked up the pace, helped by some substitutes. Some clean interplay enabled them to advance up the pitch, resulting in Juan José Imhoff impressively crossing the line, before Fabrice Estebanez converted without any difficulty. Gaëtan Germain added a penalty, but Sarries retorted with a late try by Will Fraser to maintain their start-to-finish dominance.

Success on the pitch for the London team was followed by an enthusiastic post-match programme-signing session. Rugby fans in Belgium can look forward to further cross-channel collaboration as Saracens confirmed their commitment to leave a legacy for Belgian rugby. At the outset they insisted the fixture was not a “one-off circus”. A spokesman said, “It is not a case of the circus coming to town, putting up a big tent and then disappearing over the horizon. Saracens community coaches have already staged three coaching clinics for young rugby players in Belgium and this commitment will continue.”

Saracens CEO Edward Griffiths said he hoped Saracens would be able to return to Brussels for more high-level matches of this kind. Chairman Nigel Wray lived for two-and-a-half years in Brussels 10 years ago and “absolutely loved it”, saying that Belgium is without doubt one of the “great secrets” of Europe.