customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Beaten finalists Racing 92 have “no regrets” over the selection of Dan Carter for the European Rugby Champions Cup final despite the former All Blacks legend nursing an injury, forwards coach Laurent Travers said this week.
Carter lasted only 43 minutes of the French club’s 21-9 defeat by Saracens from England before limping off with a calf injury he had initially sustained in the semi-final round.
The 34-year-old admitted after the game that he was left to make the call on his own fitness during the warm-up for last Saturday’s final at Lyon’s shiny new Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium.
But Travers on Thursday defended the decision to start Test rugby’s highest points scorer.
“It makes me laugh because at the end of the match I think there were 60,000 coaches in the stadium including 59,997 – not Ronan [O’Gara], Laurent [Labit] and me – who were saying we shouldn’t have played Dan Carter,” Travers said.
“At the end of the match, it’s much easier [to say] what’s the right thing to do. If we hadn’t played him and lost, those same people would have said ‘Dan Carter at 40 per cent would have helped you win’.
“So we have no regrets. We take complete responsibility for the choices that were made and if we had to make them again we’d do the same thing.”
In Saturday’s final showdown, England international Owen Farrell kicked seven penalties to help Saracens rain on Carter’s parade.
A teak-tough defence and astute kicking game, aided by Farrell’s trusty boot, were key for what turned out to be a comfortable victory, although the game will not go down in the annals as one of the sport’s best spectacles.
Not that Saracens number eight Billy Vunipola cared.
“It’s awesome, we’re in that club now! We managed to pull it off. To win this trophy is a massive honour,” he said after the match.
“It was such an arm-wrestle. We made fewer mistakes. Credit to our front five and credit to big Fab [Farrell] for holding his nerve.”
Farrell added: “It’s a great moment for the club. To be involved in a competition like this and to play teams like Racing... To win this competition is brilliant.”
Carter failed to influence the game in any way, visibly struggling with the pace and contact, and even opting from the off not to kick from the tee. He was replaced three minutes into the second-half to little fanfare.
His much-vaunted partnership with in-form scrum-half Maxime Machenaud was also short-lived as the France international went off concussed after just 18 minutes.
Both sides struggled to impose any kind of recognisable game plan, the match at times descending into harum-scarum tactics chasing a slippery ball in midfield and around the fringes of the ruck.
But Farrell was on fire and deservedly had the last word with his sixth and seventh penalties to seal Saracens’ first European title having not lost a game in this season’s competition.
After Montpellier’s 26-19 victory over Harlequins in the Challenge Cup the day before, Racing were seeking a first French double in European competition since 1997 when Brive and Bourgoin triumphed.
But it was not be on a rainy night in eastern France where a ruthless Saracens side punished every Racing error caused by the slippery ball.


Who is Louis Rees-Zammit, the ex-rugby player joining NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs? The Welsh ‘Rees-Lightning’ just signed a deal with the same Super Bowl-winning team as Travis Kelce

Ospreys’ new Asia-based owner says now is the time to buy a rugby club as online products will expand the sport

Saracens docked 35 points and fined for breaching salary cap rules

‘They sell morality but don’t possess any’: Mourad Boudjellal to face hearing in wake of Mathieu Bastareaud’s homophobic slur

European Rugby Champions Cup

No regrets: Racing 92 defend selection of injured Dan Carter after Euro loss to Saracens

Racing 92 fly-half Dan Carter (centre-right) battles for the ball during his team’s 21-9 defeat by Saracens in the final of the European Rugby Champions Cup last weekend. Carter was carrying an injury ahead of the match and played just 43 minutes. Photos: AFP

Owen Farrell kicked seven penalties for the new European club champions.

Saracens players celebrate with the trophy after winning the 2016 European Rugby Champions Cup final against Racing 92 at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium in eastern France on Saturday.

Harlequins lock Sam Twomey reaches for the ball during the English side’s 26-19 loss to Montpellier in the European Rugby Challenge Cup final last Friday.

Dan Carter’s Racing 92 edge Super Rugby champions Highlanders in Natixis Cup try-fest

Highlanders centre Teihorangi Walden runs into the Racing 92 defence during their Natixis Cup clash at Siu Sai Wan sports ground on Saturday. Photo: Edward Wong/SCMP


Racing 92 players celebrate with the Natixis Cup after beating Super Rugby's Highlanders 45-38 in Hong Kong on Saturday.  Photo: Edward Wong/SCMP

Dan Carter gets wrapped up by the Highlanders defence. Photo: AFP

Sport

Rugby

Beaten finalists Racing 92 have “no regrets” over the selection of Dan Carter for the European Rugby Champions Cup final despite the former All Blacks legend nursing an injury, forwards coach Laurent Travers said this week.
