Saracens take the weekend off as Crossdale reflects on fine success at Harlequins
Harlequins' James Horwill and Saracens' Nick Isiekwe (left) contest the ball in a lineout (pic: Andrew Matthews/PA) - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
North Londoners won 32-12 at Harlequins last weekend
Saracens' Sione Vailanu scores a try during the Premiership Cup match against Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop (pic Andrew Matthews/PA) - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
Saracens can enjoy some well-earned time off this Saturday after safely sealing progress in the Premiership Rugby Cup.
The north Londoners made it through to the final four last weekend with a 32-12 success away to London rivals.
That saw Sarries through as the best runner-up at the very least, though they will finish top of Pool B as long as Worcester Warriors do not secure a bonus-point win against Wasps this weekend.
At Quins last Saturday, tries from Sione Vailanu, Max Malins, Joe Kpoku and Rotimi Segun saw the Allianz Park outfit claim the maximum five points on offer.
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Though he did not cross the whitewash, wing Ali Crossdale impressed on his sixth outing for the first team.
And he believes he will have learned a lot from playing in front of a sell-out crowd at The Stoop.
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He told the club website: “I absolutely loved it. Experiences like that with a full crowd at The Stoop is something you can’t really replicate in the Premiership Rugby Shield and it wasn’t like anything I’d experienced before.
“To have that opportunity was just fantastic and hopefully going into the semi-final it will be the same kind of experience.”
It was a composed display from Saracens that saw them reach the knockout stages, which are due to take place next month with the final in March.
It means Saracens remain on course for an unprecedented treble, with the club also riding high in the Gallagher Premiership and in the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals.
It looks like there could be an exciting few months ahead for all at the club, but for now Crossdale is happy to reflect on a job well done at Quins last weekend.
“The lads were absolutely over the moon, we put absolutely everything into that performance,” added the talented young wing.
“It was the kind of performance we’d been waiting for in this competition and everyone stepped up to the plate. It’s awesome to be in the semi-final. Everything we prepared came off.
“We talked about putting pressure on their kickers which is what Joel did and we talked about getting options around the ball.”
“There’s still areas to work on so we’ll go again and look at the things we need work on, hopefully take that same performance into the semi-final and go from there.”
