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Donnacha Ryan and Finn Russell celebrate Russell's try. Billy Stickland/INPHO
Dominant

Racing hammer weakened Sarries to join Munster on maximum points in Pool 4

The French side secured a bonus-point win against the champions in Paris.

RACING 92 HAD 20 points to spare as they dominated troubled Saracens in an impressive Heineken Champions Cup Pool 4 encounter on Sunday evening.

The Parisians made a blistering start to the contest and never took their feet off the gas, dominating the collision, possession (67%) and territory (69%) against a young Sarries side shorn of its England World Cup contingent and in the midst of a salary-cap controversy which threatens to derail the European champions’ season.

Donnacha Ryan played 65 minutes for the French Top 14 outfit, while Simon Zebo made his introduction on 72.

After an early penalty by Maxime Machenaud, Virimi Vakatawa drew first blood in the try stakes, the French intenrational centre cutting a hole through the Sarries defence as Racing quickly capitalised on a stolen lineout.

The two sides traded successful three-pointers by Ben Spencer and Machenaud before Racing crossed again before the half-hour mark, this time through Teddy Thomas who finished sublimely in the right-hand corner, staying inbounds despite the best efforts of a couple of Saracens defenders.

Alex Lozowski replied for the visitors who brought the deficit back to eight after the break, but three minutes later, a couple of moments of magic by Finn Russell all but killed the tie.

A flowing move started and finished by the imperious Scot put Racing on the brink of a bonus point, and it arrived after the hour mark as Wenceslas Lauret broke away to score with relative ease following a driving maul.

Sarries host Ospreys in a do-or-die clash at Allianz Park next weekend, while pool-toppers Racing visit Munster who trail the Frenchmen only on points difference, and by a single point.

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