JACQUES Burger believes Saracens fully deserve their European Champions Cup quarterfinal berth after they progressed from a pool that the Namibian loose-forward described as “incredibly tough”.
Placed alongside Irish provincial giants Munster, French powerhouses ASM Clermont Auvergne and a resurgent Sale Sharks side, Saracens did enough to progress into the final eight, finishing second in Pool 1 to set-up a quarterfinal clash against Racing Metro in April this year.
Burger said: “We came here (to ASM Clermont Auvergne) to get the win, to set up a home quarterfinal and we didn’t really think about any other scenarios, so we did enough during the group stages to get through.”
“It was an incredibly tough group to get into the last eight. Even though it’s an away fixture, the quarterfinals are where any team want to be, so we’re pretty happy and we’re ready for the next challenge.”
Burger added: “It was a disappointing run for us but I enjoyed it massively. It’s one of those situations that if you’re motivated for it and you don’t step up you are going to get demolished by them. It’s not going to be easy, so we have to be massively up for it. I knew from the start that we would have to be as physical as possible if we were to do well, I thought we were throughout but it just wasn’t enough on this occasion.” – Saracens.com