Rotherham grabbed a survival lifeline with only their second Zurich
Premiership win of the season to pile on the misery for Saracens.
A 50th-minute try from fly-half Simon Binns, making a fairytale return from a
three-month lay-off, condemned a lacklustre Saracens to a sixth defeat in their
last seven matches and make a mockery of their earlier title ambitions.
Rotherham, who had two players sin-binned in a nailbiting finish, were
especially indebted to Binns, who stepped into the boots of the injured Luke
Smith at short notice and produced an accomplished display on his first
appearance for more than three months.
He continually pushed the visitors back with a series of raking kicks and
grabbed the crucial try, Rotherham's first in four games, following a
spectacular kick and chase.
Binns put in a superb kick from deep inside his own 20-metre area and, after
Andy Northey had tackled Dan Luger over his own line, the fly-half raced over
from the resulting scrum following a run-around between Mike Schmid and Dave
Scully to end the club's 303-minute wait for a try.
Mike Umaga missed the conversion but had earlier put his side 6-0 in front
with two well-taken penalties, one of them from 45 metres, and was unfortunate
to hit the crossbar with another effort from the halfway line.
Saracens, who beat Rotherham 59-5 at Vicarage Road, trailed 11-0 when centre
Kevin Sorrell gave them hope with a 65th-minute penalty and Rotherham were
forced to endure an anxious final quarter when replacement forward Leon Greef
was sin-binned for a professional foul.
A third penalty from Umaga gave the home side breathing space but prop Simon
Bunting became the second Rotherham player to be shown the yellow card for
kicking the ball away and Saracens made the extra man tell when number eight
Tony Diprose pealed off a maul to touch down for a consolation try.
Then, deep into injury time, full-back Peter Massey put the seal on a
remarkable victory when he took Binns' nicely-timed pass to cross for his first
try for the club.
In addition to Binns, Zimbabwean international centre Doug Trivella made a
notable return with a series of tremendous tackles, including one memorable
last-ditch effort to haul Luger into touch during Saracens' only potent attack
of the first half.
Inspired by Samoan powerhouse duo Isaac Fea'unati and Umaga, the South
Yorkshire team played with vigour and created the better scoring opportunities.
Flanker Fea'unati was bundled into touch after an early dart for the line
while Umaga was denied a try by a cruel bounce after charging down full-back
Brett Sparg's attempted clearance kick.
Zurich man of the match was Simon Binns.
Rotherham:
Tries: Binns, Massey.
Pens: Umaga 3.
Rotherham: Massey, Northey, Umaga, Trivella,
Greaves, Binns,
Scully, Thorp, Johnson, Turner, Parr, Kenworthy, Fea'unati,
Spence, Schmid.
Not Used: Bunting, Latham, Cook, Greeff, Harrison, Wainwright,
Dixon.
Saracens:
Tries: Diprose.
Pens: Sorrell.
Saracens: Sparg, Shanklin, Johnston, Sorrell, Luger,
Walshe,
Bracken, Wallace, Russell, White, Murray, Davison, Chesney,
Roche, Diprose.
Not Used: Cairns, Flatman, Cheesebrough, Hooper, Haughton,
O'Mahony, Hampson.
Att: 2,100
Ref: Chris White (RFU).
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