Billy Vunipola limps off as La Rochelle overpower Saracens in Champions Cup

Billy Vunipola hobbled away from Stade Marcel-Deflandre on crutches after injuring his knee midway through the first half of this bruising afternoon for Saracens on the Atlantic coast as the Premiership side limped out of the Champions Cup. The bludgeoning power of the champions ensured La Rochelle a home tie with Exeter in Bordeaux and the very real prospect of an all-French final in Dublin next month.

La Rochelle, with their monstrous pack, could not match the colour and panache that helped Toulouse sweep the Sharks aside 24 hours earlier but they are an unstoppable force in this mood and at this stadium they have now won 11 successive matches in Europe.

The European champions had not been at their best against Gloucester the previous week but were back to their ruthless best at the breakdown. Saracens, ill-disciplined and inaccurate in the execution of their attacking moves, looked nothing like the side that has been so dominant in the Premiership this season.

Saracens knew that a storm was going to blow in on the Bay of Biscay and sure enough La Rochelle pinned them back in their own half in the early stages, Antoine Hastoy landing two penalties and striking an upright with a third attempt.

The visitors weathered that early storm but if the sight of first Jamie George having treatment to an injured knee was bad enough, seeing Billy Vunipola carried off on a stretcher with another knee injury was a crushing blow for Saracens on a day they needed all the power they could muster from their England international forwards.

George played on and Owen Farrell and Hastoy traded penalties but La Rochelle’s pack battered their way through the Saracens defence with a series of drives that allowed All Blacks scrum-half Tawera