Saracens produced a superb second half display to claim a famous 37-28 victory over Racing Metro and take a big step towards the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.
If Pool 1 rivals Munster slip up against Edinburgh tomorrow then the Premiership side will be assured of a place in the last eight. That prize can also be secured with a victory over the Edinburgh when they visit Vicarage Road next weekend.
Owen Farrell kicked a tournament record 10 penalties and converted a Chris Wyles try as Sarries survived two yellow cards, a dominant first-half display from the hosts and a worrying injury to David Strettle to pull off a vital victory.
It looked to be a different story when Racing Metro led 22-9 after just 25 minutes. Saracens arrived at Stade de la Beaujoire on the back of four straight wins top of the group but this first Heineken Cup tie in Nantes could not have got off to a worse start.
Strettle was floored by what appeared to be a swinging forearm from behind by Fabrice Estebanez. The England wing was left bloodied and prone on the floor as play was stopped for almost 10 minutes for treatment before he was carried off. Duncan Taylor took his place but the loss of their wing clear disrupted Saracens.
Racing Metro seized early control of the scrums that put their back row on the front foot and their backs thrived on the possession. No.8 Masi Matadigo made inroads, Juan-Martin Hernandez weaved close to the line before prop Luc Ducalcon crashed through Joel Tomkins and Brad Barritt on the line to score the opening try which was converted by Sebastien Descons.
Farrell responded with his first penalty but Chris Ashton's fumble ended with Argentina wing Juan Imhoff scampering clear for Racing's second. Farrell again kept Saracens' score ticking over but again, Racing responded with a try.
Hernandez launched an ambitious attack from inside his own half after slipping out of Tomkins' grasp before timing his pass to Imhoff to perfection as the wing raced over to the joy of the home crowd. Descons again converted.
Farrell kicked a third penalty but Saracens looked in trouble when Will Fraser was ordered to the sin bin for striking Hernandez in the face with his elbow in a late challenge. Descons kicked the penalty to open a 22-9 lead. Farrell and Descons traded penalties before Farrell kicked two more before the break, the second after suffering a shoulder barge that saw second-row Jone Quvo Nailiko binned.
That fuelled Saracens' belief and when Fraser supplied possession from a lineout, Farrell and Tomkins combined to send Wyles flying over before the conversion tied the scores at 25-25 after 48 minutes. Farrell's seventh penalty handed Saracens the lead for the first time after 53 minutes though the French response was inevitable.
Neil De Kock's desperate tap tackle on Estebanez prevented a try only for Ashton to put his team under greater pressure when he was shown a yellow card for striking the Racing centre off the ball as the pressure grew.
Yet Saracens dug in and survived the 10 minute spell with a penalty apiece before their impressive defence pinned back their hosts time and again. Farrell then added two more penalties including a last-minute strike from distance that crucially denied Racing even the consolation of a losing bonus point and effectively knocked the French giants out of the cup.
Saracens boss Mark McCall commented: "In the last four years we have been building in this competition and a win against a very good French side in France continues that. It was a fantastic performance and we're very proud of the team after bouncing back from the setbacks in the first half of the early injury, the tries and a yellow card. We were off our game in that first half and not working hard enough. But we knew at half-time that if we rectify things then we could win the match."
McCall also confirmed on the club's website that Strettle was already on the mend. "Thankfully, Strettle was up and about after the game and there appeared to be no long term damage."
