Saracens’ crucial Heineken Cup clash with Munster was brought to a halt during the second half as both sides piled into a brawl at the side of the pitch.
The teams were locked in a close Pool 4 encounter which Munster were leading 6-3 courtesy of two JJ Hanrahan penalties when Saracens and England hooker Jamie George appeared to spark a confrontation between the two sets of players.
George seemed to clash with a Munster medic before bodies from both sides became involved and the pile fell to the floor on the touchline in front of the home fans at the Allianz Arena.
Saracens coach Alex Sanderson said: ‘I don’t want to point fingers but it was Munster’s fault.
‘I think their doctor said something derogatory to Jamie George about his weight which didn’t go down too well so there was a couple of words exchanged there. Then the big boys came in in support.
‘I don’t think it was anything too serious, aggression and excitement levels going over the top.’
Jamie George exchanges words with Munster’s medic, sparking a major brawl at Saracens. This is the tail end of it pic.twitter.com/MbbZVLrRoG
— Duncan Bech (@DuncanBech) December 14, 2019
Referee Pascal Gauzere repeatedly blew his whistle but was initially unable to bring the game back under control as the spat spilled over into several splinter groups.
Eventually, peace was reestablished and Gauzere chose to penalise Saracens for their captain Owen Farrell running over to get involved.
Hanrahan pulled the kick wide, missing the opportunity to extend the Irish side’s lead over the champions of England.
In the first meeting of the season, just a week ago at Thomond Park, Munster were able to grind out a 10-3 victory in a similarly tense affair.
Across the two games, the Pro14 shut out Saracens for more that 140 minutes of rugby – but the brawl appeared to put some fire in the champion’s belly, with Sean Maitland scoring in the corner before Mako Vunipola added a second try from close range to complete a 15-6 win.
