Win or bust - Pienaar
December 13, 1999

Saracens coach Francois Pienaar was a relieved man as his side secured a Heineken Cup lifeline with a 52-35 victory over Pontypridd.

The Springbok legend demanded an improvement following losses in their opening two Heineken matches and even inspired his team-mates with a brace of tries.

But Pienaar admits Saracens still face an uphill task to qualify for the quarter finals and now face a series of vital away matches.

"We made some mistakes but we should not be over-critical, after all we scored more than 50 points," said Pienaar.

"We were frustrated in the first half because we kept making stupid mistakes but hopefully this will be the turning point. We have to win all our games now because it looks like Munster have secured top spot.

"Hopefully we can sneak in but conceding 35 points does not help our standing in the group."

Pontypridd captain Paul John was furious that his side allowed Saracens to race away to a 15-point lead in the opening 10 minutes.

"We started the match like we were still on the bus. We gave them a head start and you can't afford that,'' said John.

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