'We come from Manchester, it pours down every day'
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall praised the togetherness of his young team as the relegated Gallagher Premiership side overcame their off-the-field issues to beat Sale 36-22.
Tries by Rhys Carre, Rotimi Segun, Nick Isiekwe and Richard Barrington helped McCall’s men overcome their visitors to make it 13 consecutive home wins against the Sharks.
The Manchester side crossed the line through Byron McGuigan, Dan du Preez and Rob du Preez, but missed the chance to gain ground in the top-four race.
“We’re chuffed with the way we played, and the unity and togetherness that we showed,” McCall said. “It was difficult conditions and Sale chose to play with the wind in the first half.
“We needed to roll our sleeves up and we did that. Our half-backs were fantastic in the first half, Tom Whiteley, in particular, the way he kicked into that breeze.
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“We were good value at 14-3, but they got a good try. One mistake by one person and it’s 14-10. I thought the response to that in the second half was great.”
McCall noted another eye-catching performance from fly-half Manu Vunipola, who kicked 13 points in blustery conditions to put the match past Sharks.
He added: “It’s been a good year for Manu. He’s one of the ones who’s got exposed more than I thought he would be, and he’s done really well.
MATCH CENTRE#SARvSAL
Live stats ???
Live blog ???https://t.co/myQRCTDoxf pic.twitter.com/St6SlHwlMK— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 15, 2020
“This is our seventh win out of our ten Premiership matches. Most of those wins have been with this group and they have done great. These are important experiences for them going forward.”
Despite the victory, McCall felt his players could improve ahead of facing Wasps next Friday after conceding two late tries against Sharks. “When we committed to what we said we were going to commit to, we were great,” the director of rugby added.
“When we were off the boil a little bit and our intensity dropped, then you got what you got in the last 10 minutes. That’s maybe an important lesson for us.”
This sounds like quite a caperhttps://t.co/0rGDhjXaUW
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 15, 2020
Sale lost the opportunity to move up the Premiership table but stayed third as other results went their way. Director of rugby Steve Diamond refused to blame the weather for Sale’s performance in London.
He said: “We come from Manchester, it pours it down every day. We trained with the wind all week, but it was just a bit more experience in their team to put us to the sword in that first half.
“Fair play to Saracens, their strength of depth runs deep. Players come in and stay in structure and they did that really well. We have been playing well over the past six weeks, we just didn’t play (today), we didn’t get past one phase. I’m a little bit disappointed with that.”
– Press Association
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Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments