'If the table was different we would be third with 13 points'
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall maintains there is a “good buzz in the group” as they continue their battle for Gallagher Premiership survival at Bath on Friday.
The defending champions head to the Recreation Ground having accepted a 35-point deduction and £5.36m fine for breaching salary cap regulations.
Despite returning to domestic action 26 points adrift of safety, and to a venue where they last won in 2016, McCall insists no-one is sitting around feeling sorry for themselves.
Sarries will be bolstered by the availability of a full England contingent.
Having sat out the 44-3 Heineken Champions Cup victory over the Ospreys, national team captain Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje and Billy Vunipola have all been named in the starting XV.
“Bath’s last couple of performances at the Rec have been good. They beat Northampton in their last game and played well against Ulster in a close game,” McCall said.
“It will be a tough place for us to go, but there’s a good buzz in the group.”
McCall feels there are plenty of reasons to be positive for the challenges ahead.
“On the field this year has gone really well,” he said.
“If the table was different we would be third with 13 points from the four games with a bucket load of players who couldn’t play because they were at the World Cup or senior players like Brad Barritt, Alex Goode and Michael Rhodes who were all injured.
Some fans are very unhappy with European rugby's disciplinary hearing punishments
https://t.co/6cFP9DjxBk— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 28, 2019
“For us to win three out of four, and two away wins with that young side at Welford Road and Kingsholm, was fantastic. There are a lot of people who have been forced in there because of the injuries, like young Manu Vunipola.
“The seven weeks have gone really well and a lot of them know we are going to rotate extensively, so they are going to get perhaps more playing opportunities than they would have otherwise got.”
Bath will be out to produce a response following successive European defeats, beaten at Harlequins having been just edged out by Ulster.
Bath could be set for quite a dunking as Saracens are going full metal jacket in the Premiership on Friday nighthttps://t.co/opQBIivyYb
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 28, 2019
England winger Anthony Watson is expected to be out until the end of the year because of a knee injury picked up against Quins.
Club captain Charlie Ewels, though, suffered more severe torn ligament damage during the game at Twickenham Stoop, and he could yet need surgery.
Levi Davis has now rejoined the group after his stint on ‘The X Factor: Celebrity’ came to an end.
Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper feels everyone will be fully focused on the job in hand, with Francois Louw set to lead the team out.
“Anything that is going on around the game, different motivations, whatever, will be irrelevant to those on the field,” Hooper said at a press conference.
“As a player, you have a huge focus on the moment in front of you and your ability to win that moment.
“Saracens will be doing that to us and we will be trying to do that to them.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments