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Mark McCall: 'It was a bit of a gamble with 7 English internationals'
Mark McCall paid tribute to his England players for the way they made an instant impact on their return for Saracens after a 32-17 win over Leicester Tigers at StoneX Stadium.
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McCall threw a host of his England stars straight back into the mix for the battle of the last two Gallagher Premiership champions, and they repaid that decision in spades.
Maro Itoje grabbed the first try on his way to being named player of the match, while England team-mates Billy Vunipola and Jamie George also crossed to help Saracens to a bonus point and Owen Farrell kicked 12 points, with McCall thrilled at their displays.
He said: “I’m very pleased. It wasn’t perfect – far from it, but it was a bit of a gamble with seven English internationals coming back who had not been at the club for the last four months.
“I’m just surprised that those international players were as enthusiastic to come and play for their club as they were.
“They haven’t been here, they’ve been training with a different team, a different system, but what we’ve found down the years is that these players are very good at coming back in and getting on board very quickly, and you saw that today with the way they all played.
“I’m really proud of those England players.
“They all had an option [for a week off], we left it to them to see when their break was going to happen and they all said they wanted to come in and play this game which says something.”
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Sarries have now won back-to-back games after taking no points from their first two games of the season, with Itoje and Andy Christie helping them into a 14-3 half-time lead.
Vunipola and George wrapped up the bonus point early in the second half, with Tigers – still without their own England contingent, scoring two late tries through Tom Whiteley and Jamie Shillcock.
Tigers boss Dan McKellar had no regrets about resting his England stars and admitted it was always going to be tough as a result.
He said: “I thought we showed a whole lot of fight, but we didn’t execute.
“My approach was always to give the boys a week off after the World Cup, to connect with family.
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“It’s a huge emotional and physical toll on their bodies to go through three or four months in camp.
“That was always my approach, and Mark [McCall] took a different approach. There’s no right or wrong.
“We knew it was going to be a big challenge coming here and playing against a fully loaded Saracens side but we can’t control what they do, we can only control what we do.
“They played well and we needed to do better. It’s encouraging but we didn’t come here to have a romantic loss, we came here to win, it’s as simple as that.
“We executed three from 11 in the attacking 22, they executed five from eight – that’s the ball game.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Ben is right, the RWC should be taken from SA and awarded to NZ. Rugby matches from now on will not be decided on points but rather on who deserved to win the most.
23 Go to commentsThat's quite a wind up Ben. I'm an all black fan, and admittedly the loss felt a little hollow, given how well the boys played once Cane left the field. But that's finals footy, sometimes it's cruel. Let's look at the reality though. This was a team that spent an entire year thinking about how to beat Ireland, and did so magnificently. Come final time, they started the match looking overawed, fearful and unprepared. This led them to getting behind on the scoreboard, and chasing the game, which is never a good position to be in a final. SA started better, were confident and assured. That, in the end, was the game. The comeback led by Savea was phenomenal, but not quite enough. That's how comebacks often go. The real questions should be why they looked so unprepared? Why we needed to get behind and lose our so called leader to start playing? And why the best player against SA from a month or two before wasn't even in the team? Plus give some credit where it's due, PSD was quite phenomenal and instrumental in keeping SA ahead, a performance for the ages.
23 Go to commentsMy only response is “Check the Scoreboard” nothing else matters. Ben you will not wind me up pal. Boks are 4 times RWC Champions.
23 Go to commentsThere is no place to hide in the front row. You win or lose each time and it selects for hard men/women and those who enjoy combat
7 Go to commentsThey might have won several different areas on the field but the one that ultimately counts is on the scoreboard. Ben Smith’s nonsense is still shown up for what it is following criticisings by his team’s coach claiming similar nonsenses and several other players as well. I am not an expert but I know All Blacks know that the game is won by the team with more points on the board than the opposition. Also the red card on Sam Cane is entirely his own fault. If they were aggrieved for having one less player on the pitch, that was their own fault, their own captain who possibly in a moment of forgetfulness tackled too high but either way it is a RWC Final, you cannot be having lapses of forgetfulness in a match like that. The fact that they were down a man for 64 minutes was their fault. And even if they did dominate the second half for 35 minutes, they had crossed the whitewash twice, they had several kicks at goal, the fact is they didn't maximize on all the opportunities they were given. The one try was disallowed, the two kicks at goal were missed, the opportunities not taken. Every tackle was made by the Springboks with so much more fervour than anyone had seen even in the Semi Final the week previously. Whatever Ben Smith says, most of what he says can be chalked down to a spoiled sport who has nothing better to say than whine and moan because ultimately the team he supports lost when it mattered most.
23 Go to commentsThere’s plenty I could write on this, I won’t stop if I really get going, so i’ll make just 2 important points. Don’t forget that SA didn’t have a hooker, don’t discount that fact. I would have taken MBONAMBI fit for the game over a yellow to Frizelle. Also you forget that NZ had the luxury of playing without pressure once the red came. Noone expected them to win and they could always fall back on 14 men if they lost. I’d also have taken 15 men NZ and MBONAMBI on the field over what transpired.
23 Go to commentsSome people in France say that JB Lafont have some problems with alcohol….
2 Go to commentsThis is awesome news. I hope he goes well.
1 Go to commentsI get that Ben's role is to attract SA readers with controversial clickbait, but what about respecting the rivalry of over 100 years? The Boks won, we lost. The Boks have now won 4 world cups since their inclusion back into international rugby, and in that time the rest of the world combined have only won 4! It's an incredible achievement. Show respect, and then hope we win 2-0 in SA later this year. But don't be a whiner; it means you don't understand the rivalry at its essence. Winner takes all when NZ plays SA. Sport in it's purest form. Long may it continue.
23 Go to commentsU Nz never ever use to be such a bunch off whining girls,now this so sad that u got this aasss writing some crap
23 Go to commentsBeautifully written.
7 Go to commentsYou can be a dominating team and still lose. The Boks know that if the ABs are a man down, they play as if they have another two players on the field. The ABs did attack, they did apply pressure, they built more plays but they did not add more points to the board. The ABs are still the most dominant team in sports today as the ABs will go for a win in every game they play. Rassie and Jacques have used the time between World Cups to build squad depth. They were also the last tier 1 nation to start playing rugby after COVID restrictions were eased and still won the series against The B&I Lions. Ben may write to persuade the reader that the Boks are not worthy of the trophy or worthy to be the best in the world but Ben, since you enjoy stats so much, you forgot the most important statistic….the score! That's the one that matters most.
23 Go to commentsNot a fan of Penney to be fair as I don’t see him able to perform at SR level. However he has stepped into a bit of a mess with so many long service players leaving. No matter how good a coach us he can’t wave a magic wind and turn young pups into Crusaders in 5 mins. Wheaven to accept this is a complete rebuild of players and culture. Have some patience just as the other teams have had in years gone by
29 Go to commentsWhat is Ben’s point exactly? Cause if it’s that the ABs should’ve won that game, then yes I think every AB fan would agree with that. But the DIDN'T. You need luck to go your way and it went the Springboks way, just as it went the ABs way in 2011. Given that this article is written 6 months after the final shows that Ben is still incredibly butthurt. Time to move on Mr Smith. Maybe join something that suits your bias… i’m thinking the Australian commentary panel?
23 Go to commentsSA players and fans calling the irish arrogant, ooh the irony!!
90 Go to commentsPersonally i’d have BB off the bench and DMac as 10. BB seems to have more ‘average’ games and less ability to mix it up on the fly than DMac,
7 Go to commentsBen’s Myth History is written by the guy who does the engraving on the trophy. Took Ben six months to write this piece.
23 Go to commentsThis article should have been written immediately after the final, not half a year later. While the content of the article is accurate with the references to the cruel bounce to Savea right before the try line, Etzebeth’s cynical infringement, and the inconsistent cards, some of the hyperbole emotional statements are unnecessary and gaslighting. The fact remains that the Springboks took their scoring opportunities. They had amazing defence throughout the entire match (limiting the ABs to one try is very respectable), their scrum was pretty good and they had quite a solid lineout despite having a part-time hooker throwing the ball in. Let’s give credit where credit is due and move forward. The Springboks won because they know how to win big games through strong defence and kicking, and they had lady luck on their side on the day. The All Blacks miraculously made the final despite everyone’s predictions and could’ve won the whole damn thing with 14 men who should’ve taken better advantage of their scoring chances and committed less mistakes (shoddy lineouts, dropped balls, some poor kicks and passing, etc), and an average coach and captain with some questionable tactics (Jordie kicking for goal late in the game from a dodgy position and perhaps the wrong game plan overall). Time to move on.
23 Go to commentsThere’s no doubt the All Blacks were the better team on the day, but it’s not enough to be better, you also have to have luck.
23 Go to commentsI dunno, Ben. It does feel a little like you are just in denial that the Springboks are really good. Good enough to win two straight world cups.
23 Go to comments