McCall: Saracens would be second in table, and we did it largely without internationals
Mark McCall believes the youth setup at Saracens can be the major positive from their relegation after his young side saw off Leicester 24-13 at Allianz Park.
While experienced campaigner Alex Lewington scored two tries in the win over his former team, McCall singled out the displays of back-rower Sean Reffell and try-scoring centre Dom Morris as the positives to take from the encounter.
And while Saracens will be relegated at the end of the campaign for salary cap breaches, McCall insists the way the young players have performed in the Premiership is the main positive to take from the season.
He said: “We’ve won nine out of our 13 games this season, we’d be second in the table.
“Given that we haven’t picked many of our international players for many of our league games and everything that’s going on behind the scenes, I can’t speak more highly of our playing group, the positives for us this year is just how many younger players have got exposure and have relished their chances and opportunities.
“Sean Reffell had an outstanding game at seven, he’s a very young man and to play against a pack the size of Leicester’s pack and make the contribution he did was great, Dom Morris had a great game at 13.
“We had a nice balance in the team between some experienced players who fronted up and some younger players who are on the start of their journeys and overall it was a good game for us.”
Lewington’s first try had put Saracens 7-6 up at the break before Ben White responded to give Tigers the lead.
However Leicester had Telusa Veainu sin-binned soon after and crumbled from that point as Morris and then Lewington went over, much to the frustration of head coach Geordan Murphy.
He said: “At 7-6 at half time I thought we were still in the game, I thought the endeavour was there and the guys were working very hard for each other. I thought we could have had another couple of penalties to keep that scoreboard ticking. At 60 minutes when we scored a great try I thought, six points up 20 minutes to go, I thought we were really in control.
“A couple of big moments go against you, the Veainu yellow card really hurt. Did he mean to knock it on, or was he trying to intercept?
“It’s a really tough one and I’ll need to look at it more closely but it is what it is, you get a yellow card and Saracens just stretched us in that period and tested our fitness.
“Certainly there were things we got wrong in the game, but ultimately it was not good enough.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Firstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
99 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
99 Go to commentsHo hum.
99 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
99 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
99 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
99 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
99 Go to commentsSpringboks won! Stop winging. You can change the game however much you and your rugby colonizing IRB want to and the Springboks will win you at that too. Your mind is colonized my friend get a life
99 Go to commentsBen, nobody gets fooled anymore by selective and biased data to support an hypothesis. Games are decided on such small margins these days that you win some and lose some, and dominance is a thing of the rugby past. Look at the RWC circle of fortune…. Ireland beats SA who beat France who beat NZ who beat Ireland. And so it goes on. Match officials help to eliminate real indiscretions. If they had been with us years before, no doubt results would have been different. Remember Andy Haden’s dive from a lineout in 1978 for which a match-wining penalty was awarded? Wales should have beaten the ABs that day. They took the loss like the gentlemen they were.
99 Go to commentsWith all the analysis and how good the all blacks were.The fundamental mistake with the ABs is that this is a test match and not an exhibition.There is no better team(country) in world rugby than the Boks that knows how to win a test match(we are post masters at this).We know our rules, we have the discipline, we tackle like beasts, we take our points and we never give up.I now have educated the ABs supporters(at least say thank you).Please stop “bitching” , accept what the outcome is and move along swiftly.
99 Go to commentsAnd they came from behind to win two big games before the final. No one can say what would have happened. Had the boks gone behind the game plan changes and the result may changes. Ifs and ands are irrelevant. The boks won. Neutral critics enjoyed the games they played. Its not a popularity contest. Get over it and move on.
99 Go to commentsI'm happy for the people of SA to get a second WC. And I mean that. I was very disappointed with this man's “stand on the hand” incident with Josh Van Der Flyer (Ireland). Ireland's downfall in the last WC was they did not rotate their first 15 as the head coach probably should have. That said, I'm happy for SA and genuinely hope it lifts the mood in their country. Ireland did beat them in the first match of the tournament. And before the trolls start trolling ….. please don't bother. Etzbeth said recently that the Irish players said after the match “see you in the final”…..this was actually wishing the SA team the best of luck in the rest, the Irish team were not dismissing the AB’s. This is what Etzbeth was implying. But he was wrong. I no longer live in Ireland. But I hope to see them lift that cup before I pass. Anyway, congratulations SA. 👍
12 Go to commentsMore bloody click bait. Dan Carter has said absolutely nothing. As he should do. Poor journalism again from a site that should know better
9 Go to commentsOh god please help these loosers get over it!!!! You lost. Doesn't matter how many times you dummies are gonna analyse the game, you still lost and we are still Rygby World Champions….get over it, you lost.
99 Go to commentsThe next Willie le Roux. SA are made not to use him.
3 Go to commentsDan has always been as controversial as tea with milk so we were never going to get any definitive answer. So DMac for the win.
9 Go to commentsGoodness. When are the All Blacks and New Zealand commentators going to stop complaining about how they could have won and just try to win next time 😂. In South Africa if you lose you get up and try again. Get over it.
99 Go to comments