11 April 2023 , 14:09
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Mark McCall is to wrap his Saracens stars in cotton wool in a calculated attempt to prevent Champions Cup elimination derailing their Premiership title tilt.
The Londoners lead the league by 11 points with five weeks left of the regular season but face a challenge to reset after being outmuscled by La Rochelle.
Seven times in the last 10 years English rugby’s top-ranked team has failed to make it through the play-offs and, having booked their post-season spot last month, Sarries’ next match of consequence is not until the second weekend in May.
Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Jamie George and Mako Vunipola has each played huge matches in the Six Nations, Premiership and Europe, over the past five weekends and McCall is acutely aware of the need to get the balance right between rest and match sharpness.
“We have five weeks until we play a home semi-final in the Premiership,” he said before flying home. “I’m pleased we have the luxury of that as we need to look after some bodies.
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“I’m not sure how many of them will play in the next few weeks, to be honest.”
Fijian flanker Levani Botia led Saracens a merry dance in Sunday's quarter-final (Icon Sport via Getty Images)He would do well to look at how Steve Borthwick managed Leicester’s run-in last season given that they too were well beaten in the quarter-finals of Europe and led the Premiership by a similar margin.
McCall needs no reminding that Tigers ended up beating Saracens in the final with a last-gasp drop goal, but it is how the now England boss managed them in the preceding weeks that is particularly relevant.
His tactic was to remind the players of the club’s painful recent past and use that to fuel their focus through the run-in.
Billy Vunipola is awaiting results of a scan on knee injury which led to him being stretchered off (Getty Images)“You’re talking about a club here that very nearly got relegated two years ago, a club that wasn’t really respected,” he told them. “To come back from that, every game is important, every week is important.”
McCall can play the same emotional card given Saracens’ enforced relegation in 2020 for salary cap cheating and the year they spent playing mainly part-timers in the second tier.
The Ulsterman’s team selection is highly relevant to the play-off race as Saracens’ next two games are against top-five sides Northampton and London Irish.
Max Malins is held by La Rochelle forward Reda Wardi (Getty Images)His hand is slightly forced in the back row where Billy Vunipola, who suffered suspected knee-ligament damage here on Sunday, undergoes a scan today.
Sarries have already lost Theo McFarland with a season-ending ACL injury and his replacement Andy Christie broke his arm against Ospreys a week ago.
“We’re probably on a new journey post being in the Championship,” said McCall. “This is one of those experiences that you realise, against a top top side, the level you need to be at and go to.
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“We weren’t quite at that level. But we have five weeks to learn all the things we need to learn from this game and put that into practise against whoever we play in the semi-final.”