Saracens adopt controversial Jake White ploy for Champions Cup knockouts
Saracens have copied Jake White's selection tactics from last season.
Saracens have copied Jake White’s selection tactics from last season as Mark McCall’s charges prepare to tackle Toulon in the Investec Champions Cup last-16.
Last season, Bulls boss White came under fire for his decision to select a full-strength team against Munster in the United Rugby Championship as the race for the play-offs heated up before sending a second-string team to face Northampton Saints in the Champions Cup quarter-finals.
Saracens to rest stars
The ploy did not pay off for the Bulls, who would lose both fixtures, but McCall felt that it could work for Saracens as the director of rugby selected his England players in the two Premiership matches right after the Six Nations.
In fact, the Sarries boss made the decision that a second-string team would tackle Toulon in the Champions Cup mid-way through the Six Nations.
While Saracens fell to a defeat at the hands of Harlequins in the showdown at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, they claimed a crucial victory over Leicester Tigers.
If McCall’s ploy to rest his England stars for the clash against Toulon results in a victory, it is likely to be rewarded with a quarter-final against Toulouse in the south of France.
This led to the decision to focus on the Premiership instead.
“We made the decision to do this halfway through the Six Nations. After we lost to Castres we got on the difficult side of the draw so we were always going to do this and those players are all off now for the next seven to 10 days,” McCall said.
“They will all miss Toulon. We don’t have to do that but we will. We think it’s unwise not to rest them. It’s very important that they get rest.
“They have to do it in one of the three games after the Six Nations so we took the decision to prioritise the Premiership. Your hand is forced, to some extent. We’re just realistic about what’s possible.
“A lot of the English teams have done this, it’s not just us. We had our big game at Tottenham last weekend and it was essential that we had our best players playing.
“We will send our best available team to Toulon. We’re not going to send a pack of 18-year-olds out against Toulon, but we’ll also give it a crack with absolutely nothing to lose.”
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White’s backlash
As mentioned above, it’s a similar ploy that White copped a lot of heat for last season and faced accusations in the media of disrespecting the tournament. He explained that his hands were tied because of medical concerns.
“I haven’t disrespected it at all,” White said after the loss to Northampton Saints. “This is not a ‘B-Team’ or a second team.
“This is the team I felt needed game time, based on combinations. I wasn’t prepared to take a risk on players I will need in the back end of a competition.”
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