‘We talked about it’ – Saracens boss issues play-off rallying cry after Leicester Tigers victory
Mark McCall (right) has not given up hope on a play-off berth this season
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall refuses to give up on a possible late push for the play-offs, but admits his side need a few favours from teams around them to make it.
The North Londoners sit just six points behind the top four following their dramatic 19-17 victory over Leicester Tigers yesterday (Saturday, 25th April), and face fellow play-off hopefuls Bristol Bears in their next PREM outing.
Their victory over the Tigers was also their second in a row, following their 85-19 dismantling of Sale Sharks last week. It also marks a stark improvement in recent weeks, with Saracens losing 62-15 to Bath only a month ago.
‘We talked about the play-offs’
If Saracens are to make the play-offs this season, they will need a few things to go their way around the league, but McCall is not refusing to give up hope just yet.
“Before the Sale game last weekend, we talked about the play-offs,” he told members of the media. “There was a percentage going around about us making the top four, which was 15%.
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“We talked about it and said, ‘let’s try and take it north of that’. After the Sale win, it went to 18 per cent; I’m not sure where it’s going to go to now.
“We need some of the teams at the bottom to do us a favour, he continued. “It’s not in our hands, but we are in control of what we do. We’ve now had four good performances in a row (after the Bath defeat).
Saracens had control of the game in the early stages, leading 12-7 after just 20 minutes, but it was an Eroni Mawi try just after the start of the second half that finally got them ahead of their East Midlands opposition.
“There was a lot about the first half that I liked,” McCall said of their performance. “In the second half, though, we had much less of the ball and a big penalty count against us.
“But we showed the fight and grit that we have been lacking at times this season.”
McCall’s side do not have an easy run-in, though, with Bristol and Exeter still to play either side of meetings with Gloucester and arch-rivals Harlequins, but wins in all four matches and results elsewhere falling their way could see them claim a spot in the top four once more.