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Mark McCall reveals he expected more from Saracens after win over London Irish

By PA
(Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Saracens boss Mark McCall was unsatisfied by a 40-12 Gallagher Premiership victory over London Irish despite presiding over a six-try mismatch at Twickenham Stoop.

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The double winners crushed understrength opposition with the line-out drive their primary weapon as hooker Jamie George and prop Richard Barrington claimed two tries each to continue the countdown to the European quarter-final against Leinster.

Only three games remain before Saracens play the match that gives meaning to their season having been relegated from the Premiership for persistent salary cap breaches and McCall insisted they are not where they need to be.

“It was a bit patchy from us. We did some good things but we didn’t sustain the good things,” the director of rugby said.

“At half-time we were disappointed with how we had defended in the first half. We wanted to step that up and we did. We were very difficult to play against in the second half and that’s the type of team we want to be.

“Our line-out drive hasn’t gone so well but it went much better. In general when we had good field position in the 22 we came away with a lot of points and that was encouraging because it’s one of the things we’ve talked about.

“We’re definitely not quite where we need to be for the Leinster game, although individually some of our players are playing really well.

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“We’re building towards that and to play a game like this which has less meaning, it will always feel a little bit different.”

McCall revealed that fly-half Owen Farrell and prop Mako should recover from respective thigh and back injuries in time to face Wasps on Saturday, which he said would be treated as the final run-out for his first-choice 15 before Leinster.

Irish picked nine academy representatives in their side and paid the price as Saracens raced clear despite never hitting top gear.

“With the way the games come, that was our best available team and they didn’t let themselves down individually,” Exiles director of rugby Declan Kidney said.

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“They deserved their run and they got more right than wrong. Experience-wise this will only stand them in good stead.

“Saracens are a professional outfit and are proud, they won’t just go through the motions. We managed to score tries and had one or two more opportunities.”

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SK 40 minutes ago
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That fighting Aussie spirit really served them well last week when they were down 24-5 early in the second, to rally back to 27-19 and dominate the last quarter was really impressive. I dont subscribe to the thought that the Lions took their foot off the gas. The Lions are not flawless. This group goes through periods in matches where they run riot and then through other periods where their game almost devolves as they try to play too much and lose all momentum falling flat. The strongest most consistent part of their game is their defence. I feel like the weakest part could be their set piece especially that creaky scrum which really should be doing better against Australia. If this Lions side was playing against the Springboks or All Blacks they would not be winning collisions and their set piece would be under serious scrutiny. Australia must try to do better in the collisions and put more pressure on the Lions set piece. They must bring line speed and power to their defence. They cannot afford to give up any soft tries and they must bring urgency at the start of the game. They need to force the Lions to play on their terms and to play from behind. If the Lions race out to an early lead all bets are off, if they keep momentum for a protracted period the game will be up. Australia must spoil, harass, frustrate and compete in every ruck, maul, scrum and lineout. Its time to face the Lions head on.

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H
Hellhound 1 hour ago
Steve Hansen: The Boks are 'rolling the dice and so far they’ve got away with it'

As I said, always blame the ref. The Boks can't win unless the ref helped. It was a hooker and not a prop. You don't even have your facts straight. You just confirmed what I said idiot. Blame the ref for the try😂As for hate? I don't hate the AB's, just some of their fans like you. You don't look at the whole picture. All you see is AB's players. You don't look at the opposition. No, you see what you want to see and then open your mouth, spew drivel and then get heated up about it screaming hate. Yes, the Boks haven't won in NZ in awhile. Boo hoo, cry me a river. That will change. A very strong AB's side barely beat a weak C French team and you think they are in such a good place. I would not bleat such prowess if I were you. The Boks played against much weaker opposition and they were very disappointing. Lots to work on. However, we know what these Boks are capable of. We know what the youngsters are capable of. We know the depth we have and that depth is extreme. Lots of new youngsters bleeding through too. Better than most of the current AB's. Have you watched the URC? No. Japan league? No. English Premiership? No. You watch SR and you are awed by what you see. You think the world will fall at the AB's feet, that they will smash everyone in front of them(couldn't do it to a C French team). You are blind. Foolish. Big mouth and overhyping a team that is already out of time for the WC. At the most 17 Tests left to give players time to shine. Razor doesn't even have a full A team yet. Prospects yes. Possible future stars, yes. The Boks have about 3 teams, and about 3 teams with star studded youngsters that can shift up. What will the AB's do when there is injuries? Red card bans? AB's are good. They always will be. However, they are wafer thin in the talent department. As I said, I love the AB's, just not all its arrogant supporters of which you are one. You get good supporters, not you, and then bad woke idiots, that's you!

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