McCall hails great display from Saracens in victory over Gloucester
Saracens head coach Mark McCall (pic: Andrew Matthews/PA) - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
Sarries enjoyed a 38-15 victory at home to West Country club in Gallagher Premiership fixture
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall felt his side delivered their best display of the season so far in beating Gloucester 38-15 in the Gallagher Premiership.
Maro Itoje scored a brace of tries for the north Londoners in the win, while David Strettle, Sean Maitland and Alex Lozowski also dotted down.
Owen Farrell, meanwhile, had a perfect day with the boot and added 13 points from the tee without missing a kick.
The victory maintained Sarries’ perfect start to the campaign and McCall expressed his delight with his team’s latest performance.
“I thought last weekend against Northampton Saints, we had made a step in the right direction physically and our intensity was much better than it had been in the previous two games,” he said.
“We felt we were a bit in-and-out of it in the Northampton game and weren’t persistent enough with that.
Most Read
- 1 Bentley Motor blue plaque in North London 'prized off wall and stolen'
- 2 I want to philately! Freddie Mercury’s stamp collection goes on display
- 3 Free beach returns to Finchley Road for the summer
- 4 Fences and padlocks at Primrose Hill once again
- 5 Royal Free denies allowing Tory MP to influence medical decision
- 6 Opening date confirmed for new Finchley Road Aldi
- 7 Alleged stalker sent '1,000 emails in a month’ to The Crown star Claire Foy
- 8 'Gabriels stun Koko – superstardom seems inevitable'
- 9 Family pay tribute to schoolgirl at West Hampstead bridge restoration
- 10 Bow Lock murder defendants blame each other for fatal attack
“I thought we were more persistent with that against Gloucester, especially in the first 25 minutes of the second half when we played into a strong wind.
“I felt like we were had control of the ball and field position. That part of the game was probably most pleasing.”
As well as contributing 18 points from the tee, Farrell enjoyed a superb game at fly-half as he pulled the strings for the hosts.
Much was made in the build-up of the battle at number 10 between Farrell and fellow England international Danny Cipriani, who has been left out of the national team’s squad for their upcoming training camp.
It was Farrell, however, who came out on top and McCall had special praise for his key player.
“Owen was incredibly influential. It wasn’t just his skillset, his passing and his kicking; it was the physical tone he set,” he added.
“Physically, he was incredible against Gloucester. We listened to the ref mic and vocally he was off the charts.
“He’s an incredible who adds in every way. It’s not just his skillset, it’s emotionally and physically as well with how he threw himself into contact.”