McCall bemoans ‘horrible six minutes’ in Saracens’ defeat to Saints

Saracens boss Mark McCall was left ruing a ‘horrible six minutes’ after his side fell to defeat against Saints on Saturday.
Jackson Wray was carried off on a stretcher (picture: Sharon Lucey)Jackson Wray was carried off on a stretcher (picture: Sharon Lucey)
Jackson Wray was carried off on a stretcher (picture: Sharon Lucey)

McCall’s men had been in command of the affair at stadium:mk after two Chris Wyles tries.

But England No.8 Billy Vunipola missed a huge chance to extend their lead before the break and was then forced off with an ankle injury.

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His replacement, Jackson Wray, was on the field for less than two minutes before he was knocked out by an accidental clash of heads with a team-mate.

And Saints took charge after the break, storming back from 17-13 down to secure a vital 25-20 win that takes them a step closer to a home play-off semi-final on May 23.

“We started the game well, we were clinical with first few scores that we got but then we had a horrible six minutes where Billy drops the ball over the line which would have made it 21-10,” said McCall.

“Then Billy rolls his ankle, and it was a big blow to lose a player like him, then his replacement is off two minutes later. It was a poor six minutes.

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“That being said, we were 20-13 up after 25 minutes but we didn’t deal with a restart, then we got penalised then Maro Itoje was sin-binned and the momentum of the whole game swung. In fairness to the Saints, they took advantage of that brilliantly.

“I thought it was a two-point game and we when we fared their defence in the last 20 minutes, we could have been a little bit smarter.

“I don’t think we managed our energy well enough in the last 20 minutes and I still think there was a game to be won.

“If we’d been a little bit smarter we still could won the match.”

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