Press Notes | McCall eagerly anticipating Derby Day

Director of Rugby Mark McCall says these matches are the ones that bring the best out of the group as they prepare to head to table-topping Harlequins on Saturday.

The Men in Black take on their local rivals under the lights this weekend in what promises to be a blockbuster occasion, and the boss can’t wait for it.

“Derby games are great. A weekend of derby fixtures is brilliant for the Premiership and we’re really looking forward to the game. Quins are flying high at the top of the table so we know we have a big challenge this week.

When you go somewhere and it’s a full house and most of that is against you, it’s usually the kind of occasion that brings the best out of our group.

Plenty of our group have played in this fixture a lot and they’ll be talking to the ones that haven’t before to give them a flavour for it.”

Harlequins have won four of their five matches so far this season, and McCall has been impressed with how they have flown out of the blocks in the Gallagher Premiership.

“They (Quins) have been there or there abouts over the last few years at the right end of the table. They are building something really strong so it promises to be a great game which I’m sure will be sold out. They were impressive against Leicester and are playing really well at the moment.

We’re at a stage when all the games are big for different reasons. Quins are currently five points ahead of us and we don’t want that gap to grow.”

Sarries head in to the derby on the back of the three wins in a row which has given him plenty of optimism.

“We’ve had three good weeks for varying reasons. We’re really pleased with how the group performed in Newcastle.

It’s a group effort. We’ve used 35 players in the last three games against Gloucester, Leicester and Newcastle. We don’t want people to play every minute of every match and have to trust the squad.”

Finally, he praised Andy Christie who has been in fine form and has also signed a new deal to remain at StoneX Stadium for the long term.

"It was a tough end of season for Andy to break his arm and then miss out on World Cup selection. It’s a hard thing to take but he handled it incredibly well and has matured a lot over the last 18 months or so. He’s one of a few players of a similar age in our squad and we see him as a real leader going forward."