McCall impressed with 'ruthless' win in Coventry

Director of Rugby Mark McCall praised his players after their ruthless performance against Coventry ensured that they will feature in the end of season play-offs.

The Men in Black won their eighth match in a row and withstood a physical Coventry side who were cheered on by a highly vocal fan base, which gave McCall significant satisfaction.

“Their crowd made a big difference and they really got behind their team. Their players got stuck in the whole game and that scoreline isn’t fair on the effort that they put in.” Said McCall.

He added: “We had to scramble quite a few times so I’m really pleased with how we responded to the challenge in a really competitive and physical game.”

When asked where he would rank that performance in terms of the season so far, he said it was up there with the best.

“Overall what’s been a little bit frustrating is that we’ve been in and out of games and had a few lapses of concentration, but that was a lot better.

“We defended like everything mattered and even when we had a good lead it still felt that way which was a massive positive.”

The win over Coventry means that a bonus-point victory against Hartpury on Saturday will see Saracens top the table, and McCall believes that would be a real accomplishment for his side.

“We have a good challenge ahead of us on Saturday to win that game with a bonus point and come top of the table.

“Given we lost our first game, that would be a really great achievement for this group. We have used 41 players this season so it’s been a proper squad effort from everyone.”