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Mark McCall chuffed Saracens beat a style 'unique in world rugby'
By Liam Heagney at Ashton Gate, Bristol
Mark McCall has heralded the defiance show by his Saracens side to recover from an early 17-32 second-half deficit at league leaders Bristol to clinch a dramatic 37-35 win with the final kick of the match and go top of the Gallagher Premiership after round five.
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Alex Lozowski, who is back in the England squad and looking for a first cap since 2018, was dead-eyed off the kicking tee, scoring 17 points through landing seven kicks from seven, the last coming in the 83rd-minute despite a chorus of boos from Bears fans distraught their team was about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Bristol, on numerous occasions, threatened to run up a big margin of victory as their attack was mesmerising in a fixture where they generated 16 linebreaks to the visitors five.
However, having scored five tries, they tensed up coming down the finishing straight and after Elliot Daly’s second converted try on 72 minutes left just a point between the teams, the concessions of two late penalties lost them territory and ultimately the match, leaving McCall chuffed with the outcome.
“I have been at the club a long time and I can’t remember a win like that one,” he enthused with a beaming smile. “There were so many occasions where it felt like they [Bristol] were on top, and somehow there was this fighting spirit amongst the group throughout all those moments to find a way.
“Even if we had lost, I would have been proud of how we did. We had quite a lot to contend with this week with some injuries which you guys [the media] wouldn’t even know about and the ones you do know about. And some illness that was floating around the camp that put a couple of people out. But people like Jamie George and Elliot Daly had the illness and played and got through.
“And then to just show the fighting spirit that we did at various points because their attack is superb. It really is. It’s unique in world rugby. No one is attacking the way they are attacking. They make you feel bad a lot because their linebreaks are 30-40 metres and somehow we found a way to get back and fight and somehow won the match. Really proud of the fighting spirit we had.
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“I see Bristol challenging, 100 per cent,” he added, offering solace to their deflated Ashton Gate hosts. “No one attacks like this. It’s incredible. We know it’s coming. We practice our restarts all week and they scored off our two at the start of the second half.
“They caused us so many problems all day, and it is a phenomenal way of playing – it must be a joy to play for them – and I am so glad that we scored a couple more points than them.”
Pat Lambe must be one of the best attack coach in the world. Connaught win a Celtic League comprehensively with relatively inferior players but with an attack no-one could live with. Leinster and Ireland looked at this and learned.