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Saracens select all five Lions to start the second leg despite a 60-0 lead over Ealing

(Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

Saracens have a 60 points advantage in their two-legged Championship final versus Ealing Trailfinders but boss Mark McCall is going all out in this Sunday’s second meeting as he has named an unchanged starting line-up that includes a dozen internationals and all five of the club’s 2021 Lions tour picks.

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The 2019 Gallagher Premiership and Heineken Champions Cup double winners were in irresistible form last weekend at Vallis Way, smashing Ealing’s hopes of causing an upset with a power-packed performance.

However, despite promotion back to the Premiership now being secured, McCall has opted against taking anything easy for the second leg of the final as he has included Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Maro Itoje, Owen Farrell and Elliot Daly to start for Saracens before they link up with the Lions in Jersey.

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      Warren Gatland’s squad have been preparing on the Channel Island this past week ahead of their South African tour and they will be joined by the Saracens contingent at training next week for the pre-tour departure match in Edinburgh versus Japan.

      Even Springboks pick Vincent Koch isn’t taking anything easy before he flies home to join up with Rassie Erasmus’ South Africa squad as he too has been included by McCall to start at the StoneX. It will be Koch’s 100th appearance for the club and he becomes the 13th centurion player in the current Saracens squad.

      “It’s a massive honour and I’m very humbled by it. This club has been on an unbelievable journey and it’s a dream come true to make 100 appearances,” said Koch on the Saracens website ahead of the second leg match. “From day one the coaches have looked after me and it’s an honour to play with such world-class players week in, week out. The way the club has looked after my family is amazing, it is truly special to be part of this club both on and off the field.”

      SARACENS (vs Ealing, Sunday): 15. Alex Goode; 14. Alex Lewington, 13. Elliot Daly, 12. Nick Tompkins, 11. Sean Maitland, 10. Owen Farrell (capt), 9. Aled Davies; 1. Mako Vunipola, 2. Jamie George, 3. Vincent Koch, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Tim Swinson, 6. Michael Rhodes, 7. Jackson Wray, 8. Billy Vunipola. Reps: 16. Tom Woolstencroft, 17. Ralph Adams-Hale, 18. Alec Clarey, 19. Callum Hunter-Hill, 20. Andy Christie, 21. Tom Whiteley, 22. Manu Vunipola, 23. Duncan Taylor.

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      IkeaBoy 1 hour ago
      Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us

      Very, very thoughtful piece!


      It’s far too much rugby for players as it stands and the new competitions - club world cup and Nations cup - are proposed on the basis it’s the best players competing who will usually be established test players.


      An established NH test player is in pre-season from August (at the latest) then going thorough until the following July. They likely will have carried niggles and some injuries into their pre-season. They would then have between 22-30 domestic games if their teams went far and contested finals in say the URC and CC. Although many would have stand down periods, they would still train and be squad ready for all of those games.


      Their test commitments across that same time would be 3/4 games (Nov series) then 5 games (6 Nations) with a rest for the July development tours. That rest would only now be once every 4 years with the Lions, Nations Cup and RWC warm-ups occupying the July window.


      A squad player at club level would potentially have a full run of games in any given season but run a greater risk of injury the more often they play. They would likely know that form alone wouldn’t get them to the next level and into a national squad. It would be their bodies and their ability to recover quickly and deal with elite level competition. They wouldn’t have the baseline of having played an 11 month season so how could they upsurge a 40 cap player?


      I think there will be a huge divide before long between solid club players, who are basically salary men, and the ringfenced test animals who will likely dwindle in numbers as their playing demands increase.

      13 Go to comments
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      LONG READ Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us