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The rival Premiership player that has most impressed Mark McCall

(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Title-chasing Saracens boss Mark McCall has named a Leicester Tigers forward as the rival club player that has impressed him most across the 2021/22 Gallagher Premiership season. The campaign is down to its semi-final stage where this Saturday McCall’s 2021 Championship title winners play host to Harlequins, the defending Premiership champions, while Leicester entertain Northampton.

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Ahead of those games, all four club bosses – McCall, Tabai Matson, Steve Borthwick and Chris Boyd – attended the PRL awards night on Tuesday where they held a fascinating round table Q&A that was published in the UK Telegraph on Friday.

Among the wide-ranging questions posed, the directors of rugby were asked who would they pick as the player of the season outside of their own club? Saracens boss McCall had no hesitation in naming Julian Montoya, the Argentine hooker at Leicester, as his choice.

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It was last season when the 28-year-old first checked in at the Tigers but injury and Test rugby demands meant he only played six games in that 2020/21 campaign. Now, though, he has been in the vanguard of the surge to the top of the table by Leicester, scoring seven tries in his 16 league appearances while also figuring prominently in the club’s run to the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals.

“The person I admire because he also plays international rugby but he seems to give his club side everything he has got week in, week out with unbelievable quality is Montoya from Leicester,” said McCall, the long-serving Saracens DoR.

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The soon-to-depart Northampton boss Boyd chose Harlequins’ Danny Care, Quins boss Matson plumped for Leicester’s Richard Wigglesworth while Tigers coach Borthwick chose Wasps veteran Jimmy Gopperth who, coincidently, is joining Leicester for the 2022/23 season.

On Wigglesworth, Matson said: “Maybe I’m being sentimental, but I think that longevity is the true test of high performance. If you have a couple of seasons followed by one bad one you get spat out at this level, so I will go Richard Wigglesworth. This is the toughest league in the world and his numbers are testament to someone who delivers week in, week out.”

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C
CO 27 minutes ago
Forget Ireland, the All Blacks face the real alpha of Europe next

I cannot believe that you don't think the French rugby team coach and captain are not discussing putting Jalibert on the bench in favour of Duponts club teammate that doesn't even play at 10.


This is a terrible, massive insult to a 10 and I'm sure Dupont would also be very enraged if benched for a player that doesn't even play halfback.


A good captain would've insisted to the coach that it was an idea of madness and either select Jalibert or replace him with another 10 if you want him to be reserve.


Jalibert may not be the world's finest tacklers but that's often not a tens main strength that the loose forwards and second five cover. An intercept pass is never great but they happen.


When any player is playing for his club then it's club first, respect doesn't need to be shown to opposition players simply because they're internationals.


Who exactly are you claiming Jalibert hasn't respected? If it's Toulouse international players then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this bench demotion out.


The outcome of selecting Jalibert to the bench and he then throwing his croissants out the window of the team bus immediately prior to playing the Allblacks is a disaster that will be team disharmony as any team mates of Jalibert are in a state of anger and revolt so a performance that will be sub optimal against a team that is thirsting for revenge against France.


I don't know about you but the Allblacks are very upset they've lost twice in a row to France and want to put out a statement performance so this preparation by Galthie of creating havoc looks to me like a coach that is clueless.

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