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Owen Farrell is preparing his Saracen teammates for the Champions Cup quarter-finals against Leinster by adopting the role of Johnny Sexton in practice this week. Farrell is suspended for Saturday’s game in Dublin, but Saracens rugby manager Mark McCall has revealed how the England captain continues to play a crucial role in preparing his team.
Leinster, undefeated since losing last season’s European final loss to the Saracens, was a huge favorite this weekend even earlier. Farrell’s five-week suspension for dangerous tackle confirmed last week, but although he can’t line up at Aviva Stadium, the star out of the middle leads the opposition’s attack in training.
Alex Goode is emerging as the favorite to wear the number 10 jersey against Leinster, although the Saracens could still turn to 20-year-old Manu Vunipola, while Farrell is likely to take on the duties of water carrier during the match. Sexton, known to Farrell from two British & Irish Lions tours together, rested for Leinster’s final victory over Ulster on Saturday at Pro14, but is ready to return midway through.
“[Owen is] directing the opposition against us, directing some of Leinster’s plays, so it will be a huge help for us this week, ”said McCall, whose team chartered a private flight to Dublin on Friday. “He just wants to help. He regrets the situation he’s in but now he just wants to help the team as much as he can.
“We have two options: move [Alex] Goode up to flyhalf and play Elliot [Daly] in fullback or stick Manu [Vunipola] there. The core of the 23 will be identifiable as a team that has played a lot of knockout rugby in the last five years. The core is very strong. “
Non-compliance with the salary cap
It has been a tumultuous season for the Saracens as the club was heavily fined and scored 35 points in November for repeated wage cap violations before being automatically relegated from the Gallagher Premiership in January.
A rare bright spot has been the development of Vunipola, who starred in to help a young XV beat an equally inexperienced Exeter on Sunday. He also caught the attention of his rugby director when he kicked the Saracens to victory at Gloucester in November, days after the double winners had been punished for the first time for various wage cap violations.
McCall added: “Manu has certainly shown throughout the year that every time we’ve given him a new challenge, he has met that challenge. One that comes to mind the most is the game at Kingsholm. It was a few days after the original decision and it was quite an emotional occasion.
“As a young player, he handled that. It is not the easiest place to play as a young man and he handled himself very well that day. Throughout the season he has continued to acquire these experiences.
The Saracens are aware of the “enormous challenge” they face in Dublin against a team that has not tasted defeat since these teams met in Newcastle in May 2019. This weekend could be Sarries’ last in Europe for a long time and McCall says the competition has been a lifesaver for them after they triumphed in essential matchups against Ospreys and Racing to qualify for the knockout stage.
“When we got the 35-point deduction in early November, we quickly made the decision to put all our eggs in the Premiership survival basket,” he said.
“That meant conceding to Europe for that season and we continued with that strategy, I guess, until the penultimate game, which was in Swansea. In fact, we heard Friday night, they warned me that it would be automatic (relegation), and we were playing the Ospreys the next day.
“We left most of our seasoned players at home based on the original strategy and Rhys Carre was sent off in the first five minutes so winning that day with a really young group and some really good senior players gave us the line. of life we needed. “
Meanwhile, Leinster’s James Ryan, who faces a head-to-head showdown with Maro Itoje in the second row, fears that Farrell’s absence could end up working in favor of the defending champions. “It will galvanize them and they will be very motivated,” he said. “They have a lot of depth and a very strong squad. They are still an enormously dangerous side. “- Guardian
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