Saracens captain Owen Farrell is on a ‘whole new level’
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall hailed his skipper Owen Farrell after his man-of-the-match performance in the 35-25 Premiership final victory over Sale Sharks.
Farrell scored 13 points from the tee as Saracens secured their sixth title, with the captain and Alex Goode becoming the first two players to win that many finals.
“He’s playing the best rugby of his life”
McCall believes that his captain is playing the “best rugby of his life” and added that he has taken his leadership to “a whole new level”.
“If you spent a week at our training ground, you wouldn’t believe just how influential he is, how clear he is with the playing group, how emotive he is, what standards he sets, how supportive he is to team-mates young and old,” McCall said of Farrell.
“He’s playing the best rugby of his life at the moment, but his leadership has gone to a whole new level.
“When the game was in the balance, and it was 25-23 (to Sale), and we lacked a bit of energy, our senior players grasped the nettle really and saw us through very well in the last 15 or 20 minutes.
“We had a lot of control in that period of time, and I think that’s down to their experience in those situations. They’ve been there and done it before, and they showed a lot of experience when we needed it most.”
Owen Farrell reacts to Premiership success
After finishing top of the Premiership table this season and reaching the final again, Saracens went one better this campaign after falling to a last-gasp drop goal last year.
Farrell insists there is plenty more to come from the club going forward and dismissed the notion of redemption for that painful loss to Leicester Tigers.
Asked about the result in the context of Saracens’ recent setbacks, the fly-half said: “It feels important, but I’m not too sure, if I’m honest.
“I think what’s more important is how we’ve been all season. The difference that we made at the start of the year, the difference in raising our ceiling of where we can go.
“And, at this moment in time, regardless of how today went, it still feels like there is a lot for this young team now still to go.
“There is a feeling of wanting to get the best out of ourselves, and that will carry on for a long time now.”
Sale will be back
Meanwhile, Sale Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson admits the loss was “crushing”. Looking forward, Sanderson believes his underdogs will be back at Twickenham in the near future.
“If I was to put it (the defeat) on anything, it’s difficult because there are a million moments that make a difference,” he said.
“I’ve yet to go and pull them (the players) in and tell them to get used to this place. Just in the few conversations I’ve had, there’s a feeling that we’ll be here again.
“The odd fairytale does happen, but rarely from my experience. You’ve just got to be better at handling moments like the ones that occurred today, and that takes experience.
“That’s what we’ll build on. We’ll just get better; we’re a young side for the most part.
“I’m sure after the crushing feeling I have right now of missed opportunity, the underlying emotion will be one of pride and excitement for what we can build on.”
READ MORE: Premiership final: Five takeaways from Saracens v Sale Sharks as Owen Farrell masterclass helps secure sixth title
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