Saracens show steel in Paris

 

Sarries will be England’s sole representative in the semifinals of the European Champions Cup, after a 12-11 win in France – which was secured with Marcelo Bosch’s penalty, which was awarded with just 15 seconds left on the clock.

 

McCall admitted afterwards that he felt Alex Goode would be more suited to the kick than Bosch, with the ball 55 metres from the posts and against a strong wind.

 

But he said the player’s nerve was vital in kicking the penalty, which booked them a semifinal against Clermont in St Etienne in a fortnight.

 

“I was surprised to see it was Bosch taking it, because I thought it was in Alex Goode's range," McCall said.

 

"But the wind was very strong, so it was Bosch's range. 

 

"He had the nerve to say he wanted it, which is half the battle. He hit it pretty sweetly.

 

"Marcelo is pretty cool.  He's pretty laid back, but like anybody, that's one of those kicks that if you miss it can cause the damage.

 

"I'm very grateful that he held his nerve. He also made the tackle on our goalline that kept us in the match as well.

 

"We weren't great in the first half even though we had a very strong wind behind us.

 

"But that's where it turned around and I'd say our second-half performance was as courageous, brave and as hard working as I've seen.

 

"We went hunting and kept knocking them down and scrapped for absolutely everything."

 

Bosch said the secret to his success was to stay calm and to not ‘force it’ in such difficult circumstances.

 

"With kicks like this you're either the hero of the day or the bad guy, so I'm happy that it went my way.

 

"I just stayed relaxed and fortunately it went through the posts," Bosch said.

 

"Sometimes they ask me if I'm keen to take the long-range kicks and because of the wind it was not a good distance for the other kickers. I said: 'Why not? I can take it'. As they say, the rest is history."