Saracens vow not to be intimidated by Toulon ahead of Heineken Cup semi-final

The sides meet at Twickenham on Sunday

Brad Barritt and Joel Tomkins leap on Chris Ashton to celebrate his try for Saracens (Getty Images)

Director of rugby Mark McCall insists Saracens should not be intimidated by Toulon's vast array of proven internationals when the sides meet at Twickenham in Sunday's Heineken Cup semi-final.

Jonny Wilkinson, Bakkies Botha, Frederic Michalak and Matt Giteau are among the household names scattered throughout the squad of the big-spending French club, who are all also chasing silverware on two fronts.

"It seems to me that Toulon have brought in the right kind of people this time around," McCall said.

"They have signed players who have been successful in other places but who are still motivated and ambitious.

"That's critical and when you bring together 15-20 very motivated world-class players, then you'll get some success.

"But at the same time we're in good form ourselves and have lots of great players and we're confident we can give them a run for their money.

"We've been on a great journey in this year's campaign. We beat Racing Metro twice, Munster once and then got a great win against Ulster in the quarter-finals."

Saracens enter the match without openside Will Fraser, who has been sidelined with the shoulder injury sustained in last Saturday's 28-23 defeat at Gloucester.

"It's very unfortunate for Will because he's been instrumental in getting us to this stage," McCall said.

"It's more of a loss to Will than the team, because he would have played. He's been fantastic all season and is a top young-age talent.

"But we have some really good back rows at the club, so we'll be able to accommodate Will's loss. We just feel for him."

PA