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‘Blame me’ says Billy Vunipola, but Saracens' director of rugby Mark McCall rules out big signings

Billy Vunipola criticised his own work rate during Saracens’ defeat by Clermont Auvergne

Hugh Godwin
Monday 20 April 2015 08:29 BST
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Saracens' Billy Vunipola, Jim Hamilton and Maro Itoje walk off the pitch
Saracens' Billy Vunipola, Jim Hamilton and Maro Itoje walk off the pitch

England No 8 Billy Vunipola manfully tried to take the blame for Saracens’ latest painful loss in the European Champions Cup but the implications of Saturday’s 13-9 semi-final defeat by Clermont Auvergne in Saint-Etienne were wide-ranging.

“I let my team down by putting them under pressure,” said Vunipola, thinking of incidents such as his decision to run the ball from a defensive ruck that led to Brock James’ concluding penalty goal seven minutes from full-time. “There were a few occasions when we were on the front foot and got turned over – I think three, to be precise – and occasions when I could have done better rolling on the floor, not letting myself get isolated. I could have worked a bit harder.”

There were also occasions when Vunipola’s breakdown work was brilliant against a quality Clermont team who deservedly reached their second final, with a promise to bring 20,000 supporters to their meeting with Toulon at Twickenham on 2 May.

Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, predicted a bright future for a pack based on the Vunipola brothers – Mako, 24, and Billy, 22 – plus George Kruis, Maro Itoje and Jamie George, who are 25, 20 and 24 respectively.

McCall also said the answer for next season at least – when Saracens will try again to land the big prize after falling short in the knockout rounds for the last four years – would not be to sign a high-profile marquee player whose wages are exempt from the salary cap.

“We know where we’d like to improve, and we’re prepared to wait for the right person,” McCall said. “We don’t just want to get a ‘name’ because he’s available post-World Cup. It’s got to be someone with the right kind of ambition and hunger.”

Criticising his old province Ulster’s signing of the All Blacks wing Charles Piutau for upping the market rate, McCall added: “I’m a great believer that people should get what they deserve but it’s getting more difficult when some clubs splash big on someone who probably doesn’t deserve that kind of salary.”

Sarries’ stifling game plan was undone for the only try of the match by a brief loss of poise when Richard Wigglesworth and Alex Goode simultaneously covered the short side of a ruck and were picked off by James’ clever chip into the resulting space, finished by Wesley Fofana.

It left Clermont full-back Nick Abendanon relishing a first run at Twickenham after a long wait since his second and last England cap in 2007: “I wasn’t involved in the team who lost the final [against Toulon in 2013] but we’re very confident we can go on and do it. Saracens very rarely change anything, we knew exactly what they were going to bring. Lucky for us, we handled it pretty well.”

Saracens fly-half Owen Farrell refocused attention on the Premiership campaign, after coming on as a substitute for his first appearance in 12 weeks after a knee injury. “We’ve got some big games coming up now to try and get a home semi-final [in the Premiership],” Farrell said. It begins with Northampton in Milton Keynes on Saturday.

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