MAC: GLOBAL PLAN MIGHT KILL CLUBS

SARACENSSARA GLASGOW SARACENSSARA boss Mark McCall fears proposals for a global seasonseaso will shorten careers for stars such as Owen Farrell and Billy VunipolaV – while crippling professionalprofes club rugby. A An new schedule is due to come in for 2 2020 which will see top internationalinterna players forced to play 11 months of the year from September to the end of July.

McCall warns that will flog his big guns, forcing them out of the club game – and leave behind the same mess as in county cricket, where the biggest stars like Joe Root and Ben Stokes now rarely feature.

McCall (right), ahead of today’s Champions Cup quarter-final, said: “Where does it leave the international players in terms of recovery? You’ve got three competing interests – player welfare, international rugby and club rugby. All pulling in different directions. Something has to give.

“County cricket used to be quite important, and it is gone.

“Professional club rugby is still just finding its feet, and we need to be careful it retains significance.”

McCall can call on all his big guns – bar lock George Kruis – against Glasgow as Sarries hunt a repeat of last year’s European and Premiership double. But prop Mako Vunipola warned: “Teams now play better against us. We have that target on our backs.”

Glasgow have Lions hopefuls Stuart Hogg, Finn Russell, Tommy Seymour and Jonny Gray starting.

In the day’s other Champions Cup quarter-final, English coaches Mike Ford and Richard Cockerill take their Toulon team to Clermont.