McCall proud of his tired troops

MARK McCall admitted Saracens were ‘hanging on and looking tired’ after their European exertions.

The Sarries director of rugby said: “What I’m most proud of is what happened in the second half. We kept on fighting and scrapping and found a way to stay in the game – and we had the game with seconds left.

“I’m sad but we can be proud of ourselves. We didn’t do much wrong to be honest. It’s hard but Exeter played some great rugby at times.”

Exeter players paid tribute to the tremendous support from the Chiefs “tribe” as a packed Sandy Park throbbed with atmosphere. “The crowd were immense and kept us going,” said flanker Kai Horstmann. “We stuck to our guns. We had to show our mettle but we won it.”

Full-back Phil Dollman said: “It’s always great to play in front of this crowd.

“The lads put in a great shift and we thoroughly deserved it. We knew we had to give that extra five per cent against a very good Saracens side and we produced it.”

Ollie Devoto added: “We knew it was going to be tough but this is a special place to be at the moment.”