Friends reunited for Scotland wing
SEAN Maitland returns to his old stomping ground today determined to help Saracens get off to a perfect start after last season’s disappointing quarter-final exit to Leinster.
After back-to-back European titles in 2016 and 2017, Mark McCall’s men were knocked off their perch last season after losing three pool matches, including a 46-14 home thrashing by Clermont, taking them to Dublin in the last eight.
With their array of monster forwards back in harness and firing again, grateful Scotland winger Maitland said: “They’re not just a big pack, they work bloody hard and seeing what they do at scrum, lineout and maul is awesome.
“They’re providing some real good ball for us backs and the fact we’ve scored 29 tries in six league games shows their contribution.
“When you come up against the big packs of Europe it’s important that you can compete against these guys. We struggled a bit last season because some of our big boys were injured, but everyone’s firing at the moment.”
Maitland anticipates a see-saw contest against a Glasgow outfit he knows well from his time spent at Scotstoun.
He added: “We’re six from six in the Premiership and last week’s win at Harlequins was our most satisfying as we had to grind it out in poor conditions.
“So the boys have got that extra edge about them and we’re going to need it because Glasgow will give this a real good crack. That’s what they do and knowing their players as I do, they’ll chuck it around and express themselves.
“Scotstoun was a bog when I played for them three years ago but they’ve got a 4G pitch now and it’s going to be a great game.”