McCall - We're making our mark

Saracens head coach Mark McCall thinks his team came of age in the Heineken Cup with the "fantastic" 37-28 win over Racing Metro in France.

McCall saw his team recover from a horror opening half hour to clinch a vital win over the Paris giants and that has left Saracens one win away from only the third appearance in the quarter-finals of Europe's leading competition in their history.

McCall said: "In the last four years we have been building in this competition and a win against a very good French side in France continues that. It was a fantastic performance and we're very proud of the team after bouncing back from the setbacks in the first half of the early injury, the tries and a yellow card."

He added: "We were off our game in that first half and not working hard enough. But we knew at half-time that if we rectify things then we could win the match."

Chris Wyles scored Saracens' only try but it was the boot of Owen Farrell - who kicked a perfect 11 kicks from as many attempts in a staggering 32-point haul, including a Heineken Cup record 10 penalties in a single game - that clinched victory.

McCall said: "It was very important to stay in touch to feel like we could still win the game and Owen [Farrell] did that with his penalties.

"To be only seven points down at half-time gave us belief and the performance from everybody in the side was huge in the second half. But we still have an important job to do next week against Edinburgh to secure the pool winners spot."

Saracens were dealt a blow when England wing David Strettle left the field on a stretcher after being floored by a forearm by centre Fabrice Etsebanez in the fourth minute.

Play was held up for almost 10 minutes though Saracens later confirmed on their website: "Thankfully, Strettle was up and about after the game and there appeared to be no long term damage."

Meanwhile racing head coach Gonzalo Quesada said: "We are very disappointed to have lost this match, especially after playing some wonderful rugby in the first-half. We wanted to make our mark in the Heineken Cup this season but now it is gone."