Saracens Boss Mark McCall Is Absolutely Furious With The British & Irish Lions
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The British & Irish Lions will meet up on Monday in London for their first official get together since the squad was named.
This get together is nothing new and usually occurs ahead of every tour. It’s a chance for the media to grab some interviews and take some photo and for the players to meet up and pick up their gear.
The timing however couldn’t be worse for English heavyweights Saracens who had no less than six Lions in their squad. The get together is just five days before their biggest game of the season as they get set to take on Clermont in the final of the Champions Cup.
Owen Farrell Jamie George, George Kruis, Maro Itoje, Mako Vunipola and Billy Vunipola will all be in attendance, forcing boss Mark McCall to call off training tomorrow. McCall insisted it was important to the club that the players were able to enjoy the day but questioned its timing given the disruption to their training plans.
The Daily Telegraph understand that Premiership Rugby suggested that the Lions day should have been held on April 24 or May 1 but these dates were rejected. Gloucester will also release Ross Moriarty to attend even though they face Stade Français at Murrayfield on Friday night.
“There is a Lions get-together on Monday which seems to be quite unbelievable that it is then given it is the most important week of the season,” McCall told The Sunday Telegraph.
“You’d have thought someone would have had the foresight to see that it might affect the club. I think Leinster had this problem and yet it is still there.
“Hopefully, in four years’ time it will be taken out of the calendar. Last Monday, for example, might have been a more sensible time to hold it. It does impact our training week.
“We won’t train on Monday and will shorten our week to train in a six-day week. We don’t want our players not to go to be with the Lions. It is very important for them and very important for us that they enjoy that day and put it to one side and have on their focus on Clermont from Tuesday.”
What do you think? Should the date for this gathering have been changed so as not to interferer with European preparations?
