Monday 9 May 2016 22:54, UK
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall insists they will not attempt to head-hunt Dan Carter in Saturday's European Champions Cup final.
New Zealand World Cup-winner Carter has driven Racing 92 to their first European final as the linchpin of the Parisian side.
The 34-year-old will aim to dictate proceedings in Lyon on Saturday, but McCall promised his side will not waste energy chasing an elusive target in a game you can watch live on Sky Sports 2.
"It's a big, big, big mistake to think you're going to go and get Dan Carter," McCall said.
"Dan has been doing this for a very long time. So we've got to make sure that his influence in the game isn't huge, isn't unbelievably significant.
"If we can do that, it means our pack have got on top in the scrum, in the lineout. It means we'll have put a little bit more pressure on him than he's experienced before.
"But if you run down his channel and think you're going to shake him up, you're not going to."
Maxime Machenaud's roaming threat from scrum-half has allowed Carter to span the full width of Racing's inside back cordon, leaving the All Black great always at arm's length from opposing forwards.
Leicester were unable to put in any meaningful hits on the playmaker in Racing's 19-16 semi-final victory in Nottingham, a situation Saracens have since noted well.
"Machenaud's unbelievably competitive, he gets his attack going," added McCall. "He brings their big men into the game and someone we're going to have to watch like a hawk.
"He and Carter work very well together, and Dan Carter's an expert at picking his moment at when to involve himself, and usually it's a pretty good involvement.
"We've just got to make sure we're really alive to every time that he's going to get the ball, kick and try to put us under some pressure."
