Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall heaped praise on captain Steve Borthwick after his side's 23-10 victory over Sale.
Sarries boss hails captain after victory over Sale
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall heaped praise on captain Steve Borthwick after his side's 23-10 victory over Sale.
Saracens kept the pressure on current Aviva Premiership leaders Harlequins with a clinical victory as Sale were punished for missing kicks at goal and failing to function in the lineout.
And McCall singled out former England skipper Borthwick as being at the forefront of the effort.
He said: "I believe Steve's form is the best he has enjoyed in the past two and a half years. His impact on and off the field, his leadership and his form as a lock forward are all magnificent
"Against Sale he was a big factor in our success against their lineout and in Europe we could not be led by a better skipper.
Clinical
"We were clinical for an hour but less so in the final 20 minutes. I know people tend to refer to guys coming off the bench as a factor, but you must trust your players in terms of bringing people on and off. You cannot play guys for the full 80 minutes every game.
"Sale played well, forced us to produce very strong defence. People underestimate Sale, but they shouldn't because they are a fine team.
"They came and attacked us, but we have a very good record at Vicarage Road, one we are proud of. Teams find it difficult to beat us at home."
McCall will now look forward to the start of the Heineken Cup next weekend, a competition he believes Saracens can make a big impact on this year.
"We learned lessons very quickly during last season's Heineken Cup, particularly from the games against Leinster and, hopefully we haven't got the same failings we had back then," McCall added.
"I believe we are capable of having a good impact on the Heineken Cup and that we have the strength and quality within the squad to take advantage of last season's experiences.
Anticipation
"We open our Heineken programme at home to Benetton Treviso next Sunday and there is always a sense of anticipation when this competition comes around."
Sale boss Steve Diamond was left to reflect on a frustrating afternoon and urged his side to eliminate basic errors in the future.
"I feel a sense of frustration because we allowed small errors to become big mistakes," Diamond said.
"Credit to Saracens who are street-wise in the way Leicester have been for years. They can slow your ball at the breakdown and we need to learn from this and become more street-wise ourselves.
"We need to focus on some basics, however. We got messed around at the breakdown and our lineout needs attention.
"Saracens have been up there for a couple of years now, a very well drilled and well-structured side
