McCall unfazed by criticism

Saracens director of rugby has defended his substitutions during Saturday's Heineken Cup win over Racing Metro.

Sarries got off to a flying start in Brussels, crossing the line twice in the opening 40 minutes but appeared to go off the boil in the second stanza, following a string of changes. They did manage to score another try but it wasn't enough as they fell one short of securing a bonus point. This has led to some major criticism of McCall but the former Ulster boss has defended his policy and says it won't affect him in the future. "Our philosophy at the club is that we have outstanding players on the bench and we'll use them. We'll continue to do that," he said. "Schalk (Brits) had an amazing first half and the question will be asked why he came off. But John Smit, who's no mean player himself, and Mako Vunipola came on and they've scrummaged a lot together. "We know there are downsides to the way we operate in terms of substitutions, but we believe they are outweighed by the massive upsides."