Mark McCall has insisted his impending Saracens exit was never about him, even as the director of rugby steers the club towards a Gallagher Premiership play-off place in the final act of a 17-year reign.
Saracens beat Harlequins 26-12 at StoneX Stadium in late May, a fifth straight win that lifted them into the top four for the first time since November and set up a winner-takes-all clash with Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park. The result also doubled as McCall's home farewell, and the 58-year-old was quick to deflect the focus away from himself.
"It's never been about one person. It's never been about me, ever," McCall said after the Harlequins win.
The Northern Irishman has built one of the most decorated bodies of work in the English game across his time at the club, 15 of those years as director of rugby, delivering six Premiership titles and three European crowns before deciding to step down at the end of the campaign.
He was characteristically understated about the latest victory, which was won the hard way. "It probably wasn't our best performance but we got the job done," he said, pointing to a resilience that has defined the run-in. "It's a new habit, a good habit that we've got now that we find a way in matches."
That habit now faces its stiffest test. Saracens travel to Exeter knowing the result decides who claims fourth place and the last semi-final berth, with the loser's season ending. The reward is a last-four meeting in the week of June 12-13, with Northampton Saints having already locked up top spot and a home semi-final at Franklin's Gardens, while Bath and Leicester contest the other home tie.
For McCall, the prospect of one more knockout tilt has prompted reflection on a tenure that reshaped Saracens into a domestic and continental powerhouse.
"It feels like so much has happened in the last 17 years and it has. So much. But it also feels like it's gone in the blink of an eye," he said. "I'm lucky that I ended up here when I ended up here."
Harlequins, beaten at StoneX, now switch their attention to next season's European qualification, with head coach Jason Gilmore framing the closing weeks around standards rather than results.
"We've set the mark of the Champions Cup, that's been our focus for a few weeks now, but also pride in the shirt," Gilmore said.
Saracens, by contrast, still have everything to play for. A team rebuilt around a young core has timed its surge to perfection, and McCall — who has repeatedly pointed to the excitement around that emerging group — has one last chance to send himself out with the club back among the Premiership's contenders. Win at Sandy Park, and the farewell tour continues for at least another week.
