Mark McCall: 'Saracens need a strong start'

Mark McCall has said that Saracens will need to control field position early on in their Heineken Cup semi-final against Clermont Auvergne this weekend.

The French side, who reached the final of the competition last season, face the Aviva Premiership leaders at Twickenham tomorrow.

The team's director of rugby told Sky Sports News: "Clermont are a quality side with quality players throughout, they're a side who have been there or thereabouts in this competition for the last four or five seasons.

"We've got a plan, there are certain things we think we need to get right and areas we need to be very strong in to make that plan work.

"They're not particularly weak in any area, they start games very well, extremely well, and we want to ensure as much as possible that we control the field position in the first 25 minutes of the match."

When the two sides met in the quarter-finals two years ago, Clermont beat the English side 22-3.