Christie's happy to step up to the plate

SARACENS director of rugby Mark McCall has revealed how Scotland flanker Andy Onyeama- Christie has helped fill the leadership void left by Owen Farrell and co.

- ADAM HATHAWAY

The 25-year-old stepped up in pre-season when the club’s England contingent were away as he got over the agony of the end of his last campaign.

Farrell and the Vunipola brothers headed to France in the summer taking more than a decade’s experience at the club each with them and leaving a gaping hole in the ranks.

Blindside Onyeama- Christie suffered a second broken arm in a year that saw him miss the business end of the club season and Scotland’s summer tour to the Americas.

His first fracture forced him to miss Saracens’ 2023 Premiership-winning finale but the youngster has brushed the double blow off to become a central figure in a new-look Saracens under captain Maro Itoje, and scored two tries in the win against Gloucester last weekend.

McCall said: “From day one of pre-season he was the person who set the best example in all aspects of being the club we want to be. He came back the fittest of everybody, he had a phenomenal off-season.