Sean Maitland could be just weeks away from the end of his Saracens career.
The Scotland wing still does not know what next season holds; his Saracens contract expires this summer and as yet he has no plans for next term.
The 34-year-old could be forgiven for worrying about his future – but instead only wants to help spur Saracens to another season of glory.
The Men In Black have already secured a home Premiership semi-final with three matches to spare, and this Sunday face La Rochelle in the Champions Cup quarter-finals.
If Maitland’s seventh year at Saracens should prove his last, he wants to sign off in style.
“I’m still coming into the environment every day with a smile on my face,” Maitland tells Standard Sport. “I’m not sure how long I’m going to be playing for, I’m off contract in the summer.
“I don’t know what’s happening next year yet. I’m not keen to retire yet. I’m keen to play another year or two, the body’s still good, touch wood, I still feel good.
“So, I’m just enjoying every day, and look, it’s been a great seven years. And if this is to be my last season, I’m just so grateful to have been involved at Saracens.
“It’s a club that means so much to me, so we’ll see. I don’t really look too far to the future, I take it a week at a time. And to keep playing in such big games is just such an opportunity to make memories.
“I think last year we were just happy to be there, probably, in the Premiership final, after everything with dropping into the Championship then coming back.
“But this year just feels a bit different. We’ve put ourselves in the right position in two competitions, so to do something special this season would be pretty cool. You can just tell there’s a different buzz at the club compared to last year.”
Maitland has featured in two Premiership triumphs and one European victory at Saracens. The powerful New Zealand-born wing helped Sarries to the Premiership and Champions Cup double in 2019, then stuck around in north London as the club endured enforced relegation.
The decorated Barnet men dropped into the Championship for the 2020-21 campaign, before bouncing back and reaching last season’s Premiership final. A 15-12 defeat by Leicester led to Saracens expanding their attacking game this term, and now Maitland believes Mark McCall’s side are back to their very best.
Hopefully it’s a dry ball and we can move their big boys around.
“Sometimes in previous seasons you’d be a kick-chase specialist winger, where as this year you seem to get your hands on the ball a lot more and express yourself, which has been great,” said Maitland.
“We’ve changed the mentality on how we’re trying to attack, but also having that composure that when it’s on to kick it’s still on. So it creates a triple threat in our game.
“Hopefully it’s a dry ball on Sunday and hopefully we can move their big boys around.”
Facing defending champions La Rochelle on their home turf this weekend will provide the ultimate acid test of Saracens’ recovery, especially when up against old team-mate Will Skelton.
The behemoth Australia second row perfected his craft at Saracens before moving to La Rochelle in 2020, playing a pivotal role in last term’s Champions Cup triumph.
Maitland spent a weekend in France with his old Sarries team-mate in the summer, to see first-hand the adulation of La Rochelle’s ardent supporters for the 30-year-old monster lock.
“The messages have been flowing this week, I actually messaged him and he texted back saying, ‘Who’s this?’ so there’s a bit of mind games already,” said Maitland.
“I went out there and took the family for a long weekend last summer, and he’s the king out there. We’ll definitely come up with a plan to try to stop him and their other big ball carriers as well but it’s going to be tough.
“He always had all the talent, but the strides he made at Sarries were just unbelievable, especially in the season when we did the double. He’s probably a bit heavier in the old frame out there in France though, so I don’t want him falling on me at a ruck that’s for sure!
“These are the most special weeks. We’re going to a place we’ve not been before as a club, and it’s the European champions’ back yard. It’s a great atmosphere over there, and we’ve got a couple of mates in their ranks as well. It’s going to be a cracker.”
