Neither man is particularly fond of undue nostalgic recollection but as Leicester’s Steve Borthwick and Saracens’ Mark McCall engage in pre-match pleasantries at Twickenham on Saturday, there may just be a shared smile at the memory of the last Premiership final meeting between these two sides. Now in opposition, McCall and Borthwick then basked in triumph as coach and captain, having guided Saracens to the first of the five domestic crowns that now crowd the cabinet at their north London home.
It is 11 years since that encounter, the second of two consecutive showpiece deciders that offered the first inklings of a changing of the Premiership dynastic guard as Leicester’s empire began to fall and Saracens developed into the side of ruthless winners that would define the next era of English club rugby.
