Saracens Steve Borthwick rated '50-50' for Heineken Cup final

Saracens chief Mark McCall rates Steve Borthwick’s chance of playing in the Heineken Cup Final against Toulon as just “50‑50”.

And that could mean the injured captain’s career ends in double disappointment as if he misses Saturday’s match it will be highly unlikely he will play in the Premiership Final with Northampton a week later — the last match before he retires.

The 34-year-old lock suffered a pectoral injury in the Premiership semi-final win over Harlequins on Saturday.

Director of rugby McCall said: “We wouldn’t gamble at all. Steve’s got a chance but he hasn’t trained yet and there are a few things he’s got to do before he’s declared fit.

“If he doesn’t play we’ll just have to get on with it. We think we have a lot of other people who can provide leadership and direction but nobody deserves to play in these finals more than Steve Borthwick.”