English rugby champions Saracens have been accused of dirty tricks by European Cup quarter-final opponents Glasgow.
Saturday’s last-eight showdown was always likely to be fiery after six Saracens were crocked when the sides met north of the border back in October.
In the same match, Sarries star Maro Itoje taunted Glasgow with a mock celebration after they had a try disallowed.
But Warriors boss Dave Rennie has turned the heat up further ahead of the Allianz Park rematch by accusing the Londoners of gamesmanship.
“Often if they make an error it’s followed by a lot of push and shove from them to maybe bring the referee in to change a decision,” said the New Zealander.
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“We saw it when we played up here. We had a decision went our way and then a bit of push and shove and Fraser Brown got penalised and they got three points out of it.”
Rennie added that it is “clearly” a deliberate ploy and claimed that Mark McCall’s side do it “against every other side they play”.
McCall expressed astonishment at the attack, saying: “I’m not sure why he would say that - but it’s up to him.”
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Saracens captain Brad Barritt added that he had played for the club for 11 years and did not recognise Rennie’s portrayal.
“We talk about supporting our team mates and we like to show the togetherness,” he said. “But the only thing we actively support is getting our team mates back on track and knowing we will cover them in the next phase of play.”
For a game which Nigel Owens will referee, Sarries welcome Itoje back from injury after seven weeks out with a gentle warning not to go out of his way to wind up the Scots.
“What happened before is probably not something that was pre-meditated or something that he would probably do again,” said Barritt. “It was probably a spur of the moment thing and an individual decision.
“We had sustained a lot of pressure and that was probably a little bit of over-excitement on his part, signifying how hard we had worked to snuff them out and what a big momentum swing it was.
“The added spice between English and Scottish teams is always going to carry a flavour. But that is not something we would actively encourage him to do again.”
