Skelton in limbo as club outed

THE spectacular fall of English rugby club Saracens for salary cap rorts may thrust former Wallaby Will Skelton on to the open market for the Super Rugby season.

Selling stars and chopping wages is the certain next step for the leading club after the stunning development that Saracens will be relegated at the end of the season.

The futures of England skipper Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje and the Vunipola brothers, Mako and Billy, are also up in the air.

Skelton only signed a new two-year deal with the club last August when settling on Europe as his future after thenWallabies coach Michael Cheika had tried to woo him back to Australia.

That was just months before Saracens was first plunged into crisis – hit with a deduction of 35 competition points and a massive fine.

Further talks have led to the relegation decision and discussions will continue over whether Saracens get to keep their English and European trophies of the past three years.

The NSW Waratahs, where Skelton, 27, started his top-level career, would always be the frontrunners for him if he suddenly became open to offers from Australia.

Tony Rowe, chief executive of the Exeter Chiefs club beaten by Saracens for the English title, told the BBC that he was relieved the champions had been punished.

“Let’s be very honest about this before people have sympathy with Saracens,” Rowe said. “They had two choices: They could either open up their books so that Premiership Rugby could do a forensic audit of exactly what has gone on, or they could take relegation. They have cheated and I’m just a bit upset it has taken so long to do this.”