SARACENS
T"Things don’t just happen, and resting on your laurels doesn’t get you anywhere".That is the message that captain Brad Barritt says he has been drumming into a Saracens squad that enjoyed such a stellar season last time out that they not only retained the English title but were crowned as champions of Europe for the first time.
Saracens have not splashed the cash in a big way over the summer – and why would you when you have England stars like Owen Farrell, Mako and Billy Vunipola, George Kruis, Jamie George and Maro Itoje on your books?
Instead, they have gone for quality over quantity with the 86-Springbok star Schalk Burger filling the breach left by the retirement of his namesake, the fearless Namibian tackling machine, Jacques Burger.
Equally significant is the arrival of the destructive Springbok tight-head Vincent Koch from the Stormers to share the workload with Petrus du Plessis.
Another big hole to fill is that left at 10 by Charlie Hodgson, who has been crucial cover when Farrell is on test duty.
However, Alex Lozowski is a talented youngster and will have the benefit of guidance from Hodgson, who has been retained as a backs coach.
Add to that the arrival of powerful Fiji Olympic gold medalist Savenaca Rawaka at centre, and Saracens will once again take some stopping in both the league and Europe.