WHO WILL GO DOWN WITH SINKING SHIP?
OWEN FARRELL and the rest of Saracens’ England players face emergency meetings with the club hierarchy next week to work out their futures in light of looming relegation.
The Premiership and European champions gathered their squad together yesterday morning to confirm the seismic news that they will be automatically demoted to the Championship at the end this season as a result of another breach of the league’s salary cap.
Several stars of England’s recent World Cup campaign — such as Farrell, Maro Itoje, the Vunipola brothers, Jamie George and Elliot Daly — are suddenly coming to terms with short-term career uncertainty.
Saracens have been plunged into turmoil after Tuesday’s meeting of the Premiership Rugby board, at which the north London club were issued with a stark ultimatum by their rivals. They were told they would have to slash £2million from their wage bill with immediate effect, hand back their trophies and give auditors full access to their accounts — or accept relegation.
It became apparent yesterday that Sarries had been unable to offload players to ensure they will come under the cap for the current season. It was also rumoured that they were reluctant to open their accounts. As a result, players gathered at the training base near St Albans at 8.30am and in a meeting which lasted barely half an hour, they were informed of their doomsday fate.
With PRL officials maintaining a low profile, it was unclear exactly how automatic relegation would be imposed, but sources suggested that the action may be separate from the salary cap regulations, which do not allow for such an eventuality.
It is thought the players were told there would be another deduction of 35 points, which would give Saracens no hope of survival, although that had not been confirmed last night.
What did become clear was that Saracens face a two-year absence from the Heineken European Champions Cup — and one year out of Europe altogether. The holders of the primary continental title are seeking to defend their crown and can advance to the quarter-finals if they beat Racing 92 at Allianz Park tomorrow.
However, even if they go on to be European champions for the fourth time in five years, there will be no defence next season as Saracens would not be eligible to participate if they are not in the Premiership.
That would have the additional impact of denying them a shot at reaching a home-town final in 2021 at Tottenham’s new stadium. A five-year deal for Saracens to stage marquee league games at the futuristic football arena would be jeopardised by relegation.
There would be plenty of jeopardy on other levels, with jobs and careers at risk as a result of the club’s wrongdoing being exposed and punished.
While staff roles may come under threat, the playing squad must also be cut urgently as the salary cap still applies to a PRL shareholder club down in the Championship. Finding £2m of savings will not be easy, especially if players refuse to consider pay cuts, a drastic measure that apparently was not discussed yesterday.
The RFU have reiterated that there is no policy that prevents an England head coach from selecting players who are operating below the elite domestic league, but such call-ups are a rarity.
understands that the chaos gripping their club will not prevent Saracens players from being included in the England squad for the Six Nations, which is due to be announced by Eddie Jones on Monday.
But the international dimension would change if the club are dispatched to a league featuring teams including part-timers and students.
Farrell, Itoje, the Vunipolas and Co will need to address a dilemma — whether or not to request release from their contracts to move elsewhere or at least go on loan for a season, as Mark Wilson
has done in joining Sale after Newcastle went down.
There was some speculation yesterday that the RFU might be forced to suspend the policy of preventing players based abroad from being picked for England in order to allow Saracens players to seek contracts in France or in other home nations. But Sportsmail understands there is no prospect of the Union relenting.
It will come down to whether Jones decides that a player based in the Championship can report for national service in the right condition and state of mental readiness if he is playing at a lower intensity week after week. There is unlikely to be a one-size-fits-all view, so some of Saracens’ leading lights may be able to stay, whereas others may have to go to protect their Test selection hopes.
The saga has turned ugly and bitter. One leading English rugby official yesterday claimed that many in the game have turned on Saracens and their former chairman Nigel Wray, who recently resigned, like ‘rabid dogs’. But anger and suspicion has not been dispelled by the initial cap-breach sanction — the loss of 35 points and a £5.4million fine.