Sarries stars ‘will enjoy sabbatical-type season’

against them after enforced relegation – and Lions coach Warren Gatland has done likewise for the 2021 tour to South Africa.

It means the backbone of the England Six Nations team will be fronting up to the likes of Jersey and Doncaster in a division which still contains some part-time players.

“Eddie is on the whole happy to select players who are established, Warren Gatland the same,” said Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall yesterday.

“A lot of our international players are proven international players and they see it as maybe a season where – you’ve seen New Zealand players having sabbatical-type seasons – it would be like that.

“Warren Gatland is keen to get as fresh a Lions team as possible to take to South Africa and certainly our situation, in a funny kind of way, is going to help him.

“I don’t think they will play that many games. But they haven’t played that many Premiership games in the competition, if we were honest. The maximum some of them played last year was seven, of our international players.”

Saracens, sent down for repeated salary cap offences, have held individual talks with the players and spelled out their intention to provide additional high-quality games – possibly against Super Rugby opposition – as well as extended rest periods in the Championship of the sort the players could never experience in the Premiership.

It is a package which, with the assurances over Test selection, has persuaded the players to stay loyal despite the embarrassment of the club being caught cheating.

“It’s a disappointing place to be in but I back the club to come back from where it’s at at the minute,” said Farrell, who made his senior debut for Saracens in 2008 and has played 188 games for the club.

“We’ve got an idea, so we’re happy with that idea to then come into England camp and park it and get on with what is a massive tournament for us.”