Strets insists he’s fresh for one more at Sarries
EVERGREEN Saracens wing Dave Strettle has no intention of retiring and will meet with rugby director Mark McCall this month to thrash out a new contract.
Strettle, 35, returned to Saracens from Clermont Auvergne last summer on a one-year deal and looked likely to be part of an expected clear-out in June.
However, the ace trypoacher told The Rugby
Paper: “There’s been talk in the Press of certain players going but it’s news to me and I’m not looking to leave.
“I asked Mark before I signed if there was a possibility of a two-year deal and he said if everything was going well in the first year, we’d talk after New Year.
“I wasn’t going to knock on his door on January1, but everything seems to be going well. I still feel good and I’d love to play at Saracens again next season.”
Strettle, who turns 36 in July, added: “Sometimes too much is put on the age thing but guys like Schalk Burger have proved you can play into your late 30s.
“We get well looked after these days, the conditioners don’t run you into the ground and if I can keep playing well, hopefully that new deal will happen.”
Having cemented a place in the Premiership’s top two, Saracens resume their bid to regain the Champions Cup this week with a visit to Lyon.
Top seeding beckons if Sarries can maintain a 100 per cent winning record, and Strettle believes they have the squad to repeat their 2015/16 ‘double’.
“When I was at Clermont on the outside looking in, one thing I noticed was that Sarries’ conveyor belt of talent moved fast,” Strettle said. “Young players step in and then get picked by England, which is testament to the set-up and how much respect England have for the calibre of player here.
“There are world-class players at Saracens – guys like Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje and Billy Vunipola – and we can definitely compete on two fronts.
“Having said that, I’ve played against Lyon, who have top players themselves, and when you play any French side away, you know you’ll be tested.
“This is going to be a crucial fixture and then we’ll have another hard match against Glasgow. Get through those and we’ll be in very good shape.”
Saracens’ hefty England contingent will then underpin the Red Rose challenge in this year’s Six Nations, starting with a daunting visit to Dublin to face the potential World Cup favourites.
“It’s a hell of a start but England can definitely go there and make a statement,” Strettle insists.
“You’ve got to expect that other teams will go through upward cycles and Ireland are coming into some strength now, but with the players and systems England have, if we can get the cohesion, we should be able to beat them.”
One man Strettle wants to see playing in Dublin is former Saracens colleague Chris Ashton, who has forced his way back into the Red Rose reckoning.
Strettle added: “People could point at perceived weaknesses and, like Shane Williams, say he isn’t the best defender, but we need to pick our best players.
“The All Blacks pick their best team based on the strengths of their players, we need to do that as well. If you’ve got players with world-class finishing attributes, like Ashton, you want them in there doing what they do best.”