Fans fear the Saracens controversy will damage Eddie Jones' England

After Saracens were docked 35 points and fined £5.36million by Premiership Rugby for breaching the salary cap regulations, questions are being raised about how this will affect the England national team. 

The reigning Gallagher Premiership and Champions Cup winners dropped to 12th in the league table on -26 points, but have been reinstated to fourth place after they said they will be appealing the punishment.

With nine of England’s World Cup final squad coming from Saracens, they make up the core of Eddie Jones’ side. They may not be the most popular side across Europe, but it is hard to deny the correlation between Saracens’ success in recent years and England’s.

The London outfit have won three of the last four Champions Cups, only failing in 2018, which happened to be a disappointing year for them by their standards. That was also England’s poorest year since 2015, as they won the Grand Slam and a Six Nations title in the two seasons prior to 2018 and reached the RWC final this year. 

Many people on social media have pondered what ramifications the PRL sanctions might have on England. It is unclear what the true consequences of the fine and points deduction will be if the appeal is unsuccessful, but this is an unprecedented punishment. 

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Should the club be relegated, there will likely be an enormous exodus from Allianz Park. But that may still be the case even if they avoid the drop as they would need to cover costs. 

With a contingent of the England team potentially scattering across the country to other clubs, it would undoubtedly improve the competitiveness of the Premiership which may, in turn, benefit the national side. 

https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1191730439377043457/photo/1

Equally, it will mean that the core of the England squad are no longer playing alongside each other week on week in the biggest games club rugby has to offer. What is worse is that some players may be lured by the wealthy French clubs, meaning they could no longer play for England. 

As it stands, fears over their futures, combined with the pressure to avoid relegation, could affect form for their country in the 2020 Six Nations.  Another potentially damaging aspect of this ordeal is what will happen to the Saracens academy, which has developed some world-class players over the years. 

If that is damaged by these events, the England team loses a rich source of talent, which many fans seem all too aware of. This is what has been said:

https://twitter.com/BlindsideJim/status/1191681482059927552?s=20

Massive. The spine of the England squad is Saracen.

—  ?  (@LackOfToast) November 5, 2019

Saracens players approach, skill training, fitness, has been crucial to the success of England. I wonder how that will effect the national side long term.

— Tim Bastable (@TimBastable) November 5, 2019

For far too long Saracens have been flouting the salary cap rules – glad to see them finally punished. Not sure how I feel about the potential effect on the England setup though. Come on @Harlequins let’s sign some England players

— ????? ? (@chamonalisa) November 5, 2019

Sure, the Saracens team is 58% home grown. The highest percentage in the league since 2015.

There are loads of other Saracens academy players playing in other clubs.

Saracens are being punished for producing world class players.

The real loser will be England rugby here.

— Thomas Skinner (@Squeaky_Tombola) November 5, 2019

You could say Saracens powered England's rise over the last few years. Could have huge implications for England too.

— Huw (@roblixh) November 5, 2019

Potentially a problem for team England. If Saracens are forced to move a couple on, could some fringe national team players be tempted to France.

— Liam Thomas ??????? (@JelliesOriginal) November 5, 2019

I don't know if you're an England rugby fan but if the Saracens England player supply dries up due to less/no investment by Wray then don't wonder where that hole in your foot came from.

This is an extraordinarily stupid fine from an England rugby POV.

— Thomas Skinner (@Squeaky_Tombola) November 5, 2019

I do feel for the Saracens fans, they don’t deserve this, but as a chiefs follower, I do feel the decision is fair.

Hopefully, this will have minimal effect on England Rugby, but I know that this standpoint is naive.

— Kevin “Safety Nause” Westlake (@WestlakeKevin) November 5, 2019

If Saracens used these mechanisms to simply hoover up everyone else's best academy players then I'd throw them out of the league myself. But they don't do that, they produce world class England players like no other club in the league can.

No Saracens. No RWC final. That simple

— Thomas Skinner (@Squeaky_Tombola) November 5, 2019

This decision by Premiership Rugby has been welcomed by many fans across Europe, and should Saracens be found guilty there are steps that must be taken to ensure the salary cap regulations are adhered to. 

However, while fans are generally happy with this decision, many have pointed out that it is naive not to expect some permutations for the England team. 

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