'I'm amazed people are that critical. If you're an English supporter you must love the club'
Saracens may be under investigation for the way they organise their financial affairs off the pitch, but no one can question the wealth of talent they are supplying to the World Cup in Japan.
The reigning Premiership and Heineken Cup champions have a remarkable 15 members of their first team involved in the World Cup playing squads, plus Richard Wigglesworth, their England scrum-half, in Japan as Canada’s defence coach, making them the most dominant force at the tournament.
Saracens have eight players hoping to help England repeat their 2003 triumph while Scotland and Wales have two each with South Africa, Argentina and USA having a single member of the North London club’s squad. Saracens influence is not confined to playing at the World Cup although former fans’ favourite Schalk Brits, who spent a decade at the club, is very much part of the Springboks squad.
They also provide high profile coaches with ex-Saracens Eddie Jones and Steve Borthwick with England, Andy Farrell in a key role with Ireland and Wigglesworth part of the Canadian coaching unit.
This World Cup success is being played out against a backdrop of a continuing investigation by Premier Rugby into whether Saracens were compliant with the £7million salary cap when setting up business links between owner Nigel Wray and high profile players.
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The on-going salary cap issue, which has been handed to an independent panel, will feature heavily when the clubs hold their next PRL meeting on September 16 – just before the World Cup kicks off in Japan.
Brendan Venter provided the blueprint for Saracens success during his period as director of rugby, a role taken over by Mark McCall who has ensured the club have become the outstanding professional outfit in Europe. Venter, a World Cup winner for South Africa in 1995, has maintained close links with Saracens, regularly travelling from Cape Town where he has a GP practice. He mounts a fierce defence of his former club.
“If England win the World Cup – which they can – then Saracens will have played a huge part,” Venter told RugbyPass. “I am amazed people are that critical of Saracens because if you are an English supporter you must love the club. You would be saying ‘thank you’ because the pinnacle for rugby in England is for the national team to be successful and Saracens produce players that make England better.
"You normally expect up to about a 25 per cent attrition rate in club rugby with that proportion of your squad missing at any one time because they’re banged up" #RWC https://t.co/WmbTD8K1gH
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 5, 2019
“It is the tall poppy syndrome and when statistics on Saracens are produced it shows the club has the most homegrown English players. The club adds to the national cause and they are not a foreign legion which is something we changed. Toulon won three Heineken Cups with a team of foreign superstars and Saracens are the complete opposite with local English stars brought through their system.
“The one thing I believe people get wrong with Saracens is that they see it as this jolly place where people have a good time, but there is an incredible competitive spirit and we call it ‘finding the monster’ in you. I remember right at the beginning of my time at the club and 14 players left, Glen Jackson (now a top New Zealand referee) came in and said ‘I must be leaving as well’. I told him not all because he had something inside that is special – that competitive spirit.
“When you see Schalk Brits and his big smile you don’t realise that what makes him and guys like Owen Farrell, Billy and Mako Vunipola, Maro Itoje and George Kruis special is they are incredible competitors. What impressed me about Andy Farrell was how competitive he was and when you talk to Mark McCall he is softly spoken individual but I played with him at London Irish and I loved his fierce competitive nature. What Saracens have today is a little bit of Brendan Venter, Andy Farrell, Paul Gustard and a lot of Mark McCall – people who built this thing. It makes me very proud to say that I had a little part to play.”
Venter paid tribute to Wray’s unwavering support and believes he template created at Saracens should be praised not pilloried. “With 15 players from one club at the World Cup is amazing and is a testament to the support of Nigel Wray who has put so much into the club and he will be so proud to have so many guys in Japan” he added.
“I’m sure he will be saying that the incredible journey he has been on with Saracens has been worthwhile because at the highest level, look at how many players I have invested in are contributing. The forming of Jamie George had a lot to do with what he learnt from Schalk Brits and John Smit and the same can be said of George Kruis who was able to tap into the incredible knowledge of Steve Borthwick when he was at the club. Everyone who came through Saracens has made the club what it is today.”
Saracens’ influence at the Rugby World Cup –
England: Owen Farrrell (capt), Billy Vunipola, Mako Vunipola, George Kruis, Maro Itoje, Jamie George, Jack Singleton, Elliot Daly;
Scotland: Sean Maitland, Duncan Taylor;
Wales: Liam Williams, Rhys Carre;
South Africa: Vincent Koch, Schalk Brits (ex-Saracens);
Argentina: Juan Figallo;
USA: Titi Lamositele
Coaches –
Ireland: Andy Farrell;
Canada: Richard Wigglesworth;
England: Steve Borthwick, Eddie Jones.
Comments on RugbyPass
Hey Finn, Well done to the Junior Wallabies…a win is a win but it was a wet and scrappy game. Would be interesting to hear your opinion on two things from watching the game at the Not So Sunny Coast Stadium. Firstly, what is your opinion on the rule change of being able to call The Mark from a kick off and what is the reason for the change? Secondly, your thoughts on the lack of action for the high tackle on the SA fullback. I understand the TMO ruled that he had fallen into the tackle and the tackler didn’t have time to adjust but it was clearly shoulder on head and the Aussie 11 had not made any attempt to adjust his tackle height leading into the tackle. In my opinion he was never going to get his tackle technique correct to complete a safe tackle. If that tackle was made at a more senior and more scrutinised level would we have seen the same result?
2 Go to commentsI don’t think this has been ventilated enough. Discuss. Perhaps the lesson in all of this is that, in the game of life, one should do all the talking on the field of play. And in the game of rugby, what’s said on the field - stays on the field. Take care of yourselves. And each other.
31 Go to commentsLow skills compared to the Junior ABs. The ball handling and ball retention of the SAns in particular was utterly woeful. The latter will be better on home turf.
2 Go to comments1. Heard this so often over the yrs. One Warriors CEO even claimed future kids wouldnt know which came first, the ABs or the Warriors. Always keen to talk themselves up. 2. That fella Barakat who says he will drop HBHS sponsorship because HBHS quite rightly wants its players to focus on rugby is an odd fit as a sponsor in the first place. As a recruitment official for the Warriors he seems to regard his sponsorship as a paid licence to help to select players from HBHS for the league side. Maybe he should find a league school to fund.
1 Go to commentsNZ U20s are the team to beat this year for sure. And how nice after so long that NZRFU is actually taking this seriously. For far too long they have been sending woefully coached and woefully underprepared teams to the U20 WCs. That Wrampling boy is a star in the making.
2 Go to commentsI agree ..come on keyboard warriors and journalists looking for a cheap win ….. only 2 mins to go 12 points down …this DID NOT decide the game and beside JM was hit after the whistle and in response it was a pat on the back of the head …harmless ….watch soccer if this is your issue
4 Go to commentsRest is for namby pamby sissies, I see. True men should overcome their trifling injuries by playing week in, week out. Bidwell’s stance reminds me of a Jon Gadsby character from the 70s, a rugby captain giving an after-match speech: “It was a very physical contest. One of our players caught a boot on the back of his head in a ruck, and he died, actually. But to his credit, he played on.”
1 Go to commentsI still see nothing in Sotutus play that hes changed his upright running style that failed so many times against decent international defences like the french. Other than that… Iose? Well you have covered his limitations well. If Sititi had been playing the the season… Jacobson? Grace?…Neither shout pick me. So Ardie it is.
1 Go to commentsThere isn’t one element you mentioned there that every top class or successful team gets up to. The great All blacks sides used to play on the ‘fringes or edge’ but it was essentially saying they were doing something illegal or borderline to gain dominance. The fine margins at the top are minute between the top sides. La Rochelle, the crusaders, Saracens, Toulon etc etc…..have all been accused. Get over it, the comment comes across as salty and naive. Northampton as well as they played to get back into the match were thoroughly beaten and controlled for 60 minutes and Leinster have only themselves to blame for kicking it away and hence losing control of the match and being nearly the architects of their own downfall.
2 Go to commentsThere is some talent coming thru thats for sure. The 10 looks special to me. Rico Simpson is a name to look for in the future.
2 Go to commentsI think this quiet honestly is just an innocent misunderstanding by someone who is pig sh*t stupid. Eben is a fine player but by christ, if he can’t understand or get what the Irish players were trying to say to him after the match…..well i hope he has someone looking after his finances, career and is reading the fine print for him, cause life after rugby may be quite difficult for the vacuous echo chamber.
31 Go to commentsIt could be Doris' day!
3 Go to commentsThe whole thing has blown up because Eben’s words have clearly struck a nerve in Ireland. Otherwise they would just laugh it off. I think some former Irish players, commentators and some Irish fans know deep down this Ireland team started to believe its own press and that a certain amount of arrogance had started to creep in during the World Cup. The topic was actually brought up by Irish pundits on Off the Ball recently. It’s fine to be arrogant if you can back it up. Ireland didn’t.
31 Go to comments‘The Irish are good people'. Why is Goode praising a people who hate his own? Wet wipe.
31 Go to commentsLa mejor final que se puede ver en el emisferio norte.
1 Go to commentsA lot of cope from south africans in the comments. Etzebeth is a liar and a hypocrite; you don’t have to defend him!
31 Go to commentsHe got big and really slow for a flyhalf…not sure he’s relevant in a bok conversation anymore
4 Go to commentsBest tourney team vs best team in the regular season for 3 games in RSA - talk is cheap, let’s see what’s what on the tour
31 Go to commentsOne overlooked statistic from their 2016 winning season is the Huricanes are still the only team in Super rugby history not to concede a try during the playoff rounds.
4 Go to commentsThanks for the article, Nick. The Nienaber blitz D does ask a lot of its scrumhalf. I have been watching JGP on D and he often looks like he has mastered what Nienaber asks for better than Faf de Klerk and Cobus Reinach! 🤣 Impressive season by JGP if I must make an understatement.
22 Go to comments