The extradordinary roll of the dice Mark McCall must make with his Saracens academy
After being found guilty of salary cap infractions that have left the club with a 35-league point deduction and a £5.3m fine, you could forgive Saracens fans for looking on the burgeoning 2019/20 season with a level of despondency.
The club have announced their intention to appeal the decision, citing the fact that the independent panel who made the decision acknowledged that Saracens did not deliberately attempt to breach the salary cap. In an official statement, Saracens confirmed that they, in error, had failed to disclose some transactions to Premier Rugby Limited, but that there was also precedent in PRL where co-investments have not been deemed part of salary in the regulations.
Until the appeal is concluded, the sanctions administered will not count against Saracens and, per the club’s statement, they will not be required to sell players, nor will the outcome of the investigation prevent the club from signing new players. Even if the club are successful in their appeal, it is unlikely the spectre of these sanctions is set to go away anytime soon and that, though Saracens fans may disagree, adds an intriguing and compelling subplot to the current Gallagher Premiership and European seasons.
You would have to go back to the 2008/09 season for a 35-point deduction to be enough to see Saracens relegated, when the club finished 30 points above 12th placed Bristol. Since then, Saracens have established a dynasty that has perennially seen them compete at the top of the table rather than the mid-table obscurity of the 2000’s, and although that dynasty is tarnished by the findings of the independent investigation, it has not diminished Saracens’ enviously deep and talented squad.
There is every reason to think that Saracens will be able to dig themselves out of this hole, assuming the appeal is unsuccessful, and avoid relegation from the top tier. There are some factors working against them, though, including the improved competitiveness at the bottom of the league, something which has not always been true over the past decade, and that the club are having to manage a large proportion of their squad’s workload after a busy Rugby World Cup campaign.
Continue reading below…
Watch: Saracens star Owen Farrell speaks to the press following the Rugby World Cup final
Even when you factor in London Irish’s spending spree this summer, Worcester Warriors’ incremental improvements in recent seasons and the likes of Leicester Tigers, Wasps and Bath all potentially being sucked into a relegation battle, Saracens would still be a long way from the favourites for the drop. It does create an interesting dilemma, however.
Had the deduction been enforced last season, Saracens would have dropped to 43 points and finished 10th, two points clear of Leicester and 10 points clear of Newcastle Falcons. In that season, when their sizable England contingent didn’t have to deal with a Rugby World Cup campaign that stretched all the way to the final, they wouldn’t have qualified for the Heineken Champions Cup (via league position).
Even if they have a sublimely successful regular season in the Premiership over the next seven months, there’s a good chance that the 35-point deduction would see them miss out on qualification for the top tier of European rugby in the 2020/21 season. Their best shot at qualifying may be to aim for a fourth Champions Cup title and secure their place in next season’s competition as defending champions. If they attempt to do that, it will have serious repercussions in their allocation of playing time this season.
Going on the last four years, Saracens should be safe. #GallagherPremiership #Saracens pic.twitter.com/defiOhwOSp
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 5, 2019
Saracens cannot play their front-liners, many of whom were involved in the Rugby World Cup, in every game. They have to prioritise the league or European competition. Conservatively, you would say this is no dilemma. You commit your stars to domestic action, ensure your survival in the Premiership and then anything else that comes your way is a bonus.
But then you have Saracens’ famed depth and academy production line, the latter of which this writer has extolled the virtues of for years and years. Can you rely on those players, interspersed with Saracens’ veterans and internationals at different points over the course of the season, to do enough to avoid the drop, whilst you go hammer and tongs in Europe? It’s a calculated risk.
As damaging as these findings have been to the Premiership from an integrity standpoint, they only add interest and intrigue to the current season. How good, when put under enormous pressure and expectation, really is Saracens’ academy production line? These guys don’t have the comfort of coming into a team that’s flying high at the top of the table, competing on multiple fronts or into a side where a mistake here or there is, outside of the knockout rounds of domestic or European competition, not going to derail an entire season.
They’ve been doing reasonably well so far, as Saracens have picked up two wins from their opening three games, with the likes of Ben Earl, Nick Isiekwe, Rotimi Segun and Matt Gallagher looking like veteran leaders in the starting XV. Manu Vunipola has shouldered the responsibilities of a much more mature fly-half in just his second professional season, Ralph Adams-Hale might be making the leap at loosehead and Kapeli Pifeleti, a former academy product, has returned from a stint in the US with San Diego Legion. There’s Andy Christie, Sean Reffell and the seemingly Northampton-bound Joel Kpoku, too, all of whom can impress upon watching fans just how pro-ready the Saracens academy develops its players to be.
The senior stalwarts, such as Nick Tompkins, Alex Lozowski, Will Skelton and Jackson Wray, have all stepped up and their influence this season cannot be underestimated. They won’t be on a countdown like the internationals who were involved at the Rugby World Cup will be and the club will need them to stay fit. Getting the likes of Alex Goode, Brad Barritt and Michael Rhodes back from injury and firing on all cylinders will be key, too.
How Mark McCall and the rest of his coaching staff approach the remainder of this season is one of the more fascinating things to happen in the top tier of English rugby for quite some time.
A number of players might lose out when Saracens are forced to balance the books following the PRL's salary cap investigation https://t.co/3FvzQOQBwD
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 5, 2019
Saracens have walked the walk to back up the talk in regard to their commitment to their academy and the production of players for their senior squad, although never before have they been exposed to this sort potentially negative outcome. They have the highest percentage in the Premiership of their squad to have come from their own junior academy and that deserves praise, even if they have been in a fortuitous position in recent years to do so.
It was not that long ago that a young quintet of Joe Launchbury, Elliot Daly, Christian Wade, Billy Vunipola and Sam Jones played their parts in rescuing an administration-threatened London Wasps side from relegation and though this Saracens side is in far better shape than the former High Wycombe-based club were, the 35-point deduction is a fairly substantial leveller. Of course, that Wasps side weren’t competing in Europe’s premier competition and attempting to secure their fourth Champions Cup title, either.
Saracens’ youngsters’ performances on the field, integration into the senior set-up and seamless step ups in quality have thrived in the harmony of recent years. Now, with adversity all around, will they be able to rise to the fore once more?
Watch: Rassie Erasmus reveals that he nearly quit the Springboks after a run of poor results
Comments on RugbyPass
To me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
30 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
30 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
30 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
30 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
30 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
30 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
30 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to commentsI think he is right, SBW is respected in RSA. The guy who never stood up is a worm. Sseems lots of NZ SBW hate, you do the crime do the time.
17 Go to comments