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Saracens set to come under salary cap scrutiny from Premiership Rugby - reports

By Alex Shaw
(Photo by Getty Images)

According to a report by Sportsmail, reigning Gallagher Premiership champions Saracens could be about to come under scrutiny for potential breaches of the salary cap.

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As part of a four-month investigation, Sportsmail have reported that Saracens owner Nigel Wray has been in business with Owen Farrell, Mako and Billy Vunipola, and Richard Wigglesworth, with this a potential breach of the salary cap regulations in the competition.

The report also states that Wray co-owned houses with former players, with any costs towards accommodation something which should currently be included in a player’s salary cap figure.

The investigation found that two investment property companies, ShahDan Limited and DanCallie Ltd, were set up in 2017, with Wray as sole shareholder and Daniel van den Heever, an associate of Wray, the sole director.

The names of both companies changed within months, however, with ShahDan Limited becoming VunProp Ltd and DanCallie Ltd becoming Wiggy9 Investments. The Vunipola brothers became joint directors at VunProp Ltd as 33.3% shareholders shortly after the name change, whilst similar happened at Wiggy9 Investments, with Wigglesworth owning 65% of shares in the company. Per Companies House, VunProp Ltd owns £1.5m worth of property, whilst Wiggy9 Investments’ portfolio boasts £875,000 of property investment.

The report also states that the company Faz Investments Ltd was set up by former Saracens director Kamal Shah just a month after the fly-half signed a contract extension with the club in 2017. Farrell and Wray are the two shareholders listed, but the company has not yet filed any accounts.

Sportsmail state that the Premiership have declined to comment on whether or not they were informed of these arrangements, insisting that declarations by clubs are confidential, but that they will “look closely” at the information that the investigation has provided.

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When RugbyPass reached out to Saracens, the club insisted that they are compliant with all salary cap regulations and that they have provided all the relevant information to the Premiership’s salary cap manager.

The Premiership club have recently come under scrutiny for their signing of England international Elliot Daly, whilst still being able to extend the contracts of many players at the club. With large proportions of their squad full England internationals and homegrown players, coming through the Saracens academy, the club does benefit from a healthy amount of credits against the salary cap, but this report from Sportsmail will only add further fuel to the fire.

Watch: The Rugby Pod discusses England’s performance in Cardiff

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Trevor 2 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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