The real legacy of Saracens lies in Europe, not the Premiership
If Saturday’s game between Saracens and Leinster in Dublin showed us anything, it is that, given everything that has happened to the Londoners over the past 12 months, the legacy they can hold on to is in Europe, not their domestic one.
Having been found guilty of breaking the salary cap over multiple seasons, you can understand the visible anger that has been on show from other Gallagher Premiership clubs. They broke the rules of the domestic competition in which they played and as such gave themselves an unfair advantage over their competitors. Whether or not the final punishment meted out was overkill or on the money remains open for debate, but the decision to punish the club was entirely justified.
If it had not been for those infractions, would Exeter Chiefs have more than a sole Premiership title to their name? Or could the high-octane Bath and Wasps sides of the period have ended their respective trophy droughts?
Even putting aside their claims, an example also had to be set. With another club having previously broken the cap and one unnamed figure at another Premiership club boasting that they had “found a way around the cap before and will do so again”, not to mention another club reportedly being currently investigated, a precedent had to be set that this is not acceptable.
It is impossible to say that those Premiership titles won by Saracens are not at least somewhat tarnished. The lauding of the coaching set-up has suddenly gone quiet, the gusto with which the all-conquering squad was championed has diminished and, in an already challenging time for the sport in the country, the posterboys of English rugby have turned from heroes to villains faster than a Shakespearian tragedy.
Where their legacy lies more or less undiminished, however, is in their European campaigns.
Having been written off by many in the face of the all-conquering Leinster side and having lost a plethora of their stars since the start of the season, Saracens, unrelentingly, marched on to another European semi-final on Saturday. Despite the trials they have faced this season, most of which were self-inflicted, in fairness, who now would bet against them going all the way again this year?
The reigning European champions have won three of the last four tournaments and have been ever-present in the knockout rounds since the 2011/12 season. Their arrival as the pre-eminent force in Europe ended Toulon’s three-year domination of the tournament, as well postponing Leinster’s regaining of the title and stymying, on multiple occasions, the rampant forces of Clermont and Racing 92.
Whilst domestically people call foul play and correctly so, there is no salary cap to bind teams in Europe’s premier club competition. Here Saracens were pitched against the uncapped provinces of Leinster and Munster, and the free-spending behemoths of French rugby. They took on those challenges and they succeeded.
Again, rival English clubs can fairly gripe that Saracens’ exploitation of the salary cap allowed them to secure a more favourable seeding going into European competition, though truthfully, few, if any clubs over that period will truly have thought that Saracens’ top seeding was the pivotal factor that cost them a shot at lifting European silverware.
Exeter have been the consistent number two side in England over the past five or so years and have enjoyed favourable European seeding as a result, yet their European trophy cabinet is bare. Saracens aside, not since Northampton Saints in 2011 has an English club looked like lifting the trophy, whilst you have to go all the way back to the early-to-mid 2000’s for any actual English silverware, back when Leicester Tigers and London Wasps were the dominant forces in Europe.
Would a Wasps, a Bath or a Harlequins have gone on to Champions Cup success in recent years if their second, third or fourth seed had been traded in for a higher starting spot? You cannot definitively say no, though it would take the most optimistic of fan to suggest they were in a place to compete, consistently over the group stage and three rounds of knockout rugby, with the leading French and Irish sides of the time.
Worrying times for Leinster as Saracens’ scrum dominance continues to gift this man shots at goal. #ChampionsCup #LEIvSAR pic.twitter.com/pp4DiRquWf
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 19, 2020
And so, we come back to Saracens, that discarded and unloved black sheep of the English rugby family. A club dropped to the second tier of English rugby for a year of penance.
Well, at least a year. (How about them Ealing Trailfinders?)
Regardless, the praise of the players, the coaching staff, the culture and everything else that was eulogised during their era of dominance, still holds true in their European successes, if not their Premiership ones.
Mark McCall still masterminded multiple wins over Leinster, Munster and an array of French sides. Alex Sanderson, who was, until recently, linked with every vacant Director of Rugby or Head Coach job under the sun, still refined and sharpened one of the most brutal packs we have seen in the professional era. Dan Vickers, Joe Shaw, Kevin Sorrell and Ian Peel all still played their roles in taking a talented group of players and moulding them into perhaps the most ruthlessly efficient side in European rugby history.
SCRAPPED#ChallengeCup #LEIvCAS https://t.co/trVwjtw5nd
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 19, 2020
Speaking of those talented players, Saracens have contributed the core of the England team for a number of years now, with the majority of them, such as Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje and Jamie George, having been developed at the club’s academy. They are still a vital part of Eddie Jones’ plans as he builds towards the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the club’s role in their development has not vanished, no matter the heinousness of the front office infractions.
Players have left, the books have been balanced and even amid rumours of reduced financial input, Saracens’ ‘Wolfpack’ culture still permeates the club. Snorted at and treated with derision on social media, you only have to take to those same venom-laced sites to see what the club means to some of its former players.
Ben Earl was quick to talk about Saracens in his post-match interview after his starring role in Bristol Bears’ thumping of the Dragons, before then taking to Twitter to wish Saracens luck for their game against Leinster. Ok, he is only on loan away from the club for a year and it is good to stay in your employer’s good graces, but surely those who have left on a more permanent basis would not be too interested? Not so if Ben Spencer is anything to go by, with the Bath scrum-half eager to wish the best on his former club and teammates in the build-up to the game.
Can’t wait to see the @Saracens boys get out there this arvo. Special@to see @JacksonWray get the 250 too! Special bloke and player https://t.co/Msmr5u4pPs
— Ben (@BenEarlba) September 19, 2020
Playing at any club will bond you with your teammates. Some are stronger than others, to the point where it creates a brotherhood, something that was always attributed to those at Saracens, and if you think that is gone, you are fooling yourself. It still exists and worse now, they have chips on their shoulders.
The truth is, they do not and they never have played to the level they did for the money. Sure, they are professional rugby players and rugby is the method through which they pay the mortgage and support their families, but when they take to the pitch, they are not thinking of a cheque signed by Nigel Wray.
They played that way because of the work the coaching staff put in at their St Albans training ground. And because a bloodied Brad Barritt was tackling his way to another metal plate in his cheek, or for a backslap from a cheering Itoje, or to avoid a bollocking from Farrell. Maybe it was for one of the fairly legendary socials that would be a reward for a particularly tough win or run of attritional games.
Motivation – real, bodies on the line motivation – does not come from money, it comes from the culture that is created within an environment. One of accountability and social reward.
Culture cannot keep players when you have a salary cap to get under, however.
A new era is dawning for Saracens, one in which they may not have the financial support of the past and one in which respect, not just success, will have to be re-earned with blood, sweat and tears. Whether they look back and seek to emulate the past or look forward and plan to create something completely new remains to be seen, but for all the sniping that heads in their direction, their European achievements are still something to be celebrated and remembered.
Comments on RugbyPass
Exciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
11 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
3 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
3 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
3 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
11 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
26 Go to comments