Saracens

History of Saracens

The Saracens rugby union team was formed back in 1876 in Marylebone, London. It's said that the team's name was a response to the Crusaders rugby team that also played locally at the time.

Initially, Saracens fixtures were few and far between. However, when the Saracens team began to play against first-class sides, they quickly showed their worth. In the pre-league era, the Saracens team produced a number of England internationals and, by the 1970s, the team had become highly successful. 

In the professional era of rugby union, Saracens have been an incredibly strong side. In fact, between the 2013-14 season and the 2018-19 season, the Saracens rugby team won the English Premiership on four of a possible six occasions. In the other two seasons, they reached the semi-final stage of the competition once and finished as runners-up on the other occasion.

In the history of the Premiership era, Saracens have won the competition six times and they've finished as runners-up on another four occasions. In the team's history, they've also won the RFU Championship three times and have claimed three European Rugby Champions Cups.

But, despite winning the Premiership title five times between 2011 and 2019, Saracens were relegated due to financial irregularities in 2020. However, they only spent one season in the RFU Championship before gaining promotion. They finished second in the Premiership in their first season back in the competition and won the title in 2022-23. They’ve remained in the Premiership ever since. 

As you may expect from such a distinguished club, many legends of the game have represented the Saracens rugby union team in the past. Former Saracens captains include Francois Pienaar, Simon Raiwalui and Owen Farrell. Currently, the Saracens rugby union team is captained by England and British and Irish Lions captain, Maro Itoje. 

Now back in the Premiership and an established force in the competition, it seems like a matter of time until the Saracens rugby union team claims their next Premiership Rugby title.