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Saracens
SaracensLogo (202122)-Dark.png
Full name Saracens Rugby Club
Union Middlesex RFU
Nickname(s) Sarries, Men in Black, Wolf Pack, Fez Boys
Founded 1876; 148 years ago (1876)
Location Hendon, Greater London, England
Ground(s) StoneX Stadium (Capacity: 10,500)
Chairman England Neil Golding
CEO England Lucy Wray
Director of Rugby Ireland Mark McCall
Coach(es) England Joe Shaw
Captain(s) England Owen Farrell
Most appearances England Alex Goode
343 (All Competitions)
Top scorer England Owen Farrell
1,548 (All Competitions)
Most tries United States Chris Wyles
74 (All Competitions)
League(s) Premiership Rugby
2021–22 2nd (Runners-up)
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
Rugby football current event.svg Current season

Saracens Rugby Club (/ˈsærəsənz/) are an English professional rugby union club based in North London, England. As of the current 2022–23 season, they compete in Premiership Rugby, the highest tier competition in English rugby, as well as the domestic Premiership Rugby Cup and the European Rugby Champions Cup.

Established in 1876, the club has spent most of its existence in and around Southgate in the London Borough of Enfield. Since 2012, Saracens have played their home games at Copthall stadium (or StoneX Stadium for sponsorship reasons) in Hendon, in the borough of Barnet. Before this, they played at Vicarage Road in Watford for 15 years. The club's home kit playing colours are black and red. They are also affiliated with the Saracens Women team, which competes in the top tier Premier 15s competition.

Saracens have won 10 major trophies. They were European champions three times, in 2016, 2017 and 2019. They have won the English Premiership five times, most recently in 2019, and won the domestic cup twice in 1998 and 2015. They have also won the second division title three times, in 1989, 1995 and 2021.

History

Origins

Saracens were founded in 1876 by the Old Boys of the Philological School in Marylebone, London (later to become St Marylebone Grammar School). The club's name is said to come from the "endurance, enthusiasm and perceived invincibility of Saladin's desert warriors of the 12th century". The fact that their local rivals were called the "Crusaders" may also have been a factor. The Crescent and Star appearing in the club's emblem are reminiscent of those appearing on the flag of Tunisia.

Saracens amalgamated with neighbouring club Crusaders two years later. In 1892, Saracens moved from Crown Lane, Southgate, to Firs Farm, Winchmore Hill then played on nine different grounds before the move to Bramley Road, Southgate, for the 1939–40 season (although the Second World War actually prevented them from playing there until 1945).

After their inaugural match against Blackheath, the Saracens had to wait another 9 years before Harlequins offered to include them on their fixture list. Saracens found it difficult to get games against first-class sides as the facilities at Bramley Road were so poor.

The club produced a number of internationals in pre-league era, such as hooker John Steeds who won five caps representing England from 1949 to 1950; Vic Harding, a lock also for England from 1961 to 1962; and George Sheriff, an England back-rower from 1966 to 1967.

The club enjoyed fixtures with the leading clubs for many years and enjoyed a particularly successful time in the 1970s when they reached the semi-finals of the National Cup. Special games played at Bramley Road during this period include the 1971 match against a select International XV. It was a fantastic occasion, as a 5,000 strong crowd (the largest ever to watch a rugby union game in North London at the time) came to watch a magnificent contest, ending Saracens 34 International XV 34.

This Saracens team also won the 1972 Middlesex Cup beating Met Police in the final.

The Courage leagues

After some bleak years in the early 1980s, the club responded to the challenge of the Courage Leagues, and with Floyd Steadman as captain and Tony Russ as coach, they won the second division in 1989 with a 100% record. The next year in the first division they surprised many by finishing fourth in the league behind Wasps, Gloucester and Bath.

But within the space of two years, Saracens had lost Jason Leonard to Harlequins, Dean Ryan to Wasps and Ben Clarke to Bath and they were fast becoming a nursery for the more prestigious clubs. The 1992–93 season saw the leagues restructured with Saracens, along with three other clubs, being relegated to the second division. In 1993–94 Saracens finished third and narrowly missed out on promotion but the following year they finished as champions and were again back in the top flight.

Former player David Wellman was given the task to rebrand Saracens. He gave former player Mike Smith the remit to take Saracens professional. A benefactor was required in order to improve the ground and playing staff. Alas Saracens' seesaw existence over the nineties was about to continue in 1995–96 when they again found themselves at the wrong end of the table along with West Hartlepool but they were saved by their new CEO Mike Smith, who persuaded the RFU that there should be no relegation for the first season of professional rugby.

The professional era

1996–2000

In November 1995 Saracens gained the financial backing of Nigel Wray and this enabled the club to recruit the likes of Michael Lynagh, Philippe Sella, Francois Pienaar and Kyran Bracken. Saracens moved again to Enfield F.C.'s ground, Southbury Road, and they started the new season with a victory over title favourites Leicester but only finished seventh just missing out on Heineken Cup qualification.

Saracensrugby
Saracens at a home match

The 1997–98 season, was a landmark year. They began a ground share with Watford FC and their 22,000 all seater Vicarage Road Stadium. The agreement ran until February 2013, when Saracens relocated to Barnet Copthall.

The appointment of Peter Deakin as Chief Executive saw Saracens splashed all over the broadsheets, tabloids, magazines and TV and with the help of a small band of be-fezzed followers that had been following the club for a number of years, "the year of the Fez" began.

Close season signings like Danny Grewcock, Roberto Grau, Gavin Johnson and Ryan Constable joined forces with the home grown talent of Tony Diprose, Richard Hill and Steve Ravenscroft to form a side that would prove a significant force during the season losing only three games during the season to finish second in the Premiership, missing out narrowly to Newcastle, another club that had embraced the changes that the professional game had brought. Newcastle haven't repeated this success since.

Consolation for missing out on the league title came in the then principal domestic cup competition, the Tetley Bitter Cup. Saracens beat Wasps 48–18 in the cup final at Twickenham, in doing so equalling Bath's cup-final record score of 48 points. Their run had included a 59-point win over Blackheath, a 14–13 victory over Leicester, a quarter final 36–30 win over Richmond, followed by a victory over Northampton. It was the first major silverware that Saracens had won in their 122-year history. The game was also notable for being the last competitive game for two legends of the sport, Lynagh and Sella; some years later these same two players became the inaugural members of Saracen's Hall of Fame.

After a solid start to 1998–99 season, Saracens were rocked in December when they lost to third from bottom London Scottish in a shock defeat at home, but a win against Bedford and West Hartlepool and a draw with Wasps still saw them in touch with leaders Leicester. The second half of the season was a roller coaster ride with Saracens going from eighth and out of European contention after a run of four losses, to eventually finishing third as London's top club.

The 1999–2000 season saw more big name players move to Vicarage Road with Mark Mapletoft, Thierry Lacroix, Scott Murray and Dan Luger joining the club along with Darragh O'Mahony and the up-and-coming Julian White. With the squad ravaged by World Cup duty and then injury the club's first attempt at the Heineken Cup was not a happy one. They lost three games by a couple of points in the last seconds of the game and didn't make the quarter finals.

With a few games left they were looking at a possible failure to qualify for Europe again, but Kyran Bracken returned from a ten-month injury to inspire Saracens into fourth place and Heineken Cup qualification.

2000–2006

2000–01 saw another difficult start to the season. By October Saracens had effectively crashed out of the Heineken Cup with back to back defeats to Cardiff and with the team shorn of internationals due to the Autumn Tests the final blow was dealt when Thomas Castaignède suffered an Achilles tendon injury.

The results went downhill fast and a fifth-place finish saw the club miss out on a Heineken Cup place.

The 2001–02 season brought many changes, with established players such as Luger, Grewcock, White, Wallace and, much to the consternation of his loyal fan club, Tony Diprose, all leaving the club. Further weakened with the news that Castaignède was likely to miss the whole of the coming season, Francois Pienaar, now in full control of coaching operations opted to make use of a crop of younger players coming through the club system.

After a reasonable start to the season Saracens found themselves in their by then accustomed top half of the table position but then the curse of the Autumn Internationals once again took its toll, and Saracens' performances weakened drastically. Entering the New Year Saracens were again flirting with relegation danger, and soon exited all cup competitions. With morale sinking Pienaar stepped down from his various roles with the club after a five-year stay.

Lacking a coach the senior players took charge, the morale problem seemed to have passed, but results remained sketchy and the Saracens ended up in a lowly 10th place.

All Black legend Wayne Shelford took over the coaching reins for the 2002–03 season, while the playing squad saw the arrival of the likes of Andy Goode, Christian Califano, Craig Quinnell amongst several signings of established players. In a repetition of the pattern of some of the preceding seasons, Saracens once again got off to a flying start, beating Bath and Bristol.

Once again though, sound defeats, this season administered by London rivals, Wasps and Irish, seemed to shatter the team's confidence, to such an extent that once again by early in the new year Saracens were once again uncomfortably close to the relegation zone, the only real success coming in an impressive run in the European Challenge Cup.

The club once again rallied towards the tail end of the season, with victories over Bristol, and then high flying Sale securing a 5th place in the table that seemed unlikely at the turn of the year, and a place in the play off system for the remaining European Cup place. A comfortable win over fourth placed Leeds in the play off semi-final brought an astonishingly tight final against Leicester.

With temperatures soaring at Franklin's Gardens, 80 minutes was not enough to separate the teams, with a late rally by Saracens tying the scores at 20–20. Ultimately, a Neil Back try was to see Leicester through, but at least it appeared that Saracens had rediscovered their fighting spirit.

The late rally was not enough to save Shelford, and he and most of the rest of the coaching staff paid the price for the weak season, being replaced by the experienced Australia and Leicester player, Rod Kafer, at that time a relative newcomer to a coaching roll, for the 2003–04 season. Key signings included Fijian Simon Raiwalui, former French captain Raphaël Ibañez, Springbok Cobus Visagie and All Black Taine Randell.

The club's finances were also diversified with Nigel Wray divesting himself of nearly 50% of his shares to spread the financial cost and risk of supporting Saracens. This led to the addition of five new members being appointed to the Saracens' board.

The change of faces did little to change the pattern of consistent inconsistency of previous seasons. Once again, the early rounds saw a false dawn as Saracens found themselves in the top three, and again the club coped badly with the international call-ups for the 2003 World Cup, once again finding themselves near the foot of the table. Only the long gap to bottom place Rotherham avoided any serious relegation danger. The victorious return of Richard Hill and Kyran Bracken from World Cup duty brought somewhat more upbeat performances for the second half of the season, but it still took a rare away victory at London Irish to claim the same 10th place of two seasons before.

2004–05 saw a bold strengthening of the squad, for once eschewing their cosmopolitan recruitment policy and securing mainly English based players, possibly with one eye on the effect that international call-ups had had in previous seasons. In came Kevin Yates, Iain Fullarton, Alex Sanderson, Dan Scarbrough and Hugh Vyvyan, while Matt Cairns returned to the club and Steve Diamond arrived at the club as forwards coach. Another signing who was to become a prominent part of the Saracens' line up was fly half Glen Jackson from New Zealand.

The season got off to the best off all possible starts with Saracens scoring a victory over reigning champions Wasps at the first ever London 'Double Header' at Twickenham. Once again, Saracens' winter malaise struck, and after inconsistent performances, Diamond took over the coaching duties from Kafer. The New Year brought a string of convincing performances, and a long unbeaten run saw the club finish the season in the top half of the table, in fifth place.

Once again in the wild card system for a European Cup place, Worcester were comfortably beaten, setting up the chance to end the season where it had begun, back at Twickenham. A late try secured victory over Gloucester and a place in the next season's Heineken Cup was ensured.

There was further shuffling of the coaching pack in 2005–06 with Diamond becoming Director of Rugby and defensive coach Mike Ford taking over the front line coaching role. In a reversal of the previous season's outcome Saracens lost their opening double-header game against Wasps, but unlike some previous seasons, this did not immediately trigger a run of bad results, and indeed until December Saracens progressed well. The Christmas season saw the start of a calamitous dip in form and going into the final months of the season the prospect of ending up in another relegation scrap seemed very real.

Diamond parted company with the club, with Ford taking over full control of the team, assisted by future England coach Eddie Jones in a consulting role. Results improved, and an away win at Sale who were to be champions that season even brought the prospect of another Heineken cup place.

A few disappointing results at the end of the season took some of the shine off the improved run of form, with Saracens ending the season in 10th place. The season's end also brought to a close the distinguished playing career of Kyran Bracken.

2006–07

Sarrie
Saracens mascot Sarrie the Camel

With Mike Ford being offered a role in the England set-up, former Leinster, Munster and Australia coach Alan Gaffney was appointed coach for the 2006 campaign. Among the new signings was South African, Neil de Kock, a player who was influential in the club's best season since 2000. Once again, Saracens were narrowly defeated by Wasps in the London double-header.

This was to be followed by what turned out to be a good away draw at Bristol in the context of the excellent season that Bristol would go on to have, before a bonus point win was secured against the Newcastle Falcons. A morale-boosting run of results followed, losing only three times between October and the following March. No individual result could quite produce the reaction that the return of England's Richard Hill to top flight action, with supporters of both clubs giving Hill a huge ovation on his return to the pitch after 18 months of knee reconstruction, capping off his comeback with a try.

This period also saw the long-awaited arrival of former Great Britain Rugby League captain, Andy Farrell, initially at flanker, but later at centre, the position at which he went on to take his England debut.

With the prospect of a place in the Premiership play-offs becoming ever more real, Saracens were also progressing well in the European Challenge Cup. They qualified for the knockout stages as second seeds, with only an away draw at Glasgow spoiling their group stage progression. A further win at the quarter-final stage against Glasgow saw Saracens host Bath for the semi-final, only to lose to ultimate runners up of the competition.

Results in the Premiership went Saracens' way, leaving them with the possibility of ending up anywhere from second to fifth as the final round of matches approached. After a day of games almost all of which had significant consequences in terms of positions at the top, and at the foot of the table, Saracens found themselves in the Premiership playoffs for the first time, squeezing Wasps into a rare 5th-place position, out of playoff contention.

The campaign was to end with a heavy defeat away at Gloucester, however, overall the season represented a significant advance on those of recent years. After the end of the season there was to be personal success for Glen Jackson, whose league topping 400 points for the season and consistent high-level performances almost every week saw him awarded the PRA Player of the Year Award by his fellow professionals. On a sadder note the mercurial Thomas Castaignède, one of the most enduringly popular players at the club decided to bring his club rugby career to an end after providing many years of entertaining rugby at its best both for Saracens and France.

2007–08

Preparation for the 2007–08 seasons saw somewhat less activity in comings and goings from the squad, reflecting the relatively solid 2006–07 season. Among signings to date, specialist cover for Glen Jackson came in the form of Scotland fly half Gordon Ross, while South African utility back Brent Russell was highly regarded by many Springbok fans.

The most spectacular signing though was that of All Black second row Chris Jack, widely regarded as the world's best in his position, who joined Saracens after the 2007 World Cup. In addition to his all-round game, Saracens hoped that Jack would bring some solidity to a Saracens' line-out which was one of the areas where they were consistently pressured in the previous season. The estimated value of Jack's contract raised eyebrows with a three-year contract at a total value of £750,000.

The loss of Glen Jackson and Brent Russell for the opening of the season due to pre-season injuries represented a significant blow to the club, but nonetheless the season began well with a return to winning ways against Wasps in the opening day London double-header. Defeat at the first home game by early pace setters Gloucester brought the team down to earth, before a solid away win at struggling Leeds, revenge for the previous season's home and away defeats away at Worcester, and a win back at Vicarage Road over Leicester. Defensive frailties saw Saracens go into the Autumn Premiership break for cup matches third in the table, but also with the third worst defensive record, after a defeat away at Sale.

The first round of cup competition saw Saracens win comfortably away at Leeds in the EDF Energy Cup, despite conceding four tries. Another bonus point win over Bristol back at Vicarage Road positioned Saracens well with maximum points ahead of a difficult away trip to Llanelli. Turning to Europe, Saracens' return to Heineken Cup action also saw the return of Glasgow Warriors to Vicarage Road. As in the two European Challenge Cup home games against the same team in the previous season, Saracens ran out bonus point winners, albeit not without defensive frailties causing anxious moments going into the final minutes of the game. The following weekend Saracens lost out by a single point against Biarritz Olympique being denied by a penalty scored from the half-way line in the dying moments of the match.

The brief return to Guinness Premiership action at the end of November saw Saracens come out top in a tight battle at home against London Irish, with the lead changing hands several times. Cup action in the form of the final round of EDF Energy Cup pool stage games, where Saracens failed once again to win away in Wales, but taking a losing bonus point and a try bonus too was enough to see them qualify for the semi-final stage for the first time in their Anglo-Welsh cup history, ahead of their opponents Llanelli Scarlets. Further progress was then made in the Heineken Cup in an impressive ten try to one defeat of Viadana at home in a game which saw the first team debuts for Chris Jack and Brent Russell. Viadana almost took their revenge in the return fixture the following week, where Saracens conceded a 26–3 half time lead to the Italians, before showing composure in the second half to score 31 unanswered points and take the win that would see them enter the New Year at the head of their Heineken Cup pool.

The return to premiership action over Christmas and the New Year began well for Saracens with a win away at London rivals Harlequins, however once again defensive weakness and coming out of the blocks slowly saw Saracens take only a losing bonus point from their final fixture of 2007 in the Premiership, though it was enough to see them go into the New Year in third place in the domestic league.

The buildup to the first game of 2008 was dominated by talk away from the field of play, with the news that former Wallaby coach Eddie Jones was to succeed Alan Gaffney at the top of the coaching subject with Gaffney adopting the same consulting role Jones had been providing, while rumours of substantial cash investment from South African rugby interests abounded. When the focus returned to on-field matters Saracens suffered a second successive defeat in the Premiership, this time away at Bristol, failing even to take a losing bonus point for the first time in any competition in the season and raising fears of the all too familiar Saracens' winter slump.

2009–10

The arrival of Brendan Venter to the head coach role sparked major controversy. Shortly after arrival he triggered the culling of 18 players within 48 hours, known among fans as "the night of the long knives", this would then be followed up by the arrival of a number of South Africans to the squad. This caused the club to be strongly criticised as they were seen to be swaying away from being an English club. Some even began calling the club "Saffracens", due to their strong South African links (Saffa being slang for South African).

This didn't stop Saracens going on a 10-match unbeaten run at the start of the domestic season which saw wins over London Irish (at Twickenham in the London Double Header), Northampton (at Wembley), London Wasps and Bath.

On 16 November a Derick Hougaard drop goal saw a one-point win over South Africa at Wembley. Viewed by some as a notable example of the South Africa excessive presence (Saracens fielded 9 South Africans), Saracens managed to overturn a 6–18 half time deficit to win 24–23. Generating greater publicity than the actual game was Stuart Tinner managing to win £250,000 by kicking a ball to directly hit the crossbar of the posts.

27 December saw Saracens lose away to London Irish, which was their first defeat of the domestic league competition, having had one draw and two losses in all competitions before this date. What followed was five defeats in the next six games; Leicester, Wasps, Bath and Leeds Carnegie all defeated Saracens, accompanied with being knocked out of the Amlin Challenge Cup despite losing only one match.

The post-Christmas slump in form for Saracens looked all too familiar. Yet a change in playing style and having found a new sense of attacking rugby, Sarries stopped the rot with a 58–15 drubbing of struggling Newcastle. From then on, they went on to win four out the five matches played, including impressive wins away to Sale, Northampton and table-topping Leicester Tigers.

This drastic change in form secured Saracens' Guinness Premiership Semi-Final spot in a respectable 3rd place and now faced Northampton Saints, the fifth time this season, away at Franklin's Gardens looking to end a streak of six semi-final losses in all competitions in the last three-years. Saracens defeated Northampton 21–19 in an all-mighty clash, with Glen Jackson ensuring that Sarries reached their first final since 1998 with a late kick, converting Schalk Brits's driving-maul try.

The 2010 Guinness Premiership Final at Twickenham, pitted Saracens against the eight-time and reigning English Champions, Leicester Tigers. In a pulsating game of rugby, Leicester sneaked Saracens to a 33–27 win with a late try to Dan Hipkiss providing the difference after Saracens flyhalf Glen Jackson had kicked what looked to be the winning penalty with only a few minutes left. Heartbreak for Sarries and their fans, but it just wasn't to be a fairy-tale ending for a remarkable season.

The final also marked the last match for a number of players including Fabio Ongaro, Matías Agüero, former All Black Justin Marshall and loyal fly-half Glen Jackson.

2010–11: Premiership champions

Saracens opened the 2010–11 season with a loss to London Irish in the opener of the London Double Header at Twickenham, Following the loss, their form improved as they ran off four wins in succession before a shock loss to Premiership newcomers Exeter Chiefs. They crashed out of the Heineken Cup in the pool stage, finishing bottom of a tough pool that featured Leinster, the ultimate Heineken Cup winners, and Clermont and Racing Métro, both of which made the French semi-finals. Saracens' domestic form, however, proved much stronger; they secured a home semi-final with one league match left, defeating Harlequins on the final day to complete a run of ten straight victories, including away at Northampton, Wasps, Exeter and Leicester Tigers. In the regular season Saracens won more games than any other side −18 in total – only missing out on top spot in the league because of the bonus point system. Gloucester awaited the Men in Black in the Semi-Final at Vicarage Road. A nervy finish and a late penalty from young flyhalf Owen Farrell gave Sarries the 12–10 win they wanted to reach their second successive Premiership Final.

In the Final, they again faced Leicester Tigers in a dramatic encounter. Saracens dominated the first half, leading 16–9 at half-time thanks to a James Short try, and showed a strong defensive performance to keep out waves of Leicester attack. This culminated in a nine-minute period of extra time during which they defended over 30 phases of Leicester assault through the forwards while leading 22–18, finally being awarded a penalty to crown them English champions for the first time and get revenge against Leicester for the previous year's final. Schalk Brits, who set up James Short's try, was awarded Man of the Match.

Allianz Park
The redeveloped Copthall Stadium

Saracens also had one major off-field development during the season. Their landlord Watford FC activated a break clause in their groundshare deal, which at the time meant that Saracens needed a new home for the 2011–12 season. After looking at several venues in the area, Saracens announced on 10 November 2010 that it was in serious discussions with Barnet Borough Council about a move to the athletics stadium at the Barnet Copthall complex. Under the plan, Saracens would redevelop the stadium into a modern facility with 3,000 permanent seats and demountable stands to allow a rugby capacity of 10,000, and include the first artificial pitch in English rugby union.

Because of delays in the Barnet Copthall project, Saracens eventually reached an agreement with Watford to extend the groundshare at Vicarage Road for the 2011–12 season; the agreement covered at least 10 home matches that season.

2014–15: Premiership champions

Saracens started the 2014–15 with high-scoring victories against London rivals Wasps and Harlequins, and went on to finish the regular season in fourth place, qualifying for the play-offs. After beating first-placed Northampton 29–24 in the semi-final, Saracens met Bath in the final. Saracens scored three unanswered tries in the first half, and went on to win the game 28–16, becoming the first team to become Premiership champions from a fourth-place finish. They made it a double, with a 23–20 win against Exeter in the final of the Anglo-Welsh Cup, a last minute penalty from Ben Spencer claiming Saracen's second Cup win.

In the first iteration of the European Rugby Champions Cup Saracens made it to the Semi-Finals before losing to ASM Clermont. In the boardroom, CEO Edward Griffiths departed and was replaced by Heath Harvey, a former director at Club Wembley.

2019 salary cap infringement and relegation

In March 2019, allegations first emerged that Saracens may have broken Premiership Rugby's salary cap. Saracens' chairman Nigel Wray had been investing in companies alongside players such as Richard Wigglesworth, Mako Vunipola, Billy Vunipola and Maro Itoje. In June, Premiership Rugby announced that they would hold an investigation into Saracens.

In November 2019, they were found to have been in breach of the salary cap regulations due to failure to disclose player payments in the 2016–17, 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons, which would have taken them over the £7 million senior player salary cap. They were handed a 35-point deduction for the 2019–20 Premiership Rugby season and fined £5.3 million. The judgement found that Saracens had been reckless in entering into the arrangements with players without disclosing them to Premiership Rugby.

On 2 January 2020 Chairman Nigel Wray stood down and former Chief Executive Office Edward Griffiths returned to the role he left in 2015 with Mittesh Velani moving into a consultancy position. Wray was replaced as Saracens' Chairman by Neil Golding on 9 January 2020.

On 18 January 2020, Premiership Rugby announced that Saracens would be relegated to the RFU Championship for the 2020–21 season. Premiership Rugby CEO Darren Childs said this punishment was due to Saracens' lack of cooperation in a mid-season audit to prove compliance in the 2019–20 season.

After pressure from Premiership Rugby and the media Lord Dyson's full report into Saracens' spending was published on 23 January 2020, it revealed the overspend was £1.1m in 2016–17, £98,000 in 2017–18 and £906,000 in 2018–19. These included £923,947.63 of property investments between Nigel Wray and three unnamed Saracens' players. It also included Saracens' claim that the Salary Cap was unenforceable under competition law; this defence was rejected.

On 28 January 2020, Griffiths resigned as CEO after less than a month in charge and Premiership Rugby applied a further 70-point deduction for the 2019–20 season to ensure Saracens would finish bottom of the league table.

International relationships

Following the Saracens' tour of Japan, they have developed a relationship with Fukuoka Sanix Blues. They played Sanix at Global Arena at the start of Buck Shelford's reign as head coach and won comfortably, but they had a harder game on the same tour in Tokyo against Suntory Sungoliath.

In 2008–09, 50% of the club was bought by a South African consortium. Eddie Jones left mid-season and Brendan Venter was announced as the new Director of Rugby. Many players were 'culled' mid-season, to the outrage of the media. The changes in the club resulted in a dramatic turnaround in the club's fortunes, as they won their first eight games in the 2009–10 season, and finished 2009 on top of the Guinness Premiership. However, following a run of poor performances, they slipped to third finishing the season behind Leicester and Northampton.

Under the current ownership, Saracens have dramatically increased their international reach. They currently have established partner clubs in Georgia, Seattle, Abu Dhabi, Kuala Lumpur, Amman, Moscow, Kenya, São Paulo, and Tonga. According to CEO Edward Griffiths, "We estimate we could have 40 Saracens' players participating at the Rio Olympics under various national colours. And we have an advertising campaign running worldwide on CNBC."

2013 international encounters

In the summer of 2013, Saracens played two international matches. They beat the South African Barbarians on 16 May at Artillery Ground. They toured the Atlantic Ocean island Bermuda to promote rugby. They visited a number of schools, ran coaching workshops and engaged in fundraising activities while on tour. To finish, they played a Bermuda International Select XV, which included Simon Taylor, Mike Scholz, Zach Pangelinan, Shaun Perry and Gcobani Bobo who are all Internationally capped. The side was coached by former England international Lewis Moody and captained by former Ireland player Geordan Murphy.

2016 and 2017 matches in the United States

On 12 March 2016, Saracens' away Premiership match against London Irish was held at the Red Bull Arena in the U.S. state of New Jersey. This was the first time a Premiership match had taken place overseas. Saracens won by a score of 26–16.

Saracens returned to the United States when they were hosted by the Newcastle Falcons on 16 September 2017 at the Talen Energy Stadium in Philadelphia. Saracens won by a score of 29–7.

Current kit

The kit is currently supplied by Castore, from the beginning of the 2021–22 season. The club's principal sponsor is City Index, a subsidiary company whose parent is owned by Saracens' principle partner StoneX. The replica kit featured the logo of the Saracens Foundation, a charity operated by the club and £5 of proceeds from each jersey are donated to the foundation.

Season summaries

League Domestic cup Europe
Season Competition Final position Points Play-offs Competition Performance Competition Performance
1987–88 Courage League Division 2 3rd 34 N/A John Player Cup 4th round No competition N/A
1988–89 Courage League Division 2 1st (P) 22 N/A Pilkington Cup 3rd round No competition N/A
1989–90 Courage League Division 1 4th 15 N/A Pilkington Cup 4th round No competition N/A
1990–91 Courage League Division 1 10th 10 N/A Pilkington Cup 4th round No competition N/A
1991–92 Courage League Division 1 5th 15 N/A Pilkington Cup 4th round No competition N/A
1992–93 Courage League Division 1 11th (R) 6 N/A Pilkington Cup 4th round No competition N/A
1993–94 Courage League Division 2 3rd 23 N/A Pilkington Cup Quarter–final No competition N/A
1994–95 Courage League Division 2 1st (P) 31 N/A Pilkington Cup 4th round No competition N/A
1995–96 Courage League Division 1 9th 10 N/A Pilkington Cup 5th round No English teams N/A
1996–97 Courage League Division 1 6th 25 N/A Pilkington Cup Quarter–final Not qualified N/A
1997–98 Allied Dunbar Premiership 2nd 37 N/A Tetley's Bitter Cup Champions Challenge Cup 2nd in pool
C&G Cup Pool stage
1998–99 Allied Dunbar Premiership 3rd 33 N/A Tetley's Bitter Cup Quarter–final No English teams N/A
C&G Cup 2nd round
1999–2000 Allied Dunbar Premiership 4th 28 N/A Tetley's Bitter Cup 5th round Heineken Cup 2nd in pool
2000–01 Zurich Premiership 5th 58 N/A Tetley's Bitter Cup Quarter–final Heineken Cup 2nd in pool
2001–02 Zurich Premiership 10th 34 N/A Powergen Cup Quarter–final Challenge Cup Quarter–final
2002–03 Zurich Premiership 8th 42 Powergen Cup Quarter–final Challenge Cup Semi–final
2003–04 Zurich Premiership 10th 39 Powergen Cup Quarter–final Challenge Cup Quarter–final
2004–05 Zurich Premiership 5th 57 Powergen Cup Quarter–final Challenge Cup Quarter–final
2005–06 Guinness Premiership 10th 46 Powergen Cup 4th in pool Heineken Cup 2nd in pool
2006–07 Guinness Premiership 4th 63 Semi–final EDF Energy Cup 3rd in pool Challenge Cup Semi–final
2007–08 Guinness Premiership 8th 52 EDF Energy Cup Semi–final Heineken Cup Semi–final
2008–09 Guinness Premiership 9th 47 EDF Energy Cup 3rd in pool Challenge Cup Semi–final
2009–10 Guinness Premiership 3rd 69 Runners–up LV= Cup Semi–final Challenge Cup 2nd in pool
2010–11 Aviva Premiership 2nd 76 Champions LV= Cup 2nd in pool Heineken Cup 4th in pool
2011–12 Aviva Premiership 3rd 73 Semi–final LV= Cup 2nd in pool Heineken Cup Quarter–final
2012–13 Aviva Premiership 1st 77 Semi–final LV= Cup Semi–final Heineken Cup Semi–final
2013–14 Aviva Premiership 1st 87 Runners–up LV= Cup Semi–final Heineken Cup Runners–up
2014–15 Aviva Premiership 4th 68 Champions LV= Cup Champions Champions Cup Semi–final
2015–16 Aviva Premiership 1st 80 Champions No competition N/A Champions Cup Champions
2016–17 Aviva Premiership 3rd 77 Semi–final Anglo-Welsh Cup Semi–final Champions Cup Champions
2017–18 Aviva Premiership 2nd 77 Champions Anglo-Welsh Cup Pool stage Champions Cup Quarter–final
2018–19 Gallagher Premiership 2nd 78 Champions Premiership Cup Runners–up Champions Cup Champions
2019–20 Gallagher Premiership 12th (R) –38 Premiership Cup Semi–final Champions Cup Semi–final
2020–21 Greene King IPA Championship 2nd 40 Champions No competition N/A Not qualified N/A
2021–22 Gallagher Premiership 2nd 87 Runners–up Premiership Cup Pool stage Challenge Cup Semi–final

Gold background denotes champions
Silver background denotes runners-up
Pink background denotes relegated

Club honours

Saracens F.C.

  • Premiership Rugby
    • Champions: (5) 2010–11, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19
    • Runners–Up: (4) 1997–98, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2021–22
  • RFU Championship
    • Champions: (3) 1988–89, 1994–95, 2020–21
  • European Rugby Champions Cup
    • Champions: (3) 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19
    • Runners–Up: (1) 2013–14
  • Anglo–Welsh Cup
    • Champions: (2) 1997–98, 2014–15
  • Premiership Rugby Cup
    • Runners–Up: (1) 2018–19
  • Middlesex Senior Cup
    • Champions: (4) 1971–72, 1975–76, 1979–80, 1985–86
    • Runners–Up: (3) 1974–75, 1977–78, 1980–81

Saracens Storm Reserves

  • Premiership Rugby Shield
    • Champions: (2) 2014–15, 2018–19
    • Runners-Up: (1) 2012–13

Saracens Sevens

  • Premiership Rugby Sevens Series
    • Champions: (3) 2010, 2018, 2019
    • Runners–Up: (1) 2011
  • Melrose Sevens
    • Champions: (2) 2012, 2013

Current squad

The Saracens senior squad for the 2022–23 season is:

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union
Theo Dan Hooker England England
Jamie George Hooker England England
Ethan Lewis Hooker Wales Wales
Kapeli Pifeleti Hooker United States United States
Tom Woolstencroft Hooker England England
Ralph Adams-Hale Prop England England
Eduardo Bello Prop Argentina Argentina
Alec Clarey Prop England England
Sam Crean Prop England England
James Flynn Prop England England
Robin Hislop Prop Scotland Scotland
Christian Judge Prop England England
Eroni Mawi Prop Fiji Fiji
Marco Riccioni Prop Italy Italy
Mako Vunipola Prop England England
Cameron Boon Lock England England
Callum Hunter-Hill Lock Scotland Scotland
Andrew Kitchener Lock England England
Nick Isiekwe Lock England England
Maro Itoje Lock England England
Hugh Tizard Lock England England
Andy Christie Back row Scotland Scotland
Ben Earl Back row England England
Toby Knight Back row England England
Theo McFarland Back row Samoa Samoa
Ollie Stonham Back row England England
Billy Vunipola Back row England England
Jackson Wray Back row England England
Player Position Union
Aled Davies Scrum-half Wales Wales
Ruben de Haas Scrum-half United States United States
Ivan van Zyl Scrum-half South Africa South Africa
Owen Farrell (c) Fly-half England England
Alex Lozowski Fly-half England England
Manu Vunipola Fly-half England England
Elliot Daly Centre England England
Josh Hallett Centre England England
Dom Morris Centre England England
Duncan Taylor Centre Scotland Scotland
Nick Tompkins Centre Wales Wales
Ben Harris Wing England England
Francois Hougaard Wing South Africa South Africa
Tom Howe Wing England England
Alex Lewington Wing England England
Sean Maitland Wing Scotland Scotland
Rotimi Segun Wing England England
Alex Goode Fullback England England
Max Malins Fullback England England

Note: Players listed in bold have received at least one international test cap.

Academy squad

The Saracens academy squad is:

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union
Samson Adejimi Hooker England England
James Isaacs Hooker England England
Harvey Beaton Prop England England
Tristan Smith Prop England England
Jevaughn Warren Prop England England
Max Eke Lock England England
Anthony Mark Lock England England
Obinna Nkwocha Lock England England
Kaden Pearce-Paul Lock England England
Alex Wardell Lock England England
Luca Fahy Back row England England
Nathan Michelow Back row England England
Kennedy Sylvester Back row England England
Player Position Union
Charlie Bracken Scrum-half England England
Sam Bryan Scrum-half England England
Tobias Elliott Fly-half England England
Harry Legg Fly-half England England
Olly Hartley Centre England England
Brandon Jackson Centre England England
Francis Moore Wing England England
Charlie Reynolds-West Wing England England
Jenson McInulty Fullback England England

Club staff

Coaching and ownership structure

The current Saracens senior management and coaching staff is as follows:

Timeline of coaches (professional era)

Name From To Honours Notes
South Africa Francois Pienaar July
1997
May
2002
* 1998 Tetley's Bitter Cup winner (as player-coach)
* 1998 Premiership runner-up (as player-coach)
* Also Saracens player 1997–2000, chief executive 2000–02
* Current Saracens co-owner/board member
* Former South Africa captain
* 1995 Rugby World Cup winner
New Zealand Wayne Shelford June
2002
July
2003
* Former New Zealand captain
* 1987 Rugby World Cup winner
Australia Rod Kafer August
2003
December
2004
* Also Saracens player 2003
* 1999 Rugby World Cup winner
England Steve Diamond December
2004
February
2006
* Sale first-team coach 2001–02, director of rugby 2012–20
* Russia head coach 2010–11
* Worcester lead rugby consultant 2021, director of rugby 2022
Australia Eddie Jones (interim) February
2006
May
2006
* Caretaker head coach
* Also Saracens technical advisor 2006, 2007–08
Australia Alan Gaffney June
2006
May
2008
* Munster director of rugby 2003–05
* Leinster and Ireland backs coach 2009–11
* Northampton director of rugby 2017–18
Australia Eddie Jones June
2008
March
2009
* Australia head coach 2001–05 (2003 World Cup runner-up)
* South Africa technical advisor 2007 (2007 World Cup winner)
* Japan head coach 2012–15
* England head coach 2016–present (2019 World Cup runner-up)
Australia Richard Graham (interim) March
2009
May
2009
* Caretaker head coach
* Also Saracens assistant coach 2006–09
South Africa Brendan Venter June
2009
January
2011
* 2011 Premiership winner (ended season as technical director)
* 2010 Premiership runner-up
* Also Saracens technical director 2011–15
* 1995 Rugby World Cup winner
* London Irish player-coach 2001–03, technical director 2016–18
* Italy technical advisor 2016, defence coach 2017–19
Ireland Mark McCall January
2011
present * Five-time Premiership winner (2011, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019)
* Three-time European Champions Cup winner (2016, 2017, 2019)
* Four-time Premiership Coach of the Year (2013, 2014, 2016, 2019)
* 2015 LV Cup winner
* 2021 RFU Championship winner
* Two-time Premiership runner-up (2014, 2022)
* 2014 Heineken Cup runner-up
* 2019 Premiership Rugby Cup runner-up
* Also Saracens first-team coach 2009–11
* Ireland A and Ireland U21s first-team coach 1999–2001
* Ulster backs coach 1999–2004, director of rugby 2004–07
* Castres backs coach 2007–08

Notable former coaches

The following former Saracens assistant coaches – who all began their professional rugby coaching careers at the club – have gone on to serve in high-profile positions at international level and at other top-tier clubs in the English Premiership, the French Top 14 or the United Rugby Championship:

  • England Mike Ford (defence coach 2004–05, head coach 2005–06)
    • England defence coach 2006–11
    • Bath director of rugby 2013–16
    • Toulon head coach 2016–17, Leicester defence coach 2019–21
  • England Paul Gustard (assistant coach 2008–09, defence coach 2009–16)
  • England Steve Borthwick (player/captain 2008–14, academy coach 2012–14)
    • Japan forwards coach 2014–15, England forwards coach 2016–20
    • Leicester director of rugby 2020–22
    • England head coach 2022–
  • England Alex Sanderson (forwards coach 2008–16, defence coach 2016–21)
    • Sale director of rugby 2021–
  • England Andy Farrell (backs coach 2009–11, head coach 2011–12)
    • England defence coach 2012–15
    • Ireland defence coach 2016–19, head coach 2019–
  • England Richard Wigglesworth (player 2010–20, academy coach 2017–20)
    • Canada defence and kicking coach 2019
    • Leicester attack coach 2021–22, interim head coach 2022–
  • England Richard Hill (player 1993–2008, academy coach 2010–13)
  • Fiji Mosese Rauluni (player 2004–10, academy coach 2010–12)
    • Fiji backs coach 2011, defence and skills coach 2014–
  • England Ian Vass (academy coach 2013–17)
    • England U20s head coach 2017
    • Montpellier defence coach 2017–20, Northampton defence coach 2020–

Notable players

British & Irish Lions

The following players have been selected to represent the British & Irish Lions on tour while at Saracens:

Tour Host nation Series result Number selected Players selected Notes
1997 South Africa South Africa 2–1 4 England Kyran Bracken
England Tony Diprose
England Richard Hill
Ireland Paul Wallace
* Hill and Wallace featured in all three test squads.
* Bracken and Diprose were later additions to the tour.
2001 Australia Australia 1–2 4 England Danny Grewcock
England Richard Hill (2)
England Dan Luger
Scotland Scott Murray
* Grewcock featured in all three test squads.
* Hill started in the first two tests, before suffering a tour-ending injury.
2005 New Zealand New Zealand 0–3 2 England Richard Hill (3)
Ireland Shane Byrne
* Hill started in the first test, before suffering a tour-ending injury.
* Byrne featured in the first and third tests.
2009 South Africa South Africa 1–2 0
2013 Australia Australia 2–1 4 England Brad Barritt
England Owen Farrell
England Matt Stevens
England Mako Vunipola
* Farrell and M. Vunipola featured in all three test squads.
* Barritt was a later addition to the tour.
* Stevens previously featured on the 2005 tour while at Bath.
2017 New Zealand New Zealand 1–1–1 7 England Owen Farrell (2)
England Jamie George
England Maro Itoje
England George Kruis
England Billy Vunipola
England Mako Vunipola (2)
Wales Liam Williams
* Saracens was the most represented club on tour – a feat repeated in 2021.
* Farrell, George, Itoje, M. Vunipola and Williams featured in all three test squads.
* Farrell was the top points scorer in both the test series and the tour overall.
* Kruis started in the first test.
* B. Vunipola pulled out of the tour following his selection, due to injury.
2021 South Africa South Africa 1–2 5 England Elliot Daly
England Owen Farrell (3)
England Jamie George (2)
England Maro Itoje (2)
England Mako Vunipola (3)
* Daly, Itoje and M. Vunipola featured in all three test squads.
* Itoje was named the Lions Player of the Series.
* M. Vunipola became England's most-capped Lions test player of the professional era.
* Farrell featured in the first two test squads.
* Daly previously featured on the 2017 tour while at Wasps.

Rugby World Cup

The following players have been selected to represent their national teams at the Rugby World Cup while at Saracens (winners are listed in bold):

Tournament Number selected England players Other national team players
1999 9 Kyran Bracken,
Danny Grewcock,
Richard Hill,
Dan Luger
Scott Murray, Robbie Russell Scotland
Paul Wallace Ireland
Roberto Grau Argentina
Brendan Reidy Samoa
2003 7 Kyran Bracken,
Richard Hill
Robbie Russell Scotland
Tom Shanklin Wales
Nicky Little Fiji
Jared Barker, Morgan Williams Canada
2007 5 Andy Farrell Kameli Ratuvou, Mosese Rauluni (c) Fiji
Census Johnston Samoa
Fabio Ongaro Italy
2011 8 Matt Stevens,
Richard Wigglesworth
Kelly Brown Scotland
John Smit (c) South Africa
Jacques Burger (c) Namibia
Michael Tagicakibau Fiji
Hayden Smith, Chris Wyles United States
2015 18 Brad Barritt, Owen Farrell,
Jamie George, Alex Goode,
George Kruis, Billy Vunipola,
Mako Vunipola, Richard Wigglesworth
Titi Lamositele, Thretton Palamo,
Hayden Smith, Chris Wyles (c) United States
Marcelo Bosch, Juan Figallo Argentina
Schalk Brits South Africa
Jacques Burger (c) Namibia
Samuela Vunisa Italy
Cătălin Fercu Romania
2019 16 Elliot Daly, Owen Farrell (c),
Jamie George, Maro Itoje,
George Kruis, Jack Singleton,
Ben Spencer, Billy Vunipola,
Mako Vunipola
Sean Maitland, Duncan Taylor Scotland
Rhys Carré, Liam Williams Wales
Vincent Koch South Africa
Juan Figallo Argentina
Titi Lamositele United States

Halls of fame

The following players have been inducted into the Saracens Hall of Fame:

  • England John Steeds (1938–1950)
  • England Tony Turner (1946–1949)
  • England Vic Harding (1951–1964)
  • England Ken Bartlett (1959–1962, 1967)
  • England James Wyness (1961–1968)
  • England George Sherriff (1963–1973)
  • England John Lockwood (1963–1977)
  • England Mel Williams (1966–1976)
  • England Floyd Steadman (1980–1990)
  • England Lee Adamson (1983–1994, 2000–2007)
  • England Brian Davies (1990–1996)
  • England John Buckton (1984–1996)
  • Australia Michael Lynagh (1996–1998)
  • France Philippe Sella (1996–1998)


In addition, several former Saracens players have been inducted into the two incarnations of the World Rugby Hall of Fame:

Club captains

The following players have held the position of Saracens club captain:

  • 1876–1882 - England F.W. Dunn
  • 1882–1887 - England A. Jenkins
  • 1887–1890 - England G. Sparks
  • 1890–1891 - England J. Bongard
  • 1891–1893 - England H.E. Read
  • 1893–1896 - England W.T.A. Beare
  • 1896–1897 - England A. Warden
  • 1897–1899 - England W.T.A. Beare
  • 1899–1900 - England T. Sawyer
  • 1900–1901 - England W.T.A. Beare
  • 1901–1907 - England C.S. Bongard
  • 1907–1909 - England J.W. Jennings
  • 1909–1911 - England T.H. Pentony
  • 1911–1912 - England W.A. Andrew
  • 1912–1913 - England A.J. Wilson
  • 1913–1914 - England D. McMillan
  • 1919–1920 - England D.H. Keith
  • 1920–1921 - England G.P. Mayne
  • 1921–1922 - England F.S. Chaan
  • 1922–1923 - England T.F. Pilcher
  • 1923–1924 - England J.S. Greer
  • 1924–1925 - England W.T. Williams
  • 1925–1926 - England J.S. Greer
  • 1926–1927 - England K. Brown
  • 1927–1928 - England O.R.G. Williams
  • 1928–1929 - England L.C. Johnson
  • 1929–1930 - England W.L. Prosser
  • 1930–1933 - England K. Brown
  • 1933–1935 - England M. Barak
  • 1935–1936 - England E.O. Furness
  • 1936–1938 - England A.V.N. Bartlett
  • 1938–1939 - England G.J. Burkle
  • 1939–1940 - England P. Brown
  • 1940–1946 - England E. Heptonstall
  • 1946–1949 - England G.A. Turner
  • 1949–1950 - England R.D. Bruce
  • 1950–1952 - England L.W. Knowlson
  • 1952–1954 - England R.D. Bruce
  • 1954–1955 - England E.A. Eames
  • 1955–1956 - England R. Robertson
  • 1956–1957 - England V.S.J. Harding
  • 1957–1958 - England D.J. Dowling
  • 1958–1960 - England D.M. Thomas
  • 1960–1962 - England K.J. Bartlett
  • 1962–1965 - England J.A.D. Wyness
  • 1965–1968 - England G.D. Hunt
  • 1968–1970 - England R. Weaver
  • 1970–1972 - England J.A. Lockwood
  • 1972–1973 - England R. Headey
  • 1973–1974 - England J.M. Heggadon
  • 1974–1976 - England M. Williams
  • 1976–1977 - England J.A. Lockwood
  • 1977–1978 - England D. Harrigan
  • 1978–1981 - England R. Faircloth
  • 1981–1982 - England A. Harrower
  • 1982–1983 - England F. Steadman
  • 1983–1987 - England A. Keay
  • 1987–1988 - England L. Adamson
  • 1988–1990 - England F. Steadman
  • 1990–1992 - England J.R. Buckton
  • 1992–1996 - England B. Davies
  • 1996–1999 - England T. Diprose
  • 1999–2000 - South Africa J.F. Pienaar
  • 2000–2001 - England K.P.P. Bracken
  • 2001–2002 - France A. Benazzi
  • 2002–2003 - England K.P.P. Bracken
  • 2003–2004 - Fiji S. Raiwalui
  • 2004–2006 - England H.D. Vyvyan
  • 2006–2007 - Fiji S. Raiwalui
  • 2007–2008 - South Africa N. de Kock
  • 2008–2014 - England S.W. Borthwick
  • 2014–2016 - South Africa A.J. Hargreaves
  • 2016–2020 - England B.M. Barritt
  • 2020–present - England O.A. Farrell

Personnel honours and records

Most appearances

The following players have the most appearances for Saracens.

  1. England Alex Goode (343), 2008–present
  2. England Kris Chesney (338), 1995–2009
  3. England John Buckton (319), 1984–1996
  4. England Kevin Sorrell (304), 1995–2010
  5. England Richard Hill (275), 1993–2008
  6. England Jackson Wray (257), 2008–present
  7. South Africa Neil de Kock (257), 2006–2017
  8. United States Chris Wyles (254), 2008–2018
  9. England Brad Barritt (252), 2008–2020
  10. England Richard Wigglesworth (240), 2010–2020

World Rugby Awards

The following Saracens players have achieved recognition at the World Rugby Awards (presented annually since 2001):

Key
Player (X) Name of the player and number of times that they had been nominated for the award at that point (if more than one)
Men's 15s Player of the Year
Year Nominated Winner
2012 England Owen Farrell
2016 England Owen Farrell (2), England Maro Itoje, England Billy Vunipola
2017 England Owen Farrell (3), England Maro Itoje (2)
2021 England Maro Itoje (3)

Six Nations Championship Awards

The following players have been named on either the Six Nations Player of the Championship or Team of the Championship shortlist while at Saracens:

European Player of the Year Awards

The following Saracens players have been named as nominees and winners of the EPCR European Player of the Year award (presented annually since 2011):

Key
Player (X) Name of the player and number of times that they had been nominated for the award at that point (if more than one)
§ Denotes that the club was also the winner of the European Rugby Champions Cup during the same season
dagger Denotes that the club was also the runner-up of the European Rugby Champions Cup during the same season
Season Nominated Winner
2010–11
2011–12 England Mouritz Botha, England Owen Farrell
2012–13 England Owen Farrell (2), England Charlie Hodgson
2013–14dagger England Chris Ashton, South Africa Schalk Brits, Namibia Jacques Burger, England Alex Goode
2014–15 England Billy Vunipola
2015–16§ England Owen Farrell (3), England Maro Itoje, England George Kruis, England Billy Vunipola (2) England Maro Itoje
2016–17§ England Owen Farrell (4), England Maro Itoje (2) England Owen Farrell
2017–18
2018–19§ England Alex Goode (2), England Mako Vunipola England Alex Goode
2019–20
2020–21
2021–22

Highest scorers by European season

The following lists denote the top points scorers and top try scorers for Saracens during each European season from 2011–12 onwards:

Premiership Rugby Awards

The following Saracens players have achieved recognition at the annual Premiership Rugby Awards:

Key
Player (X) Name of the player and number of times that they had been nominated for the award at that point (if more than one)
§ Denotes that the club was also the winner of the domestic league or cup competition during the same season
dagger Denotes that the club was also the runner-up of the domestic league or cup competition during the same season
Premiership Team of the Year
Season Number selected Players selected
2010–11§ 3 South Africa Schalk Brits, Namibia Jacques Burger, England David Strettle
2011–12 1 South Africa Schalk Brits (2)
2012–13 1 England Mako Vunipola
2013–14dagger 2 Namibia Jacques Burger (2), England Billy Vunipola
2014–15§ 1 England Jamie George
2015–16§ 5 England Mako Vunipola (2), England Maro Itoje, England George Kruis, England Billy Vunipola (2), England Alex Goode
2016–17 5 England Mako Vunipola (3), England Jamie George (2), England Jackson Wray, England Richard Wigglesworth, England Brad Barritt (c)
2017–18§ 0
2018–19§ 4 England Mako Vunipola (4), England Jamie George (3), Australia Will Skelton, England Alex Goode (2)
2019–20 2 England Maro Itoje (2), England Ben Earl
2020–21 0
2021–22dagger 2 England Ben Earl (2), England Max Malins

Premiership Team of the Decade

The following Saracens players were named in the Premiership Rugby Team of the Decade for the 2010s:

Highest scorers by domestic season

The following lists denote the top try scorers and top points scorers for Saracens during each domestic season from 1997–1998 onwards:

Rugby Players' Association Awards

The following Saracens players have achieved recognition at the annual RPA Awards:

Year Players' Player of the Year Young Player of the Year Special Merit Award England Player of the Year
2007 New Zealand Glen Jackson
2010 South Africa Schalk Brits
2012 England Owen Farrell England Hugh Vyvyan
2014 England Steve Borthwick
2016 England Maro Itoje England Charlie Hodgson England Billy Vunipola
2017 England Owen Farrell
2018 England Mako Vunipola
2020 England Richard Wigglesworth

End-of-season club awards

The following Saracens players have achieved recognition at the club's annual Big Bash end-of-season awards:

Season Players' Player of the Year Young Player of the Year Fans' Player of the Year Academy Player of the Year
2015–16 Scotland Duncan Taylor England Billy Vunipola England Owen Farrell Wales Nick Tompkins
2016–17 South Africa Michael Rhodes England Maro Itoje Argentina Marcelo Bosch England Hayden Thompson-Stringer
2017–18 England Jackson Wray England Nick Isiekwe England Jackson Wray England Max Malins
2018–19 Australia Will Skelton United States Titi Lamositele England Alex Goode England Sean Reffell
2019–20 England Richard Wigglesworth England Manu Vunipola
2020–21 Scotland Tim Swinson England Sean Reffell
2021–22 South Africa Vincent Koch Scotland Andy Christie England Ben Earl

English Premiership record

Results per opposition

The following table details the past performance of Saracens against different opponents in the English Premiership, between the 1989–90 and 2021–22 seasons.

English Premiership
Opposition Span Played Won Drawn Lost Win% Points for Average PF Points against Best score Worst score 40-49 points 50+ points
[[{{{tan}}}|{{{t}}}]] 1989–2022 57 33 3 21 57.89% 1377 24.16 1176 71-17 (2021–22) 66-21 (2007–08) 2 5
[[{{{tan}}}|{{{t}}}]] 1989–2022 34 23 1 10 67.65% 829 24.38 571 47-13 (2019–20) 45-22 (1999–2000) 3 0
[[{{{tan}}}|{{{t}}}]] 1989–2022 56 36 1 19 64.29% 1335 23.84 1147 50-10 (1999–2000) 43-6 (2001–02) 2 1
Birmingham Moseley Rugby Club 1989–1990 2 2 0 0 100.00% 54 27.00 19 33-13 (1989–90) 13-33 (1989–90) 0 0
Orrell R.U.F.C. 1989–1997 8 5 0 3 62.50% 130 16.25 134 44-22 (1996–97) 38-13 (1995–96) 1 0
Bedford Blues 1989–2000 5 5 0 0 100.00% 187 37.40 80 57-29 (1999–2000) 29-57 (1999–2000) 1 1
[[{{{tan}}}|{{{t}}}]] 1989–2022 59 26 3 30 44.07% 1308 22.17 1394 62-12 (2017–18) 50-9 (2006–07) 4 2
[[{{{tan}}}|{{{t}}}]] 1989–2022 61 26 4 31 42.62% 1237 20.28 1347 50-25 (2011–12) 48-7 (2001–02) 2 1
Nottingham R.F.C. 1989–1992 3 2 0 1 66.67% 53 17.67 40 28-3 (1990–91) 25-12 (1989–90) 0 0
Rosslyn Park F.C. 1989–1992 3 3 0 0 100.00% 38 12.67 30 15-13 (1989–90) 13-15 (1989–90) 0 0
Wasps RFC 1989–2022 57 26 1 30 45.61% 1200 21.05 1379 57-33 (2017–18) 64-23 (2015–16) 0 2
Liverpool St Helens F.C. 1990–1991 1 1 0 0 100.00% 17 17.00 3 17-3 (1990–91) 3-17 (1990–91) 0 0
[[{{{tan}}}|{{{t}}}]] 1990–2022 55 35 0 20 63.64% 1331 24.20 1168 63-13 (2017–18) 58-17 (2005–06) 2 2
[[{{{tan}}}|{{{t}}}]] 1991–2022 46 28 1 19 60.87% 1181 25.67 971 51-14 (2017–18) 55-13 (2001–02) 7 1
Rugby Lions 1991–1993 2 2 0 0 100.00% 36 18.00 15 22-6 (1991–92) 9-14 (1992–93) 0 0
West Hartlepool 1992–1999 7 6 0 1 85.71% 249 35.57 127 52-3 (1998–99) 31-41 (1995–96) 2 2
London Scottish F.C. 1992–1999 3 2 0 1 66.67% 106 35.33 61 58-20 (1998–99) 24-7 (1998–99) 1 1
[[{{{tan}}}|{{{t}}}]] 1995–2022 52 34 2 16 65.38% 1407 27.06 1036 58-12 (1999–2000) 40-32 (2005–06) 7 3
Richmond F.C. 1997–1999 4 4 0 0 100.00% 88 22.00 54 33-17 (1998–99) 18-25 (1998–99) 0 0
[[{{{tan}}}|{{{t}}}]] 1997–2022 44 31 1 12 70.45% 1148 26.09 783 58-15 (2009–10) 47-18 (2001–02) 4 2
Rotherham Titans 2000–2004 4 3 0 1 75.00% 121 30.25 46 55-30 (2000–01) 19-8 (2000–01) 0 1
[[{{{tan}}}|{{{t}}}]] 2001–2011 16 10 0 6 62.50% 399 24.94 266 66-7 (2007–08) 41-31 (2003–04) 0 1
[[{{{tan}}}|{{{t}}}]] 2004–2022 30 20 1 9 66.67% 826 27.53 507 62-5 (2019–20) 40-27 (2019–20) 5 2
[[{{{tan}}}|{{{t}}}]] 2010–2022 26 15 1 10 57.69% 606 23.04 455 40-17 (2019–20) 34-37 (2018–19) 2 0
London Welsh RFC 2012–2015 4 4 0 0 100.00% 209 52.25 61 78-7 (2014–15) 23-28 (2012–13) 0 2
Overall 1989–2022 641 382 19 240 59.59% 15472 24.14 12789 78–7 vs London Welsh (2014–15) 66-21 vs Bath (2007–08) 45 29
  • All this data includes all regular season and play-off matches (semi-finals and finals)
  • All fixtures added 1989–90 - 2021–22

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Saracens para niños

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Saracens F.C. Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.