How Saracens went from ‘absolute rubbish’ to ‘phenomenal’

I can’t really do it justice here but there’s a great article over on the BBC website ahead of Saturday nights Premiership Final. It’s the story of how Saracens put culture ahead of winning and won. A real rags to riches story.

It was the 2005-06 season and Sarries, big names and all, finished third from bottom in the Premiership.

Now, 14 years later, England co-captain Farrell is the embodiment of how Saracens have built unparalleled success on homegrown talent over the past decade.

Will Fraser was among that glory-harvesting ‘class of 08’ until injury forced him into retirement in 2017 aged just 27. He says the quartet have achieved “remarkable” things together before any of them have turned 30.

“Looking back, it’s absolutely bonkers,” Fraser told BBC Sport. “But at the same time, it’s completely unsurprising.

“It is bonkers because of where they have come from and unsurprising because all of those guys are absolutely everything good about the club.

“Faz [Farrell] – with his mentality, his drive, his loyalty – you will never meet a more honest, humble, hard working or disciplined man in your life. They are literally the four club values.

“He is everything that is ‘the Saracens way’ in the same way that Jamie George, George Kruis and Jackson Wray also are.”

These are just four players defined by those three words – ‘the Saracens way’ – by which the club lives.

A total of 43 ‘homegrown’ players have featured for Saracens in the Premiership since 2008.

Some were cast in a Saracens mould as a teenager, the way north London’s own Maro Itoje was. Some were polished to a black and red sheen as young professionals such as Mako Vunipola who arrived from Bristol as an under-20 England international in 2011.

While not all established themselves as regulars, 11 have gone on to play for England and four – including Farrell, Kruis and George – have earned British and Irish Lions caps in that time.

Owen Farrell’s ugly hit an example of ‘shoulder charge”

Anyone who saw Owen Farrell’s shoulder charge on Andre Esterhuizen in England’s test against South Africa knew it was a shoulder charge. Except of course the guys who mattered. The Referees in charge of the game. They somehow came up with another decision. But now World Rugby is using Farrell’s ‘tackle’ as an example of foul play.

The controversy around Farrell’s ugly tackle lingered for several days, with a number of observers noting the England playmaker had a habit of not using his arms while leading with the shoulder in tackles.

It now appears World Rugby are officially deeming it to be a ‘shoulder charge’, according to the new video guide.

The law application guideline is designed to assist anyone involved in the sport, and with the on-field sanction decision-making process for high tackle and shoulder charges.

Research has found 76 per cent of concussions occur in the tackle, with 72 per cent of those to the tackler. The risk of head head injury is 4.2 times greater when tacklers are upright.

The ‘decision-making framework for high tackles’ was developed in partnership with union and competition delegates attending the player welfare symposium in France and includes player, coach, match official and medic input.