We know our time in English rugby’s second tier will be tough, with Ealing and the rest preparing to take down a big name
When the referee, Mike Hudson, called time at the end of Coventry’s victory over Doncaster Knights at Castle Park on Saturday 14 March, none of us knew that 358 days would pass before the next competitive game was played in the Greene King IPA Championship. It’s been a long, and frustrating, wait for players and fans, but the new season finally kicks off this weekend with my own club, Saracens, joining the league for the first time.
English rugby’s second-tier clubs will be excited at the prospect of denting the ambition of the three-time European champions and welcoming Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje and Billy Vunipola to a parallel rugby universe. If there is one game Championship clubs will analyse, put in an extra training session for, then Saracens will be that “cup final” for all.
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We will show respect to our opponents and work hard to earn it from them
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