The punishment for Nigel Wray’s team has caught many by surprise but it has exposed problems the game facesPioneering darlings of English rugby or hateful cheats? The verdict on Saracens continues to swing to impressively wild extremes, even by the standards of a sport that, 24 years into its professional era, has still to settle on anything like an equilibrium.Following the Premiership’s decision to puff out its chest and get macho all of a sudden on the matter of its salary cap, the assessment du jour is hateful cheats but, as usual, the boring truth lies somewhere in between. Related: Hypocrisy is in the air as Premiership rivals turn their backs on Saracens | The Breakdown Related: Saracens shake off...
The English champions have been left isolated by this week’s verdict, but there are mitigating factors and they do not deserve the tag of Premiership villainsSaracens have never courted popularity, but they have never been more isolated than now. Their Premiership rivals have welcomed the draconian 35-point penalty and £5m fine (which will rise if legal costs are awarded against them) slapped on the English and European champions for breaching the league’s salary cap regulations over a three‑year period.The Exeter chairman, Tony Rowe, will call for Saracens to be relegated when the Premiership board next meets in January. The Harlequins captain, Chris Robshaw, not one given to overreaction, said he found it hard to take now that success was found...
Twickenham showpiece thrills time and again, and it helped that this one featured one of the teams of this or any ageOnce again this grand-final concept repays. There are still those who grumble about it – and there is no doubt the idea of a nine-month (soon to be longer) slog through the dark English midwinter and out the other side just to establish four top seeds can feel a bit like overkill – but, time and again, the showpiece at Twickenham thrills. Professional club rugby, the mechanism through which any growth of the sport in England must be transmitted, is never better showcased. Related: Jamie George try caps stirring comeback as Saracens retain their title Continue reading...
Rob Baxter’s team have the variety in their attack to carry a significant threat against champions Saracens at TwickenhamExeter have come in for a fair bit of criticism in the last week or two for their supposedly “boring” style of play but I don’t believe it’s justified and I use WWF (as it was known when I was growing up) to demonstrate why. Back then every single wrestler – the Big Show, the Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Undertaker – was not known for their wrestling style, they were known for their finishing moves. I see Exeter’s “finishing move” as their ability to score tries from driving lineouts five metres from the opposition’s line and that is what they...
Calendar will shift from next season, putting the biggest club games deep into June and up against football and traditional summer sportsNot everyone will be aware that this week is the end of an era. From next season rugby union’s fixture calendar is due to change, with the 2020 Premiership final pushed back to 20 June and summer tours spilling over into July. The new season will not commence until late October because of the Rugby World Cup and the rhythm of the domestic professional game will feel significantly different.For many it is an uncomfortable development, not least from a scheduling perspective. This weekend is bad enough: the Exeter v Saracens final will clash, in no particular order, with the...