The pub session which secured Saracens' future

It was a dark day for Saracens during the 2018-19 Premiership campaign when the RFU handed down sanctions against the club for breaching salary cap protocols, sanctions which would see the club demoted to the Championship for the following season and thus the disastrous possibility of losing all their England representatives became all too real. 

Against the backdrop of the bad news, a group of senior players gathered at a local watering hole to talk shop – their professional lives as well as the life of the club. 

“We met in a pub down the road when it all started kicking off,” said Saracens and England stalwart, Elliot Daly, talking to mirror.co.uk.  “All the senior players were there and we sat in a room.” 

“We didn’t really know what to say at the start because it was a really difficult situation to deal with. 

“We realised we needed to get the club back to where it belongs but we still wanted to play for England. So there was a hard chat with everyone.” 

What was crucial to the whole issue was whether Saracens’ international representatives would be required to stay in the Premiership in order to retain the coveted white jersey. Saracens’ boss Mark McCall telephoned Eddie Jones to gain clarity on this point. 

"Eddie was brilliant,” Daly continued. “He said that if we are still performing we will be in camp and up for consideration. 

“We said ‘we are staying here and we are getting us back up - and then we will go for it next year’.” 

Revered England second-row Maro Itoje was adamant that Saracens was the only place for him. 

 “I knew this was where I wanted to be, I knew Saracens would be back competing for things,” he said. 

“Despite relegation, and no-one really wants to play in the Championship, I felt Saracens was the environment where I could achieve all of my goals.”