Saracens

It’s been a long eighteen months in the life of Saracens. But after tears, trials and retribution, against Ampthill, things begin to feel normal again. The fans – and Alex Goode – are back home. Plus, Maro Itoje has visited Doncaster; Lucy Wray has made new Premiership friends; Mark McCall has pitted his wits against the Crusaders; and Jackson Wray has managed to survive a four-children lockdown.

The rules state that if lightning strikes a rugby pitch, you have to wait seventeen minutes before play can begin. If it strikes after that, it’s then another seventeen-minute delay and so on and so forth.  

Five minutes ago, the StoneX Stadium and all within it, were basking in glorious spring sunshine. But now the conversation has turned to the World Rugby handbook on what happens if lightning strikes twice.

There are metaphors everywhere you look – a rainbow also makes an appearance – on the night that Saracens welcome fans at a competitive rugby fixture for the first time in over a year. The last time a home crowd witnessed Saracens battle for league points, it was against Leicester in the Premiership, their side won, and they numbered 6,564. 

This time, there’s just 2,000 of them, the opposition is Ampthill, not Leicester and the division is the Championship. Nonetheless, Saracens have got their big dogs, or rather big cats, out in force, as Mark McCall names no fewer than six British & Irish Lions in the starting fifteen – five of which are set to be in the class of  ’21. 

Some things never change. A Wray is overseeing it all, this time though it’s Lucy, daughter of Nigel and now at the helm as CEO. “I feel quite emotional,” she says, as we sit in one of the corporate boxes overlooking the pitch, “because it just makes you think about what we’ve been through over the last year and a half. 

“We’ve had all the fans messaging and emailing – it means so much to them to get back into the ground. And the players are so pumped for this, all the noise – it gives the players and everyone at the club purpose, so it does feel like a big step.” 

Even though she now watches games as a CEO rather than the owner’s daughter, match day hasn’t changed much for Lucy. “It’s always been a family day for us with the kids,” she says. “They’ll be climbing all over me during the game as always and the people we sit with know they’re going to have my kids knocking over their tea and watching Peppa Pig too loudly when Owen Farrell is about to kick.”

At least that’s the plan for tonight. “Hopefully, it’s not cancelled because of lightning,” she adds.

Before covid hit, Lucy’s focus had been the events business she’d built up with husband Tom Mercey, the former Saracens and Northampton Saints tighthead prop, but, like everything else in the world, things changed. “We had started to get involved in Saracens,” she says, “we were running our businesses from here, our offices were in the boxes so we knew what was going on, we knew the people and we had started looking at the commercial side for them: hospitality, ticket sales, partnerships, sponsorship, brand marketing, all of that.”

That was the start of 2019: the year Saracens were champions of England and Europe and provided more than a third of an England side that beat the All Blacks at the Rugby World Cup. Later that same month those same Saracens players found themselves embroiled in one of the biggest financial scandals English rugby had ever seen. 

Initially, Saracens were found guilty of breaching salary cap regulations, fined £8.5m and docked 35 points. But, when that looked insufficient to send the champions down, things turned almost farcical as a further 70 points were thrown on top to ensure the job got done. They finished on -38, almost 70 points adrift.

Lucy has been part of the Saracens family in every sense since she was fifteen, when her dad took over at their old home of Bramley Road in Southgate, north London. In 2020, as a member of the board, she’d been part of a search for a new CEO that, pre-covid, had taken them overseas. “Covid hit and everything was put on pause and I was basically picking up the reins for everything,” she says. “And, that’s where we are now.”

The recommendation for her to take the role didn’t come from Nigel. “He definitely would not want to, like, push me forward because I’m his daughter,” she says. “I had very much made my own way in life; even though Saracens is an absolute passion, it definitely was never the plan that I would become CEO.

“I think if he had done that, I’d have had to work really, really hard to demonstrate that [my appointment] wasn’t due to him pushing me forward. It was other board members saying, ‘you know you can do this, go for it’.”

And it’s not been the easiest of times to take charge of a rugby club, let alone one that has had the double whammy of enforced relegation and covid. “Recently, we looked back over what we’ve been through as a club over the last kind of eighteen months,” she says. “And it makes you realise that it was a really, really horrendously tough time, emotionally and it ... it was just hard seeing a club you care about so much and people you care about so much going through it. 

“I didn’t know if there was a worst element,” she continues. “It was just a long period of being knocked down and getting back up again and we’ve learned a huge number of lessons, we’ve tightened up all our governance and a lot has changed.

“I mean it was a long, sustained period of time,” she says of the period from the first allegations through to the end of that final Premiership season. “I remember I had a really good piece of advice someone said to me, ‘you’ve got to imagine that you take your head off your body and put it on someone else and, when you’re on your own, you can be upset and emotional but, when you walk into the office, just remember everyone’s looking at you. Everyone will feed off your emotion and your energy and so, even if you’re having to pretend for a while, just pretend and be strong, for them.’ 

“I think that really stuck with me,” she’s says, quickly adding, “but, listen, I did have quite a lot of emotion, a lot of people did, and we all supported each other, we cried together and laughed together.”

Was it hard to block out the constant media coverage? “I think you just, you end up listening to the kind of people who really matter and who really know you and really know the club,” she says. “You do try and think through the noise, but there’s so much noise and it can kind of disproportionately emotionally affect you and you’ve got to have real clarity of thought. 

“You’ve got to try and strip out the emotion and that was pretty difficult but you’ve got really good people around who know the club and passionately want it to do well.”

Did you ever suggest to your dad that he just walks away? “No, no, no,” she says. “Don’t get me wrong, it was very, very tough and difficult for him and there were some dark days but, you know, he just loves this club. He has been and always will be Saracens’ number one fan.”

Compounding the situation was covid, but so many body blows had the club taken, its impact wasn’t quite as expected. “It was weird because when covid hit, we had dealt with so many crises up to that point, that it almost didn’t hit us as hard as other clubs. 

“We’d already done a lot of planning, a lot of scenarios when we were planning a huge amount of financial forecasting and we were in quite a good position to deal with it.

“Covid was actually quite a leveller for all clubs because being in the Championship or Premiership doesn’t matter, there were still no crowds and I think our fan-base and everyone massively got behind the club. We’ve signed three new partnerships since then, we’ve renewed most of our principal partners, we’ve got a couple more in the pipeline so, touch wood, we’re in a good position but still trying to get much more financially sustainable moving forward.”

The arrival of StoneX as stadium sponsor and City Index as shirt sponsor, is a major boon for the club, especially given the collateral damage to the Saracens brand. “We’ve been really honest about our story so far, and where we were, and where we want to go,” explains Lucy. “And I think our partners have really bought into that, and they really understand that.”

Presumably though, StoneX got a cut-price deal given half the stadium is missing. What was the west stand is currently a building site. When work is completed, it will be replaced by not only a shiny new stand – although roughly the same capacity – but also part of Middlesex University. “We basically see the stadium not as Saracens’ home ground, but as a real estate business, and Saracens are one tenant,” explains Lucy. “And I think that’s important when you’re running the group that you kind of make that distinction, because for our goal to be financially sustainable you have to think about revenue lines outside of your traditional rugby ecosystem.

“I mean Exeter have done a great job in that way with their stadium and their business model,” she says. “And that stand is going to be incredible; it’s due, touch wood, to be up and running in the summer of ’22. The capacity will be roughly the same, about 10,500, but it massively improves the facilities. And then obviously, longer term, we will look to develop the north and south.”

Perhaps the biggest achievement in recent times relates to the names on the back of the shirts. Facing Ampthill today is a side that is resolutely Saracens: household names, fan favourites, British & Irish Lions, and several one-club men. 

“I think really early on, the players were like, ‘no, we’re not going anywhere’. The Makos, Maros, the Billys, the Owens, I can name loads that felt like that. But the coaching team have been phenomenal; they sat down with the players, put the player’s interests first and talked about the player’s career and what they needed. 

“They made a plan that fitted that player and worked for that player,” continues Lucy. “It took into account where they were in their career, what they needed, what they needed to do physically – they spoke with Eddie Jones and Warren Gatland and everything was worked out with what that player needed in mind. 

“So, whether they were on the cusp of England and needed to be playing Premiership rugby, or whether they were an established England player and actually could probably do with a little bit of a rest, that was all factored in, and that was all done with their interests at heart initially and those conversations were very honest, open from the outset, yeah and I think that everyone really respected that process.”

Another process has been reconnecting with the suits of Premiership Rugby. “We’ve worked really hard, and the other Premiership clubs have worked really hard too, on building relationships back up again,” she says. “And I think probably as a result of covid that, kind of, none of that mattered, and everyone’s in it together. 

“The likes of Semore Kurdi, the Newcastle owner, Peter Tom at Leicester, and a number of others were really good and made me really welcome,” says Lucy. “I joined owners’ calls probably from last summer, and they’ve been pretty much weekly since, so you do kind of get to know everyone quite well, albeit via Zoom. 

“I’m the only female face too, but they’ve been really supportive and welcoming and, you know, I do a lot of listening, but when I talk, they listen. And hopefully I’m gaining their respect.” 

Another Wray at Saracens is also gaining respect. But for Jackson, it’s got nothing to do with the rugby, or how’s he gone about adding to his 250 or so appearances for Saracens as one of the older heads among this year’s youthful squad. “People say, ‘how have you managed?’ and, to be honest, we don’t know really,” says Jackson. “It’s just been a mad one and we’re just proud to have survived without killing each other.

“Having a six-year-old girl, five-year-old boy and 20-month-old twins – boy and girl – with lockdown and schools off has been a test by itself, so everything else seems small by comparison. 

“On a personal level, what an achievement for me and my wife to have come through and to have done it – the kids have gone back to school and done really well, which is always really good to know.”

Like for everyone, lockdown has put things into perspective, and when you ask someone at Saracens – especially as they’re just about to return to the normality of crowds at league games – to pore over the past year or two, there’s a lot to take in. “It’s been two years of just the most bizarre time ever,” says Jackson, who’s starting the Ampthill game at openside in a familiar back row alongside Billy Vunipola and Calum Clark. “You know, to go from winning doubles and everything to then having all the salary cap stuff go on, which was at the time the worst thing ever, to then being locked down, not training, not playing, not moving or doing anything really.

“I don’t know how to explain it really,” says Jackson before having a crack anyway. “I suppose, it’s given us time, hasn’t it? I mean, it’s just how you chose to use it: whether that’s playing PlayStation every day, whether it’s studying or whatever it is – for me it’s been four kids at home.

“Around the rugby it’s made me reflect on the fact I’ve probably got a few more years left to really go at it and then have a look at what’s to come afterwards.

“It’s actually been good to be able to hit the refresh button after the mad year that we had before after all the drama and chaos that went on. 

“Some people might think it came at the worst time because we aren’t able to start building anything, but for me, I think it came at a great time for us, because it gives us an opportunity to reflect properly. And, you know, really, you know, be honest about ourselves.

“If you think about it,” continues Jackson, “if you’re going straight back into the Championship there’d have been no time – it would be straight into the week-to-week, the games come flying in and, before you know it, the season’s gone. 

“Whereas this time, we had more time than we ever needed, the longest pre-season in the world, never knowing when the season was starting, or if there was going to be a season at all,” he says. “So we had to really look at ourselves and try and make the most of the opportunity that we were given. 

“I mean, I say given, I wouldn’t want it,” explains Jackson. “Obviously, if someone said, ‘oh you can have covid...’, no chance.

“It’s like, lemons and lemonade,” he continues, “we’re making the most of it, we’ve had so much time to refocus ourselves, and the way we want to be, so there’s some really good stuff going on at the club.”

Like many of the long-term Saracens, Jackson never gave much thought to the prospect of leaving. “There were obviously opportunities that arose to potentially go on loan for this year – like some of the guys have, to try something else for the year, but my family are happy and there isn’t really a club I want to go to. 

“There’s various reasons why I wouldn’t like the environment at some clubs across Europe, and I don’t need to go there to know that,” he says. “I know what environment I thrive in and what makes me go to work every day and that’s the purpose that we have at Saracens. 

“I wouldn’t find that fulfilment going into an environment that isn’t like the one we have, so it wasn’t a choice for me, I’ve never really wanted to go anywhere else. 

“And I think a lot of the players around my age, who have come through together, are all very similar, and we’re still going to be there for a few more years. I’m really looking forward to an opportunity to take the club back to where it should be.”

It’s a path they’ve all trodden once, albeit not quite from this far down. “We were there at the beginning, when we were nothing, when we weren’t competing,” says Jackson, “and we’ve all gone as high as you can go, then dropped back down again. 

“So, it’s a case of us all giving back again, and saying, ‘right, let’s do it again, we’ve done it once, now let’s do it again’.”

They are doing it without one key member of the Saracens family, Alex Sanderson. “Al was and is a big loss,” admits Jackson. “You know, he’s obviously been a massive part of the last ten years or whatever it is. And knowing how difficult it was for him [to join Sale] says it all really. 

“But, you know, for us, it’s about continuing and making sure what makes us who we are, has evolved and moved on – so the guys coming up and the coaches coming in adopt that and they learn and they move on with that as well.”

While Saracens have attempted to keep their ‘culture’ intact during these testing times – it’s a word that crops up time and again with everyone we speak to – the world they once dominated has also evolved, with new contenders emerging in the Premiership that used to be theirs for the taking. “I’ve watched bits and pieces and, to be honest, it’s frustrating knowing that we aren’t involved and we aren’t able to compete. 

“When you’re watching a game, you always compare it to what you’re doing, and obviously, we feel like we would be competing if we were there now.

“Probably watching Europe is more difficult to be honest,” he says. “Because that’s the one that we really love. I think most of us have become La Rochelle fans because big Will [Skelton]’s there and we love seeing him doing really well.

“It’s been a bit of a struggle, so most of us have been following our lads, wherever they are out on loan and doing their thing. 

“We’ve been watching a lot of La Rochelle, Montpellier [Alex Lozowski], we didn’t watch too much of [Alex] Goodey in Japan, but you know, they didn’t do too well, so I think he won’t mind that we didn’t see him.  

“It’s like when the England boys play for England, you’re always rooting for them more than just the country,” explains Jackson. “You’re always looking for them on the pitch, you’re player cam-ing them just to see what they’re doing. There’s no difference in that really. We’ve also been watching Bristol with two of our lads [Max Malins and Ben Earl], the Saints stuff with Nick [Isiekwe]...”

So presumably you’re cheering for Bristol over Exeter, because of your boys? “Yeah, just that, no other reason,” he laughs.

But after flying the Saracens nest for everywhere from the west country to the far east, even today – with Goode on the bench – the gang is slowly getting back together. “Nick is back with us now from Northampton too,” says Jackson. “He’s a great guy to have around, a real funny, funny guy, it’s brilliant just to have him back. 

“He had a good time at Northampton, he was brilliant for them,” he continues. “But he’s around people he’s known his whole life and it feels comfortable to be back and being in and around it. 

“That’s not to say that he doesn’t get any stick or heat a lot of the time, because he probably gets it the most out of everyone – he’s probably enjoyed having a year away from getting any stick. I’m sure after a week of being back, he’s probably wishing to go back to Saints again now.”

Nick Tompkins has also returned from the Dragons, with Lozowski due back soon and then Max and Ben coming from Bristol in time for next season. “Loz is back in the next few weeks,” explains Jackson. “Every few weeks now someone else is coming back so it’s been great getting the boys back; we’re becoming whole again.”

Just as the return of the England players led to a significant upturn in performances, so too has the drip-feed of old boys back into the squad. Every passing week has seen a steady return to the Saracens many of us knew. Although the competition isn’t the same as before, Jackson still believes the side are progressing, no matter who they’re facing on the pitch.

“It’s hard to really gauge,” he says of their development, “but when you see the intensity we have in some of our training sessions, we’re not preparing for a different standard.

“I feel like we still were better than we were last year, even though we’re not playing on a weekend against Premiership or European teams. 

“The focus has been to take our game on to a new level, by training to the next level – it’s the competition that we’ve had in training, the accountability that we all want to have.”

What happens on the training pitch is also a focus on what happens beyond the next game.

“We’re trying make us better, not just to be better against Ampthill, but to make ourselves better in general. I’d like to think that the attention we’ve had to our training and the focus to that will put us in a really good place for next season, whatever that brings.”

The absence of some regulars has also given others a chance for extra minutes. “It’s has been an opportunity for the young guys to develop,” agrees Jackson. “Some of them have been given opportunities which they may not have got if we were in the Premiership and I expect that there’ll be quite a few players that not many people have heard of playing for Saracens next season.

“A couple of young back rows, Andy Christie and Sean Reffell, have kicked on again, Elliott Obatoyinbo has played really well for us with Goodey away at full back – his ability was always there, but his maturity and understanding have improved massively. I’m not saying he’s the finished article, but this year has definitely taken him to a place he wasn’t at a year ago. KP [Kapeli Pifeleti] has stepped forward again too. I actually don’t think there are many people that haven’t improved from this period.”

Like everyone, Jackson isn’t dismissing the challenge of getting out of the Championship that has still to be completed, but should that hurdle be cleared, does he think Saracens will go back to where they were? “You don’t get five or six British Lions that are going to be content with scrapping at mid table,” he says. “You’ve also got a whole team of people that have won the European Cup and some Premierships – they’re not content with that either. 

“And obviously there’ll be a little bit of added incentive along the way,” he says, giving a nod to some old rivalries he’s looking forward to renewing. “I’m looking forward to some of that.

“I don’t envisage anyone settling for an average season,” he adds. 

What would be deemed success should they return? “It’s not about what we win, it’s how we go about it,” he says. “I really want us to go back and not just be the team that went down two years ago but to be the team people fear playing again.

“People might think ‘oh, they’ve just come back up, it’s not gonna be the same’ so, for me, I want players to think, ‘oh crap we’ve got them this week’. Because, obviously, this year everyone has been looking forward to playing us, which seems a bit strange.

“But, wherever we are in the league next season, I don’t really mind, I just want that feeling back where we’re at our best and when we’re together like we can be, and to be horrible to play against. 

“I want that back again,” he repeats.

“It’s not going to be easy, because you know, to be that team is difficult and, it may not be enough to just be the way we were, but I’m quietly confident that the work we’re doing now, and the work we’re going to be doing, will put us in a good place for that.”

The mingling Saracens and Ampthill fans have plenty of common ground to go over. The visitors’ head coach Paul Turner was once assistant coach at Saracens under Francois Pienaar [1998-99] and plenty of players have made the journey to Bedfordshire on loan spells, including tonight’s home full-back Obatoyinbo, wing Ali Crossdale, Sean Reffell and Ralph Adams-Hale on the bench, and Jon Kpoku, whose brother Joel is starting tonight in the second row alongside Maro Itoje. 

“Yeah, a lot of our boys have played with them,” says Maro, talking to us pre-game, “so we know they’ve got a good set-piece, good lineout and scrum.”

Although England duty took Maro out of contention for the start of the Championship season, he’s been a regular in recent weeks, kicking things off with a try-scoring performance in the 54-13 win over Bedford in April. “Yeah, it wasn’t pretty,” he admits, “but I scored.

“But it’s been cool y’know,” he continues, on the topic of playing in the Championship. “I’ve played every game since I’ve been back and I’ve been to places I’ve never been before. I’ve never been to Doncaster and we stayed in a nice hotel overlooking the racecourse; I’ve never been to Nottingham, it’s all an experience. The stadiums might not be as big as Premiership or European grounds, but it [the Championship] has got its own vibe to it, it’s just a shame until tonight, the fans haven’t been there.” 

One game he didn’t play in, was the defeat to Cornish Pirates. “Sometimes, losing is the best thing,” he says. “I think that defeat was probably the best thing for us, because it made everyone think right, alright, we need to, like, put our heads on, strap up and get ready for this. It narrowed our focus and that had to happen, because you can’t fake rugby, you can’t win games of rugby on skill alone. If your attitude isn’t right and you’re not physically up for it, you will lose, it doesn’t matter if you’re playing European champions or a Championship side. If a team is more physical than you, they beat you.”

As with Jackson, we go back over the trials of the past two years and, just like his team-mate, a similar theme occurs with the word ‘culture’ peppering his words. “Throughout the whole thing, that was the one thing that wasn’t in question,” he says. “You know, on the inside, we talk about who we are, what we’ve done, but the real backbone to everything is our culture. That, and the people, is the reason why this place is special, that’s been the reason for our success in the past. So, time will tell, but I believe it will also see us through to more success in the future.

“I genuinely feel as if, you know, this place is a special place to be,” he continues. “I feel incredibly privileged to be part of this team. I feel incredibly privileged to be able to wear this badge on my chest.”

Did he consider going on loan? “I was tempted,” he admits, “but obviously I looked around to see if anything would work. 

“But when it came down to it, this was the best place for me in terms of training, in terms of, like, my study [he started a Masters during lockdown], in terms of everything really. I worked out that staying here was what made the most sense.”

Like Jackson, he’s also full of pride when discussing his team-mates at other clubs as he talks of Ben Spencer ‘running down trees’ and being a ‘leader’ at Bath, Isiekwe likewise at Saints, and hoping ‘Skelts’ gets named European Player of the Year. 

Perhaps level pegging with Owen Farrell, Maro is undoubtedly Saracens’ most high-profile player. And at a time when many shots were being aimed at Saracens, being the biggest target isn’t always the best thing. In addition to what happened at club level, he also went through a tough Six Nations with England, a time when any player’s social media account can expect to take a few hits. “I think it comes with the territory, to be honest,” he says. “The reality of the situation is that you’re never as bad as they say you are, and you’re never as good as they say you are.  

“I’ve had periods in my career where, people are throwing all sorts of praise at me, and a large proportion of it is untrue – as much as I’d like to believe it is true. And I’ve had periods where people will have criticised me quite heavily and again, a large proportion of it is untrue.

“What I’m saying is,” he continues, “if your temperament, or judgement is based on what other people say about you, then you will never have an easy life: you’ll always be stressed, you will always be on edge, you’ll always be, you know, tight and your emotions will go up and down, whatever people say.

“I’d be lying if I said that I’m completely isolated from the positive or the negative review,” he admits. “Because in this day and age, I think it’s pretty close to being impossible to do that. But I do try and focus on what I consider is important, the opinions of people that I consider are important. I speak to some people outside of the game, but mainly it’s my coaches, my team-mates, my family and friends, and a few other people that I trust deeply. And nine times out of ten I get what I need to get out of them: I get the harsh truth, and I get the positive reinforcement.”

Again, like Jackson, he’s cautious about discussing being back in the Premiership and the new rivals that have emerged in Bear form since their departure. “In due time, in due time,” he says, “I don’t look too far ahead but, obviously, Bristol are a very, very good, team a well-oiled machine and Exeter, again, a very good team, and they’ve been at that level for a while now. So, both quality outfits so yeah, in due time, that will be our competition, but I feel the direct focus is just to ensure that we get back up.”

If Ealing Trailfinders were to make it, could they stand the trials of the top league? “They are definitely the second-best team in this competition,” he says, meaning it entirely as a compliment. “They played against Newcastle twice and beat them once, and with a couple more additions to the squad, they’ll definitely be able to compete in the Premiership.”

And for Saracens, it’s not really about this level, or even the next level, it’s the one they’ve not reached before. “Our goal should be to be better than where we were,” he says. “In the last proper season in the Premiership, we won the double but if we were to go back to that level, that level would no longer be good enough.

“I think the mentality and goal of the whole organisation is to go to a new level, a higher level that, you know, none of us have experienced yet.”

Packed full of All Blacks and laden with Super Rugby silverware, the Crusaders know how to reach that next level, as year after year, they continue to excel in a New Zealand rugby field already spoilt in the excellence department. So, it makes sense that if you’re going to prepare for a season in the Championship, you’re going to choose them for a pre-season friendly. “We’ve tried to form relationships with organisations that we really admire,” explains Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby. “We send our coaches to those clubs, and we invite coaches from those clubs to spend time with us, and those relationships have been invaluable to us over the last ten or eleven years. 

“Obviously those things weren’t possible during the lockdown, so we set up a lot of Zoom meetings with some of those clubs. We had some great interaction with the Crusaders for a couple of weeks. 

“They presented to us as if they were playing us in a final and how they would go about beating us, then we did the same to them. On our side we had our attack coach, Owen [Farrell] and our young ten Manu Vunipola, on their side was their attack coach, Richie Mo’unga and one of their young tens – we spent a couple of hours going through how it would all work and it was really helpful. 

“We also had all of the hookers, including Jamie George, talking to Codie Taylor and their hookers, it was great to try and see what we can learn from the way they do things, and see if we had anything we could offer them.”

Zooms with the players and staff of Aussie Rules outfit Richmond Tigers have also taken place, but perhaps most significant of all, has been the support of long-term Saracens supporters, Melbourne Storm from the NFL, also in Australia. “I think everyone knows they are an organisation that we’ve had a very, very[[[ long-standing relationship with,” says Mark. “Craig Bellamy [head coach] and Frank Ponissi [general manager] are people who we would consider to be almost mentors for our coaching staff here.”

The Aussie pair first visited Saracens in 2012, and both sets of coaches have been backwards and forward since, including just before lockdown hit. Infamously, the club was also at the centre of its own salary cap scandal in 2010, resulting in all honours being stripped from the previous five years. “They went through what we went through, and Frank and Craig had both experienced that, so in the early days of our salary cap scandal, they were the guys that I phoned the most. 

“They were able to tell me some of the pitfalls, some of the things to do, some of the things not to do,” explains Mark. “Their advice was so important for me personally, during that period of time. Frank has addressed our group two or three times post-salary cap, they didn’t get relegated the way we did, but they were made to play for no points for almost a full season. He’s just been able to give us some belief that we can come through this, and you get some motivation with what they achieved – their success pre- and post-salary cap has been very similar and that acts as a bit of inspiration for us.” 

Such positivity will have been invaluable to Mark – the man most at Saracens say is responsible for the ‘culture’ that is so often mentioned – but it’s been a rough ride. “I’m not going to say it’s been straightforward,” he says, taking us back to the dark days. “I guess the goalposts changed a couple of times, didn’t they? 

“When the first salary cap decision was made, there was something to fight for, with that 35-point deduction, we had something we could overcome and we were kind of doing alright, but then that situation changed and then there was nothing really to fight for.

“Then covid came through in this limbo land and relegation was confirmed,” he says, succinctly summing up the narrative, albeit with one suffix. “But unusually we were in a quarter-final of a European Cup which gave us something to focus on.”

Winning the quarter-final, they then lost the semi-final against Racing [19-15]. “That long gap between the semi-final against Racing and the Championship season starting was the most difficult time if I’m honest,” admits Mark, “because no one really knew when that was going to get up and running and whether the season would start at all.

“There was a lot of training being done because we continued to come to work, but you get your meaning on a weekend playing matches and we were starved of those for quite a long time – I can’t praise the squad highly enough for holding it together during that time.

“It’s difficult because, in the past, our ‘go-to’ had been to enjoy ourselves, but covid made it difficult to manufacture those kinds of situation, we weren’t able to go for a beer or we weren’t able to go out.” 

More than a decade after joining the club, having won everything possible, did he ever think of not returning for another campaign? “The last fifteen or sixteen months have had their moments, for sure,” he says. “But you know, I actually love coming to work every day, there’s brilliant people throughout the organisation. There’s brilliant members of staff whose company I enjoy, there’s a lot of great support from mates. Nobody here is doing it on their own. 

“And, honestly, once we got our heads around the confirmed relegation, we thought that a year in the Championship was going to be, for us as a staff, a bit of a refresh. But it hasn’t really worked out that way, because there were no games and then we lost to Cornish Pirates and the heat came on a little bit.

“It’s been a bit of a sprint this season,” he continues. “Some of the things we hoped we would enjoy in the Championship, we haven’t really been able to enjoy. We had a real desire to have a 22-game season and enjoy every away trip. You know, hang about in the bar afterwards, mix with our opposition, mix with their fans, have long bus trips, and all that kind of thing. We really wanted to do that and almost get back to why we started in the first place, so it hasn’t quite gone that way. But you know, the players have enjoyed the bus trips back from Doncaster and having a bit of a sing-song on the bus.”

The Championship experience has still been a good one, even for those making the big drop down from Six Nations to second-tier club rugby from one week to the next. “The way our international players came back from a disappointing Six Nations for England...” he begins. “With Lions selection looming, coming back to the Championship probably wasn’t the thing that they all wanted to do, but you’d never have guessed with the way they reacted – they brought enthusiasm, they brought the energy, they brought the fun, and the way they’ve played too, it’s just been brilliant. 

“I think they’ve really enjoyed it,” he says. “You know, we said in a meeting one day, you know, let’s look back at the end of the season and be really proud of how we went about it, but make sure we enjoy it. 

“And I think the international players coming back and being the way they’ve been before the Lions, I just can’t speak highly enough of them,” he repeats. “Because I think at another club, it might have been different – they’re all long-term Saracens players. They’ve all grown up here and they feel very strongly about the club, as do all of the players and all the staff.

“I think those kind of bonds with the club, and with each other, have kind of seen us through.

“At other clubs, they might just leave, all jump at the first sign of that kind trouble but it hasn’t been the case here, it gives me a lot of ... I don’t know what the right word is ... gratitude is the word. 

“Because I just look at them,” he begins, looking around the room. “And take the physios over there, having a meeting. We used to have an A-league game on a Monday night and while we as coaches go down, it’s not their gig, there’s no requirement for them to go down, but they get in their car after work and drive two hours to Bristol or wherever just to see how some of their players they’ve worked with are getting on – they care about them deeply. That’s massive for me. 

“I’ve only told you that because I’m looking at them, but it’s true.”

As we speak before the Ampthill game, Saracens are clear favourites for a return to the Premiership, but Mark, wary of talking at any stage to the media, let alone about something such as the Premiership when there’s still a promotion to be secured, is keen to emphasise the immediate job at hand. “First of all Ealing are really good, they’re really well organised, they’ve got a very strong squad,” he says. “I think if they get in the Premiership, they would do well.

“Doncaster are good too,” he continues, “because what they did really was say, ‘we want to get the hungriest playing group, get the guys who’ve got a bit of ambition, and we’re going to get them all together’ and they’ve done a great job. I think with their squad. It’s a young team, but it’s a team full of energy and full of togetherness, and we had a difficult game against them. But I liked the approach.”

Does he believe in a closed shop? “My big thing really, is that no club with aspiration and ambition, that have the resources to meet those aspirations and ambitions, should be stopped from coming into a higher competition.

“That’s what I believe in, whether that means there’s no relegation from the Premiership but there is promotion I don’t know, that’s for other people to work out. But I don’t think someone who’s good enough and has got the resources and the ambition should be stopped from coming up.

“I do think there is something lacking from the Premiership at the end of this season [with no relegation happening this year],” he adds. “There are second teams being put out and people targeting home games and, yeah, if there were crowds there, I’m not sure if they’d be that happy with some of the teams that are selected and that kind of thing. When there’s meaningless games, I’m not sure how healthy that is.”

Whether next season brings the Premiership or doing a proper tour of Championship bars, the Saracens squad looks settled. The current players will be joined by the loan players and a handful of new signings. “I think the biggest thing for us is to keep developing our own, keep building from within to keep our academy producing the level of players that they have.

“One of our big challenges is to keep maximising our catchment area for our academy, bringing them in aged eighteen to the club as ready to go as you can be. You’ve got an example like Leinster who have just got this amazing academy system operating, and there’s some things that we can learn from them.”

And if they do return, team talks should be easy on the motivation front? “First of all, we’ve got to get there,” he says, echoing his previous sentiments. “But if we do manage to make it, I think it’d be interesting to talk to the team about it – everyone might have slightly different motivations. 

“We’ve always tried to get our drive from within though,” he explains, “not to prove people wrong, or to prove this or that. I think negative emotions are pretty poor drivers, to be honest. 

“We’ve kind of steered away from those for eleven years, and we’ve always had high expectations of ourselves and doing it for each other, doing it for the people in the room, and I would very much hope that we can stay that way.

“You learn what people are made of, when the chips are down, you learn how strong your organisation is. And, you know, we had this wonderful period of unbelievable success for five or six years. Whatever some people may think of that, we’re unbelievably proud of that period. 

“And actually it was also the five years before that, which led to that period,” he adds. “Because all the foundations were laid by some great people and some great players and some great staff in the five years when we didn’t win as much.  

“But when you want to test your organisation properly, then you’ve got to experience what we experienced, I guess, because it doesn’t get worse does it really? 

“And I think we’ve come through it well, because there’s been great unity, a great togetherness, and we’ve managed to hold on to almost all the people that we could hold on to.”

Ironically, Mark also believes this season’s Championship play-off finals will be, in some ways, bigger than any match they’ve ever been in. “We’re a club used to playing big games at this time of year,” he says. “And in lots of ways they don’t come any bigger than these games, because if you lose a Premiership or European final then you lose the final. But you lose these games in the Championship, then it’s very different, and we’re all well aware of that.”

With that, and one last reminder that Ealing are big threat, Mark is off to prepare his side for Ampthill. 

That night under floodlights, with 2,000 fans watching, Saracens run in eleven tries against a testing and well-coached Ampthill to record a 69-12 win, sending them into the play-off position for the first time. It’s not one they relinquish as Doncaster’s defeat the following week to Ealing, confirms their play-off place.

It’s not exactly job done, but it’s a step closer and you’d be hard-pressed to find many betting against the culture of Saracens seeing them through all the way back to the top.

Story by Alex Mead

Pictures by Philip Haynes

This extract was taken from issue 14 of Rugby.
To order the print journal, click here.