Club update - Government Support

We hope that this finds you all safe and well during Lockdown #2.

Yesterday’s announcement of a Government support package for the sport sector and specifically professional Rugby Union is extremely important and welcome news to all of us. As far as we understand at this point in time, the support will be in the form of a long term loan and will only cover lost revenue spanning 1st October 2020 to end of March 2021 or until crowds return in full. We would so dearly love to have you all back at Copthall Stadium watching the men’s and women’s Sarries teams making us proud. I want to again acknowledge the truly tremendous loyalty demonstrated by a large number of Saracens supporters who have renewed their seasonal memberships for the next two or three seasons. Whilst the Government support is a fantastic boost, without the ongoing commitment of our Sarries family we would not be able to look forward to what we know is going to be a very positive future for the club. I include all our players and staff in this thanks as they continue to work relentlessly and sacrifice salary on behalf of the club.

As outlined in last week’s RFU statement on behalf of the Championship clubs it remains the desire and intention of the Championship to commence the 2020-21 season in January 2021 and we hope that yesterday’s announcement will enable the RFU to move swiftly to confirm a start date and issue a fixture list. We will of course keep you updated and share any additional information as soon as we receive it. The season will unfortunately start behind closed doors but we know that the RFU are in discussions to secure a broadcast partner for the Championship so we hope to be able to share details soon about how you can watch Saracens games live.

A start date to the season would be well received at the Saracens Training Ground as coaches, players and staff continue with what has been the most unusual of pre-season training periods. As well as not having certainty over when the first league game will be, pre-season training is taking place during winter for the first time so the squad have spent a little more time at the stadium to enjoy the relatively dry pitch conditions of the artificial turf and the warmth of the indoor training centre (known as the Olympic Bar to most supporters!) for their sprint work. What hasn’t changed is the focus and commitment individually and as a group to work hard, get better every day, but have fun and enjoy each other’s company whilst doing so. After an initial intense three-week block of conditioning training the squad are currently enjoying a rest week and will be back ready to attack the next phase from Monday.

The Saracens Women have had an absolutely fantastic start to their season. Five bonus point wins out of five games, the latest a nail biting 33-27 win over Wasps, puts them at the top of the Allianz Premier 15’s table alongside local rivals Harlequins. We would encourage all Saracens supporters to get behind our Women’s team as they strive to become champions for the third season in succession.

Perhaps none of us will ever complain about watching live rugby in the cold and rain again! We miss it so much and we miss you all so much. We are hoping to give you more clarity in the coming weeks on next season but, in the meantime, rest assured that we are doing everything we possibly can to make sure Saracens has the best possible future for us all to be part of.

Take care,
Lucy Wray