Message from Mark Thompson | April 2024
Firstly, I can’t thank you all enough for your incredibly warm welcome here at Saracens.
I have met some truly incredible people over the last three months and I am so excited about the future at this great club.
There have been many highlights so far, seeing over 61,000 fans at The Showdown, The Duel in front of a record crowd at StoneX and the Mavericks hosting a brilliant occasion at Wembley Arena whilst getting my feet under the desk shows what a strong position Saracens are in. We have some exciting news coming very soon regarding future events at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, so stay tuned!
It is that time of the season when every game seems absolutely crucial and I know from being a fan that this is when we tend to really click in to gear.
Having such strong representation during the Men’s Six Nations was incredible. Ben being named in the Team of the Tournament showed what a star we have in our squad, the way Jamie captained England gave us enormous pride and how he took on the baton from Owen is a credit to him as a person and a player.
The Men travel to Bath on Friday for an enormous game in our pursuit of the semi-finals. The Gallagher Premiership is an amazing product and I’m sure we can expect many twists and turns over the last few rounds.
I know there are lots of questions regarding incomings and outgoings in the Mens squad, and rest assured you will all be the first to know once everything is finalised. There are a lot of intricate details when it comes to recruitment so it means we are often unable to communicate despite plenty of speculation in the media.
Last weekend was our fourth sell-out of the season so far and Sale Sharks is our fastest selling match of all time which shows some real progress for us as we continue to make StoneX Stadium the best place to watch rugby in the country.
The Women have their second consecutive Allianz Cup Final this Sunday against Bristol. The work that Alex Austerberry and his team have been doing is brilliant and I wish them well this weekend.
The future is certainly bright for them, 11 players have made their debut this season, with three coming through our Oaklands College Pathway which is very exciting.
Women’s sport is thriving, you just have to see the amazing crowd of nearly 50,000 at Twickenham last weekend to see the Red Roses against Ireland! We are always very proud to see any of our players on the international stage, and we hope Marlie and all lift the trophy again this weekend as they go to France in search of the Grand Slam.
Sonia Green, who opitimises everything good about our club could be featuring in her last match in the Cup final. To think that she started playing for us 22 years ago, whilst also becoming Vice Principal of the High School is phenomenal and we cannot underestimate the impact she has had.
Talking of the High School, we are all building up to the opening of a new school in Bell Lane this summer. The School is truly unique and of all the things to be proud of about Saracens, that has to be right at the top of the list.
As always, a huge thank you to our partners, who support us day in day out across all areas of our club.
Thanks again to everyone for what has been such an enjoyable start to life at Saracens, my door is always open so please come and say hello whenever!
Mark Thompson
