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Ex-England hooker's tweets explain key advantage Saracens had with their bigger squad
By Josh Raisey
For the past five years, Saracens have boasted a squad that no other side in England could compete with, or even come close to in truth.
The north London outfit have a host of internationals and an academy set-up that has produced high-class player after high-class player, and the majority of teams in England have failed to keep up.
The three-time Champions Cup winners have also been able to field the most impressive array of players that are just short of being Test standard.
This obviously pays dividends during the Six Nations and autumn internationals, but throughout the season gives a depth to the squad that is unmatched across the rest of the league.
They may not have the biggest squad in the Gallagher Premiership, but they are head and shoulders above the rest in terms of the quality throughout the group.
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Rugby Australia are 'going to go heavy' on Will Skelton following Saracens salary cap scandal
Now that the reigning European and English champions have been relegated from the Premiership for breaching the salary cap, it has gone a long way in explaining to many why they have been able to maintain the squad they have had.
Former England hooker and columnist Brian Moore has helped in explaining on Twitter just how much of an impact having such depth in a squad can have.
While the competition for places has always been deemed desirable for any successful team, Moore explains that there is so much more to it - and it largely comes down to the fact that it improves the quality of training and reduces the risk of injuries for various reasons. This was his explanation:
Saracens lead the way in terms of Test players in their squad amongst English sides, but there are some clubs that still come close to them.
However, it is regarding the class of the players behind those internationals where others simply cannot compete with Saracens, and Moore has given an insight into just how much that has helped them.
WATCH: It's the end of an era at Saracens as Mark McCall confirms squad will be broken up
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Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
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