Tigers v Saracens (H) - Premiership - Saturday 06th January 2024 - KO- 3-05pm

[kk20gb30]

Can't help wondering if, with the quality of Sarries play, their position in the league, the departures in recent times plus the rumoured loss of Farrell, the advantages of cheating on the salary cap may finally be tapering out.

Interesting interpretation. Could well be right.

They have an excellent coaching team and had the core of the England team. A very good combination. The salary cheating allowed them to be outstanding.

The set up hasn’t changed so they will always be near the top but doubt they will ever dominate again- the league is too even.

Every dog has its day, some days last longer than others. Things run in cycles...

[mol2]

I’m not sure Sarries are done, but perhaps suffering the impact of the inflated salaries still being paid to some stars and less to spread among the rest. Not entirely sure though!

[Bunchy]

hardly done - suffered like we did at the start of the season - can't imagine either of us being where we now are given an even start of squad members with other clubs above us

[Rugbygramps]

I’m not sure Sarries are done, but perhaps suffering the impact of the inflated salaries still being paid to some stars and less to spread among the rest. Not entirely sure though!

It will be interesting to see how they deal with it especially if Farrell and Billy V depart. At Exeter it appeared that as soon as Baxter realised how many were leaving, he started building for this season, with good effect.
Also McCall has been there nearly 15 years in some capacity will he decide to move on

[Tiglon]

Take out the first few games during the world cup and they're doing pretty well.

With such a settled team for so many years there was always going to be a challenging rebuild, and it looks like that might be over the next 1-2 years.

[sam16111986]

I’m not sure Sarries are done, but perhaps suffering the impact of the inflated salaries still being paid to some stars and less to spread among the rest. Not entirely sure though!

It will be interesting to see how they deal with it especially if Farrell and Billy V depart. At Exeter it appeared that as soon as Baxter realised how many were leaving, he started building for this season, with good effect.
Also McCall has been there nearly 15 years in some capacity will he decide to move on

I doubt McCall will leave. If he was going to do that it would have been after his health scare the other year.

He's had a core of talent that either came through the academy around the same time or were purchased in at a similar age to those coming through. Those guys are now in their 30s and most heading swiftly into mid 30s. He's got to oversee a large refreshment of he core squad. It's going to be very tough as hard decisions on when to let those guys go and finding the right personnel for the long term won't be easy.

Phil Brantingham from Falcons is an excellent signing for them at loosehead. He looks a future international in the making and at 22 is prime to keep improving. Parton has come in at 15 as a likely successor to Goode though maybe doesn't have Goode's playmaking abilities. Flyhalf will be a tough one to fill, if/when Farrell goes.

[Rugbygramps]

I’m not sure Sarries are done, but perhaps suffering the impact of the inflated salaries still being paid to some stars and less to spread among the rest. Not entirely sure though!

It will be interesting to see how they deal with it especially if Farrell and Billy V depart. At Exeter it appeared that as soon as Baxter realised how many were leaving, he started building for this season, with good effect.
Also McCall has been there nearly 15 years in some capacity will he decide to move on

I doubt McCall will leave. If he was going to do that it would have been after his health scare the other year.

He's had a core of talent that either came through the academy around the same time or were purchased in at a similar age to those coming through. Those guys are now in their 30s and most heading swiftly into mid 30s. He's got to oversee a large refreshment of he core squad. It's going to be very tough as hard decisions on when to let those guys go and finding the right personnel for the long term won't be easy.

Phil Brantingham from Falcons is an excellent signing for them at loosehead. He looks a future international in the making and at 22 is prime to keep improving. Parton has come in at 15 as a likely successor to Goode though maybe doesn't have Goode's playmaking abilities. Flyhalf will be a tough one to fill, if/when Farrell goes.

Re McCall I really just floated it as a possibility. Like Baxter at Exeter he pretty much has the job for life, and wouldn’t go anywhere else. As you say Parton is a very different player to Goode and takes away that second playmaker. If Farrell does move on, as seems likely, they will have to splash the cash to replace him as imo Vunipola will never be more than a bench player

[sam16111986]

It will be interesting to see how they deal with it especially if Farrell and Billy V depart. At Exeter it appeared that as soon as Baxter realised how many were leaving, he started building for this season, with good effect.
Also McCall has been there nearly 15 years in some capacity will he decide to move on

I doubt McCall will leave. If he was going to do that it would have been after his health scare the other year.

He's had a core of talent that either came through the academy around the same time or were purchased in at a similar age to those coming through. Those guys are now in their 30s and most heading swiftly into mid 30s. He's got to oversee a large refreshment of he core squad. It's going to be very tough as hard decisions on when to let those guys go and finding the right personnel for the long term won't be easy.

Phil Brantingham from Falcons is an excellent signing for them at loosehead. He looks a future international in the making and at 22 is prime to keep improving. Parton has come in at 15 as a likely successor to Goode though maybe doesn't have Goode's playmaking abilities. Flyhalf will be a tough one to fill, if/when Farrell goes.

Re McCall I really just floated it as a possibility. Like Baxter at Exeter he pretty much has the job for life, and wouldn’t go anywhere else. As you say Parton is a very different player to Goode and takes away that second playmaker. If Farrell does move on, as seems likely, they will have to splash the cash to replace him as imo Vunipola will never be more than a bench player

Goode has done a fantastic job for Sarries over the years and his range of passing has helped mitigate Farrell's weaknesses. The error for Sarries was letting Malins out the door, he was a ready made replacement for Goode. Leaving him very much second choice meant when Bristol flashed the cash he wasn't staying.

Agree re Manu Vunipola. He's not going to be a top level 10. Sarries should have some cash to splash should Farrell be going but there will be a lot of competition. Garbisi might be available, Hastings from Glaws, Fergus Burke from the Crusaders if Scotland convince him to change international allegiance maybe. If they can get a one year stop gap then Joe Simmonds from Pau would be an ideal option for them (leader and great game management), also not a big name demanding Farrell levels of remuneration.

[Rugbygramps]

I read that Tommy Carbury is leaving Munster, do you think he could be a stop gap option or has his level dropped too much