Champions Cup
Who Could be Leaving Saracens Soon?
With a growing acceptance that Saracens will have to chop and change their squad over the next few months, we take a quick look at who is reportedly set for the exit door
Following Saracens breach of the salary cap regulations, leaving them with over £5m in fines and being docked 35 points things were always going to be tough but the extent of their downfall is coming to the fore now.
Having breached the £7m salary cap rule in each of the last three seasons, Sarries were hit with their punishments, but in recent days interim chief executive of the club Edward Grtiffiths admitted that they may have to offload players and reduce wages to comply with the rules for this season.
With that in mind it became apparent that Wales international full-back Liam Williams could move to the Scarlets mid-season, having originally agreed a deal to join them during the summer.
It remains unclear if that move will be fast-forwarded but when asked about the situation director of rugby Mark McCall confirmed there is a real chance that Williams may have played his final game for the club.
“I’d say there is a possibility. It was Liam’s decision first up that he was going to go back to the Scarlets, back to Wales, and that was for family reasons. We understood that completely and we don’t regret, and he doesn’t regret, him coming to Saracens. We don’t regret bringing him to Saracens, he has been brilliant. He was always going to go back to Wales regardless of the salary cap decision,” he said.
However, Williams has not featured for Saracens this season after picking up a long-term injury at the Rugby World Cup with Wales and they have plenty of cover for his position with the likes of Elliot Daly on the books.
Following his comments on Williams McCall admitted that other players may follow him out of the club, but that those players would more than likely be ones entering the latter stages of their contracts or their careers.
“We’ve got to make sure we do anything that needs to be done really well, and I am sure we will. We are hoping it won’t be too cold. If anything has to happen it will be to players who will be coming towards the end of their careers or their contract ends in four months’ time. Ideally that’s what would happen and we need to make sure those players leave the club amicably and on good terms, not on bad terms. I am really desperate for that to be the case because they have given the club a lot in the time they have been here. It is tricky, of course it is tricky, and it is not ideal but if something needs to be done, it needs to be done and we will do it as well as we can,” he added.
It is believed that players such as Juan Figallo, Calum Clark and Michael Rhodes could also leave before the end of the current campaign to free up financial space.
While star backs Brad Barritt and Richard Wigglesworth appear set for departure come the end of the current season in order to cut down the wage bill even further again.
At this moment in time there are no worries of any of the club’s English internationals being cut loose meaning the likes of Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, George Kruis and both Billy and Mako Vunipola will remain.
However, with Saracens fighting for survival in the Premiership and facing a battle to progress to the Champions Cup knock-out stages, only time will tell if their stars will stay or go as a lack of European rugby could push them away.
The holders, Exeter Chiefs, will play against Toulouse and Glasgow Warriors in the pool stage of the 2020/21 Heineken Champions Cup following the tournament Pool Draw which was held on Wednesday 28 October at the Maison du Sport International in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Exeter, who lifted the trophy for the first time after a dramatic 25th anniversary final earlier this month, were drawn into Pool B and will meet the four-time tournament winners and Glasgow over four pool stage rounds on a home and away basis.
Under the new format for the 2020/21 season featuring two pools of 12 clubs, reigning Guinness PRO14 champions, Leinster Rugby, will have Montpellier and Northampton Saints as their opponents in Pool A when the tournament kicks off again in December, while last season’s runners-up, Racing 92, are in Pool B where they will be up against Connacht Rugby and Harlequins.
Wasps, who were edged out by the Chiefs in the Gallagher Premiership final, will meet Dragons and Montpellier in Pool A, and PRO14 finalists, Ulster Rugby, will take on Gloucester Rugby and Toulouse in Pool B.
Munster Rugby will renew their European rivalry with ASM Clermont Auvergne and Harlequins in Pool B, while Bristol Bears’ Director of Rugby, Pat Lam, will make a return to Galway when the Challenge Cup winners go up against Connacht and Clermont also in Pool B.
For the purposes of the draw, the 24 clubs which qualified from the Premiership, the PRO14 and the TOP 14 were classified into four tiers based on their performances in the knockout phases of their respective leagues, and/or on their qualifying positions in their respective league tables.
Each tier contained six clubs with Tier 1 made up of the number one and number two ranked clubs from each league, and Tier 2, the number three and number four ranked clubs from each league, and so on.
Starting with Tier 1, the clubs were either drawn or allocated into either Pool A or Pool B so that each pool contained 12 clubs with no clubs in the same tier from the same league in the same pool.
The key principles regarding the pool stage fixtures are that clubs will only play against opponents in the same pool, and clubs from the same league cannot play against one another.
The Tier 1 and Tier 4 clubs which were drawn in the same pool, but which are not from the same league, will play one another home and away over four rounds. The same principle applies to the Tier 2 and Tier 3 clubs which were drawn in the same pool, but which are not from the same league.
The exact dates of the Heineken Champions Cup pool stage fixtures and the Challenge Cup preliminary stage fixtures, including venues, kick-off times and TV coverage, will be announced as soon as possible following consultation with clubs and EPCR’s partner broadcasters.
The four highest-ranked clubs from each Heineken Champions Cup pool will qualify for the quarter-finals which will be played over two legs, and the clubs ranked from number five to number eight in each pool will qualify for the Round of 16 of the Challenge Cup.
Today’s draw, which mapped out the first steps on the journey to the 2021 Marseille finals weekend, was conducted by EPCR Chief Executive, Vincent Gaillard, and by EPCR Commercial and Brand Manager, Anya Alderslade.
The event scrutineer was Lausanne-based solicitor, Jean-Guillaume Amiguet.
2020/21 HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP
POOL A (with opponents in brackets)
Bordeaux-Bègles (Dragons, Northampton Saints)
Leinster Rugby (Montpellier, Northampton Saints)
Wasps (Dragons, Montpellier)
Bath Rugby (La Rochelle, Scarlets)
Edinburgh Rugby (La Rochelle, Sale Sharks)
RC Toulon (Sale Sharks, Scarlets)
La Rochelle (Bath Rugby, Edinburgh Rugby)
Sale Sharks (Edinburgh Rugby, RC Toulon)
Scarlets (Bath Rugby, RC Toulon)
Dragons (Bordeaux-Bègles, Wasps)
Montpellier (Leinster Rugby, Wasps)
Northampton Saints (Bordeaux-Bègles, Leinster Rugby)
POOL B (with opponents in brackets)
Exeter Chiefs (Glasgow Warriors, Toulouse)
Lyon (Glasgow Warriors, Gloucester Rugby)
Ulster Rugby (Gloucester Rugby, Toulouse)
Bristol Bears (ASM Clermont Auvergne, Connacht Rugby)
Munster Rugby (ASM Clermont Auvergne, Harlequins)
Racing 92 (Connacht Rugby, Harlequins)
ASM Clermont Auvergne (Bristol Bears, Munster Rugby)
Connacht Rugby (Bristol Bears, Racing 92)
Harlequins (Munster Rugby, Racing 92)
Glasgow Warriors (Exeter Chiefs, Lyon)
Gloucester Rugby (Lyon, Ulster)
Toulouse (Exeter Chiefs, Ulster Rugby)
2020/21 season weekends
Round 1 – 11/12/13 December 2020
Round 2 – 18/19/20 December 2020
Round 3 – 15/16/17 January 2021
Round 4 – 22/23/24 January 2021
Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals, 1st leg – 2/3/4 April 2021
Challenge Cup Round of 16 – 2/3/4 April 2021
Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals, 2nd leg – 9/10/11 April 2021
Challenge Cup quarter-finals – 9/10/11 April 2021
Semi-finals – 30 April – 1/2 May 2021
2021 finals – Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Challenge Cup final – Friday 21 May
Heineken Champions Cup final – Saturday 22 May
Upcoming Rugby Fixtures
Kick-off times are UK & Ireland. Fixtures are subject to change.
MONDAY 26 OCTOBER
Munster v Cardiff Blues (8.15pm) Live on Premier Sports
SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER
2020 Six Nations
Wales v Scotland (2.15pm, Parc y Scarlets) Live on BBC & S4C
Italy v England (4.45pm, Stadio Olimpico) Live on ITV
France v Ireland (8pm, Stade de France) Live on BBC
Tri-Nations
Australia v New Zealand (8.45am, ANZ Stadium) Live on Sky Sports
SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER
2020 Women’s Six Nations
Ireland v France (tbc, Dublin) Live on RTE
Wales v Scotland (4.15pm, Cardiff City Stadium) Live on BBC Alba
Italy v England (5pm, Stadio Sergio Lanranchi) Live on Sky Sports
Guinness Pro14
Dragons v Munster (2pm) Live on Premier Sports & S4C
Connacht v Benetton (4.30pm) Live on Premier Sports
Scarlets v Edinburgh (6.45pm) Live on Premier Sports
MONDAY 2 NOVEMBER
Guinness Pro14
Cardiff Blues v Ulster (6pm) Live on Premier Sports
Zebre v Ospreys (7.15pm) Live on Premier Sports
Glasgow v Leinster (8.15pm) Live on Premier Sports
SATURDAY 7 NOVEMBER
Tri-Nations
Australia v New Zealand (8.45am, Suncorp Stadium) Live on Sky Sports
Guinness Pro14
Benetton v Munster (2pm) Live on Premier Sports
Dragons v Connacht (5.15pm) Live on Premier Sports
Selection Match
Black Ferns Possibles v Probables (30.5am, North Harbour Stadium)
SUNDAY 8 NOVEMBER
Guinness Pro14
Ospreys v Leinster (3pm) Live on Premier Sports
Scarlets v Zebre (5.15pm) Live on Premier Sports & S4C
MONDAY 9 NOVEMBER
Guinness Pro14
Ulster v Glasgow (8.15pm) Live on Premier Sports
Edinburgh v Cardiff Blues (8.15pm) Live on Premier Sports
FRIDAY 13 NOVEMBER
Autumn Nations Cup
Ireland v Wales (7pm, Aviva Stadium) Live on Channel 4, RTE & S4C
SATURDAY 14 NOVEMBER
Autumn Nations Cup
Italy v Scotland (12.45pm, venue tbc) Live on Amazon Prime
England v Georgia (3pm, Twickenham) Live on Amazon Prime
Tri-Nations
New Zealand v Argentina (6.10am, Bankwest Stadium) Live on Sky Sports
RWC 2021 Qualifier
Samoa v Tonga (3.05am, Trusts Arena)
International Fixtures
France v England Women (1.15pm, venue TBC)
Black Ferns v NZ Barbarians (5.35am, Trusts Arena)
Guinness Pro14
Connacht v Scarlets (7.35pm) Live on Premier Sports
SUNDAY 15 NOVEMBER
Autumn Nations Cup
France v Fiji (3.15pm, Ravine Stadium) Live on Amazon Prime
Guinness Pro14
Munster v Ospreys (2.45pm) Live on Premier Sports & S4C
Glasgow v Dragons (6.30pm) Live on Premier Sports
MONDAY 16 NOVEMBER
Guinness Pro14
Zebre v Ulster (6pm) Live on Premier Sports
Leinster v Edinburgh (8.15pm) Live on Premier Sports
Cardiff Blues v Benetton (8.15pm) Live on Premier Sports
FRIDAY 20 NOVEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Harlequins v Exeter (7.45pm) Live on BT Sport
Sale v Northampton (8pm)
SATURDAY 21 NOVEMBER
Autumn Nations Cup
Italy v Fiji (12.45pm, venue tbc) Live on Amazon Prime
England v Ireland (3pm, Twickenham) Live on Amazon Prime, Channel 4 & RTE
Wales v Georgia (5.15pm, Parc y Scarlets) Live on Amazon Prime & S4C
Tri-Nations
Argentina v Australia (8.45am, McDonald Jones Stadium) Live on Sky Sports
International Fixture
England v France Women (noon, Twickenham)
Black Ferns v NZ Barbarians (5.35am, Trafalgar Park)
Gallagher Premiership
Bath v Newcastle (12.30pm)
Leicester v Gloucester (3pm)
Worcester v London Irish (3pm)
SUNDAY 22 NOVEMBER
Autumn Nations Cup
Scotland v France (3pm, BT Murrayfield) Live on Amazon Prime
Gallagher Premiership
Wasps v Bristol (1pm) Live on BT Sport
Guinness Pro14
Zebre v Connacht (2.30pm) Live on Premier Sports
Ospreys v Benetton (3pm) Live on S4C
Leinster v Cardiff Blues (5.15pm) Live on Premier Sports
Ulster v Scarlets (7.35pm) Live on Premier Sports
MONDAY 23 NOVEMBER
Guinness Pro14
Dragons v Edinburgh (6pm)
Glasgow v Munster (8.15pm) Live on Premier Sports
FRIDAY 27 NOVEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Newcastle v Sale (7.45pm) Live on BT Sport
SATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER
Autumn Nations Cup
Scotland v Fiji (1.45pm, BT Murrayfield) Live on Amazon Prime
Wales v England (4pm, venue tbc) Live on Amazon Prime & S4C
France v Italy (8pm, venue tbc) Live on Amazon Prime
Tri-Nations
Argentina v New Zealand (8.45am, McDonald Jones Stadium) Live on Sky Sports
Gallagher Premiership
Northampton v Harlequins (2pm)
Bristol v Worcester (3pm)
Exeter v Bath (3pm)
Gloucester v Wasps (3pm)
Guinness Pro14
Connacht v Ospreys (7.35pm) Live on Premier Sports
SUNDAY 29 NOVEMBER
Autumn Nations Cup
Ireland v Georgia (2pm, Aviva Stadium) Live on Channel 4 & RTE
Gallagher Premiership
London Irish v Leicester (4.15pm) Live on BT Sport
Guinness Pro14
Scarlets v Leinster (5.15pm) Live on Premier Sports & S4C
Cardiff Blues v Glasgow (7.35pm) Live on Premier Sports
MONDAY 30 NOVEMBER
Guinness Pro14
Benetton v Dragons (6pm) Live on Premier Sports
Munster v Zebre (8.15pm) Live on Premier Sports
Edinburgh v Ulster (8.15pm) Live on Premier Sports
FRIDAY 4 DECEMBER
Gallagher Premiership
Bristol v Northampton (7.45pm) Live on BT Sport
SATURDAY 5 DECEMBER
Autumn Nations Cup – Play-off Finals
Georgia v TBC (midday, BT Murrayfield) Live on Amazon Prime
Ireland v TBC (2.15pm, Aviva Stadium) Live on Amazon Prime & RTE
Wales v TBC (4.45pm, venue tbc) Live on Amazon Prime & S4C
Tri-Nations
Australia v Argentina (8.45am, Bankwest Stadium) Live on Sky Sports
Gallagher Premiership
Leicester v Exeter (3pm)
Wasps v Newcastle (3pm)
Worcester v Bath (3pm)
SUNDAY 6 DECEMBER
Autumn Nations Cup – Play-off Finals
England v TBC (2pm, Twickenham) Live on Amazon Prime
2020 Women’s Six Nations/RWC 2021 Qualifier
Italy v Scotland (6pm, Stadio Sergio Lanranchi)
Gallagher Premiership
London Irish v Sale (2.30pm)
Gloucester v Harlequins (4.15pm) Live on BT Sport
Jackson Wray makes his 250th appearance for Saracens this weekend v Leinster. He is joined the back row by Mike Rhodes, who is closing in on 100 outings for the Men in Black, and Billy Vunipola – a try scorer in last season’s European final.
His brother Mako returns to the front row alongside England teammate Jamie George and South Africa international Vincent Koch, while Maro Itoje is partnered by Tim Swinson in the second row.
Scotland international Swinson will run out for his 50th European match in Dublin.
In the back division, Owen Farrell’s suspension sees Alex Goode switch to fly-half to play outside scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth.
Elliot Daly fills in at full-back with Sean Maitland and Alex Lewington taking spot on the wings. Captain Brad Barritt and Duncan Taylor make up the midfield.
Replacements Alec Clarey and Dom Morris will earn their Champions Cup stripes should they enter the fray.
Saracens team to face Leinster:
15 Elliot Daly (10)
14 Alex Lewington (51)
13 Duncan Taylor (130)
12 Brad Barritt (260)
11 Sean Maitland (77)
10 Alex Goode (300)
9 Richard Wigglesworth (247)
1 Mako Vunipola (169)
2 Jamie George (230)
3 Vincent Koch (85)
4 Maro Itoje (123)
5 Tim Swinson (3)
6 Mike Rhodes (97)
7 Jackson Wray (249)
8 Billy Vunipola (114)
Replacements
16 Tom Woolstencroft (40)
17 Richard Barrington (192)
18 Alec Clarey (5)
19 Callum Hunter-Hill (21)
20 Calum Clark (54)
21 Aled Davies (4)
22 Manu Vunipola (26)
23 Dom Morris (24)
The Leinster Rugby team, as sponsored by Bank of Ireland, to face Saracens in the Quarter-Final of the Heineken Champions Cup tomorrow at Aviva Stadium has been named by Head Coach Leo Cullen (KO 3.00pm, live on BT Sport and RTÉ Radio).
In team news, Johnny Sexton will captain the side with two players, Hugo Keenan and Will Connors, making European debuts from the start and a third, Ryan Baird, from the bench.
Jordan Larmour is selected at full-back and the former St. Andrew’s College man will win his 50th cap for Leinster in the number 15 jersey.
Keenan will make his European debut on the right wing with James Lowe selected on the left.
In the centre once again Cullen has selected Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose as his partnership.
In the half-backs, Luke McGrath starts at scrumhalf alongside captain Sexton.
Cian Healy will become the fourth most-capped Leinster player of all time when he pulls on the number one jersey tomorrow. The Clontarf native is closing in on Jamie Heaslip who is in third place on 229 caps.
Seán Cronin is selected alongside Healy in the front row as is Andrew Porter.
Devin Toner and James Ryan will again form the second-row partnership for Leinster Rugby this week.
Finally, in the back row, Caelan Doris will start at blindside flanker, with Will Connors selected at openside and Jack Conan at number eight.
On the bench, Ryan Baird is another player in line to make his European debut should he be introduced.
Leinster Rugby (caps in brackets)
15. Jordan Larmour (49)
14. Hugo Keenan (17)
13. Garry Ringrose (75)
12. Robbie Henshaw (47)
11. James Lowe (46)
10. Johnny Sexton (166) CAPTAIN
9. Luke McGrath (126)
1. Cian Healy (219)
2. Seán Cronin (184)
3. Andrew Porter (65)
4. Devin Toner (248)
5. James Ryan (38)
6. Caelan Doris (32)
7. Will Connors (19)
8. Jack Conan (92)
16. Rónan Kelleher (14)
17. Ed Byrne (56)
18. Michael Bent (139)
19. Ryan Baird (9)
20. Josh van der Flier (83)
21. Jamison Gibson-Park (92)
22. Ross Byrne (88)
23. Rory O’Loughlin (70)
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR)
Press Releases from Saracens and Leinster Rugby
Wales make wholesale changes for Georgia
England team named for Ireland fixture
