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Saracens were penalised and docked 35 points for breaching the rules regarding the salary cap. They were also fined £4.5 Million along with the points handicap. If we look at the table today they have 13 points after 4 games and it is actually -22. The news is they are not going to appeal the fine. Last week I wrote a post on how far over the salary cap they were and how they thought they could bend the rules. Paying into investment funds for various players is still seen as part of their salary and needs to be included in the overall total. It looks like they have breached the cap for multiple seasons and have finally been found out.
The Gallagher Premiership is played over 22 matches per team so they have 18 matches to claw as many points back as possible. Leicester are on the bottom with 4 points currently and need to start winning forcing pressure on Saracens.
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One thing is guaranteed that they won't be lifting this trophy at the end of the season.
If we look at last years table Saracens would have comfortably avoided relegation if we take their final points tally and subtract the 35 penalty points. The difference is what pressure can do to a team as it changes the way a side plays and thinks. Knowing relegation is a slight possibility it can do crazy things as sides become desperate.
Games that you should win comfortably are no longer comfortable and teams know you are now under pressure. Saracens are relying on their England stars to get them out of this hole most likely created by those players anyway. These players are going to have to work for that salary and it will be interesting to see what players are available for various games.
England players are normally rested before and after International matches giving their bodies time to recover. The Six Nations will see the players unavailable for at least 5 matches and possibly more. Looking at the results the squad is fairly vulnerable and can't afford to be without these players for too long. They squeaked home against London Irish 19 - 16 and more importantly had no extra bonus points which they would have expected. Bonus points are awarded for scoring 4 tries or more and are added to your log points which is 3 for a win.
I expect them at some point to start making inroads into the deficit they face currently and that should get then to level points at the midway mark of the season. If it takes longer and the bottom teams can score a win or two over the next 7 games then the pressure will certainly hot up. Nothing is guaranteed in life and Saracens are not out of the woods with this by a long way.
What people forget is the top teams will lose most of their stars over the Six Nation period leaving the weaker bottom teams in the table much stronger and upsets do happen. This is the time the smaller teams shine and is their chance to secure vital wins pulling away from the bottom of the table. I haven't looked that far ahead who they are playing around the Six Nation time but it will definitely add some spice to the league. I normally don't watch many games but will be looking out for the results.