Overall, there is sadness at end of Saracens' era

THE Saracens salary cap story is a sad episode for a game in which values of honesty and integrity have always been considered important.

- JEREMY GUSCOTT

On the field, by and large, those qualities remain, but the understanding did not extend as far as it needed at Saracens.

It is really regrettable that Nigel Wray did not talk to PRL about what he was doing in terms of co-investments, because it has resulted in the club being relegated.

While the Premiership is a good competition it seems to me that because the clubs and their owners are so highly competitive, rather than helping one another they are often looking to get the upper hand.

There is a skill in running a professional rugby club to a high enough standard to make your team successful. However, sometimes you are left wondering whether the money brought in by investors like CVC is channelled to the benefit of all areas of the game – such as boosting stadiums, facilities, and community projects – or whether it just props up bank balances.

Overall I’d like to see the club owners more joined up, so that you do not get a lone wolf going its own way.

Do what is permitted within the rules to get the best out of what you have got, which is what I’m sure Saracens and Exeter do with their coaching to get their teams to a standard above the rest. But the model that applies to playing standards has to extend throughout the club, including its financial management.

There was a telling European Cup performance by Saracens against Racing last weekend, which showed that up to that point what was happening off the field had not impacted the quality of what they do when they are wearing the club jersey.