MONEYBAGS French clubs are planning to offer Saracens’ England stars an escape route.
Premiership rugby chiefs confirmed last night Sarries will be relegated for ANOTHER salary cap rules breach.
Maro Itoje, Jamie George, George Kruis, Elliot Daly and Mako and Billy Vunipola are now being targeted by Top 14 clubs in France.
Lyon, Clermont, Toulon and Bordeaux-Begles do not have the same £7million-a-year wages restrictions faced by England’s Premiership clubs.
And they are willing to offer loan deals to snatch the European champions’ World Cup stars.
Premiership Rugby chief Darren Childs said: “We’re prepared to take strong action to enforce fair competition between our clubs.
“It has been decided Saracens will be relegated at the end of this season. The actions we have taken will help build a stronger league and uphold the confidence of supporters.”
Saracens chairman Neil Golding said: “I acknowledge the club has made errors and we unreservedly apologise.
“I and the rest of the board are committed to overseeing stringent new governance measures to ensure compliance.”
EDDIE DILEMMA
England boss Eddie Jones does not currently pick players from outside the Premiership but could use the “exceptional circumstances” rule to select stars in France although the RFU won’t want to change that clause which exists to plug injury gaps in emergencies.
England captain Owen Farrell is ready to stay at Sarries, while Lions head coach Warren Gatland will also be monitoring the fallout ahead of the 2021 South Africa tour.
Jones will also get the chance to discuss options with his Test stars when he takes a training squad to Portugal later this week ahead of the Six Nations opener against France on February 2nd.
Saracens face a year in the Championship following the latest scandal.
Some players may decide to stay on reduced money and get their club back into the top-flight and Jones has been given the green light to pick from the second tier.
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Northampton Saints boss Chris Boyd insists he is not interested in any Sarries players.
In a dig at Saracens he said: “We are like most clubs who try to manage their budget very closely and there is certainly not £500,000 sitting there waiting for somebody.
“We are very happy with our roster.”
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