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Northampton Saints

Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.

They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", which gave them the nickname Saints from the 1880s. The team play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, in the west of the town, which has a capacity of 15,250 and play in black, green, and gold colours.

At the conclusion of the 2023–24 Premiership Rugby season, Saints finished 1st which entitled them to compete in the 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup. The current director of rugby is Phil Dowson, who was promoted to director of rugby in the summer of 2022.

Northampton has won seven major titles. They were European Champions in 2000, English Champions in 2014 and Premiership Champions in 2023–24. They have also won the secondary European Rugby Challenge Cup twice, in 2009 and 2014, the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2010, and, most recently, the inaugural Premiership Rugby Cup in 2019. They have also won the Second Division title three times; in 1990, 1996 and 2008.

Their biggest rivals are Leicester Tigers. "The East Midlands Derby" is one of the fiercest rivalries in English rugby union.

Early years
The club was established in 1880 under the original title of Northampton St. James (Saints) by Rev Samuel Wathen Wigg, a local clergyman and curate of St. James Church who was a resident of the nearby village of Milton Malsor in the house known as "Mortimers". This is how the club got its two nicknames of "The Saints" or "Jimmies". His original concept was to promote "order" to his younger parish members by creating a youth rugby club, with the philosophy of a "hooligan sport designed to turn them into gentlemen".

It was not long before Northampton had one of the major rugby union teams in the country. Twenty years after its establishment, the first Saints player, local farmer Harry Weston, was awarded an England cap.

As the club progressed through the early years of the 20th century one player dominated this era for the club, Edgar Mobbs. Edgar was a hero throughout the town. He was the first Northampton player to captain his country but is best remembered for his exploits in World War I. After initially being turned down as too old, Edgar raised his own "Sportsman's" battalion otherwise known as Mobbs Own. Edgar was killed in battle, leading his battalion over the top by kicking a rugby ball into no man's land on 29 July 1917 attacking a machine gun post and his body was never found. The club arranged the Mobbs Memorial Match as a tribute. It had been played every year since 1921 and the fixture took place between the Barbarians and East Midlands at Franklin's Gardens until the Barbarians withdrew their support in 2008. The match was saved by the efforts of former Northampton player Bob Taylor and former Northampton chairman Keith Barwell, and since 2012 it has been played alternately at Bedford Blues' Goldington Road ground and Franklin's Gardens, with the host club facing the British Army team. From 2024 the match will be played as a preseason game between Bedford and Northampton.

In this postwar period the Saints continued to grow, and they started to produce some of the best players in England, some of whom went on to captain their country. They were one of the driving forces in the English game for the next 60 years producing players such as Butterfield, Jeeps, Longland, White and Jacobs but hard times were ahead.

The club failed to keep pace with movements within the game and top players were no longer attracted to the Gardens, where a 'them and us' mentality had built up between the players and those in charge of the club. Some former players formed their own task force which swept out the old brigade in the 1988 'Saints Revolution' and put a plan into action which would put the club back at the top of the English game.

Barrie Corless, as director of rugby, set about restructuring the club and soon the Saints were back on the way up, helped by the signing of All Blacks legend Buck Shelford.

In 1990, Northampton Rugby Union Football Club gained promotion to the First Division and the following year made their first trip to Twickenham to play Quins in the Pilkington Cup Final. They lost in extra time but the foundations of a good Saints line-up were beginning to show in the following few seasons.

Tim Rodber and Ian Hunter forced their way into the England setup while younger players such as Paul Grayson, Matt Dawson and Nick Beal came through the ranks and would follow the duo into the England senior team.

In 1994, Ian McGeechan took over as director of rugby, and although the club were relegated in his first season, they returned in style the next season, winning every single game of their campaign and averaging 50 points a game. This season is referred to by many fans of the club as the "Demolition Tour of Division Two".

Professional era
In 1995, rugby union turned professional and the club was taken over by local businessman Keith Barwell.

In 1999, Saints came runners-up in the Allied Dunbar Premiership, their league campaign climaxing with a crucial home local derby with eventual winners Leicester Tigers which they lost 15–22. Ian McGeechan had left the club at the end of the previous season to return to coach Scotland, and was replaced by former Saints player John Steele who had done well on a limited budget at London Scottish. Steele relied on the foundations laid by McGeechan, as well as the inspirational captaincy of Samoan Pat Lam to lead the club to European success the following season.

In 1999–2000, the club became a Public Limited Company (Plc) and shares were issued to the public; in this season the Saints lost in the Tetley's Bitter Cup Final to Wasps, but beat Munster 9–8 in the European Cup Final to win their first major trophy.

After a poor start to the 2001/2002 season, former All-Black coach Wayne Smith was appointed as head coach. He went on to transform the club in five short months. A team who looked down and out in November were moulded into a side that reached the Powergen Cup final and again qualified for the Heineken Cup. Travis Perkins became the club's main sponsor in 2001.

In recent times the club narrowly survived relegation from the Premiership, after the coach (Alan Solomons) was sacked in the middle of the 2004–05 season. The coaching role was passed onto the former first teammates Budge Pountney and Paul Grayson to tide the team over. They had a slow start in the 2005–06 season, but continued to stay mainly unbeaten after the New Year. Budge retired at the start of the 2006–07 season leaving Grayson in overall control.

The Saints would again compete in the 2006–07 Heineken Cup. They finished second in their pool, behind Biarritz Olympique, the runners-up from the previous season. Northampton qualified for the quarter-finals and actually met Biarritz in Spain. Despite being in last place of the English league at the time, they defeated the French champions 7–6 to advance to the semi-finals.

Relegation (2007–08)
On 28 April 2007, despite a 27–22 victory over London Irish at Franklin's Gardens, Northampton were relegated from the English Premiership. A "behind the scenes restructure" led to the brief appointment of Peter Sloane as head coach, from the role of forwards coach. Paul Grayson became the skills and backs coach. England Saxons coach Jim Mallinder became the new head coach and director of rugby, with his assistant Dorian West also following as assistant coach. Peter Sloane has since left the club.

On 22 March 2008, Northampton beat Exeter Chiefs to ensure their promotion and a return to the Guinness Premiership. On 12 April 2008, Northampton beat Exeter Chiefs 24–13 at Twickenham Stadium to win the EDF Energy Trophy. On 26 April 2008 they ended their National Division One season undefeated with 30 wins from 30 games.

Return to Premiership (2008–2014)
In the 2008–09 season, the Saints finished eighth on the table and only losing one game at home to Newcastle Falcons. They also lifted the European Challenge Cup, defeating French side Bourgoin 15–3 in the final on 22 May 2009 at The Stoop in London. The victory gave them a place in the 2009–10 Heineken Cup.

In March 2010, the Saints won the Anglo-Welsh Cup final against Gloucester 30–24, gaining them their fourth piece of silverware in three years, and a place in the following season's Heineken Cup. They also finished second in the English Premiership, losing to Saracens 19–21 in the semi-final played at Franklin's Gardens, and progressed as far as the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup losing to Munster at Thomond Park, Limerick.

Northampton finished fourth in the 2010–11 English Premiership, losing to Leicester in the semi-final. Saints also went undefeated into the final of the Heineken Cup, where they were beaten by Leinster 33–22, at the Millennium Stadium.

At the beginning of the 2011–12 season, with nine players out for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, Saints were knocked out of the 2011–12 Heineken Cup in Stadium MK by Munster. When the international players returned, Saints began to move up the table. England picked eight Saints players out of a squad of 32 to represent England, meaning that over a quarter of the England team were Saints – a new club record for the number of players selected for a single England squad. In 2011–12, the Saints reached a third successive Premiership semi-final and a second Anglo-Welsh Cup final in three seasons.

After winning their first five matches of 2012–13, the Saints were pulled back into the pack in the Premiership and exited both the Anglo-Welsh and Heineken Cups, despite ending Ulster's four-year unbeaten home European record just before Christmas 2012. The team finished fourth in the league, and after beating Saracens in the semi-final reached their first ever Premiership final, where they lost 37–17 to Leicester. The 2013 season finished with seven players being taken to Argentina as part of the England squad, including Tom Wood as captain.

In the 2013–14 season, the club finished second in the league behind Saracens with a total of 78 points. Despite finishing second in the table, they went on to win the 2013–14 English Premiership, defeating table-topping Saracens 24–20, after 100 minutes of rugby due to the game going to extra time. They also reached the final of the 2013–14 European Challenge Cup, which they won by beating Bath 16–30, with the match being played at Cardiff Arms Park in Wales.

2014–2018
Following the most arguably successful season in the club's history, the Saints finished atop of the Rugby Premiership with 76 points. However, they were undone in the 2014–15 Premiership Rugby semi-finals, losing out 24–29 to Saracens on 23 May 2015.

After this, a couple disappointing seasons followed, with on-pitch results leading to a stagnation of the club overall, and on 12 December 2017, largely successful director of rugby Jim Mallinder was ultimately released from the club as a result after spending more than 10 years at the club. On 29 December 2017, Australian coach Alan Gaffney joined the club on an interim basis until the end of the 2017–18 Premiership Rugby campaign, who worked alongside Alan Dickens at the helm. The team finished 9th overall that year with a points tally of 43, but ultimately avoided relegation and confirmed their place in the 2018–19 Premiership Rugby season.

2018–current
A new era was confirmed at the club, when it was announced on 29 January 2018, that Hurricanes boss Chris Boyd would link up with the Saints for the 2018–19 Premiership Rugby campaign. The announcement of Boyd was a huge coup for the club, due to the coach's high level profile, and success in Southern Hemisphere Rugby, which included the 2016 Super Rugby title with the Hurricanes. In Boyd's first season at the club, the Northampton Saints would go on to lift the Premiership Rugby Cup, by defeating Saracens 23–9 in front of a home-final crowd, which took place on 17 March 2019. The Saints also secured a top 4 finish for the first time since 2015, and Boyd's men would go on to face the Exeter Chiefs in the Premiership Rugby semi-final play-off system. In the 2023–24 season, Northampton Saints won the Gallagher Premiership in a match against Bath, finishing 25–21. This was their second league win, 10 years after their first win in 2014.

Franklin's Gardens
Northampton Saints have played at Franklin's Gardens since 1880, when the club was founded. Franklin's Gardens is a purpose-built rugby stadium near the town centre. It is about 1,250 m from the railway station and about 2,000 m from the bus station. The stadium holds approximately 15,250 people. The stadium also has 40 corporate boxes. Each can hold from 8 to 24 people. The four stands are: The Carlsberg Stand; Cinch Stand; Church's Stand; and the new Barwell Stand (which replaced the Sturtridge Pavilion). It is also a multi-functional conference centre as well as the only Aviva Premiership ground with its own cenotaph.

In 2009, the Saints' board announced they would be applying to increase capacity to 17,000 with the redevelopment of the North Stand. It was intended this would be funded by a £40 million investment by supermarket chain Asda, who would build a new store on the land currently used as training pitches. A political battle ensued with the local council, which later came to be seen as an attempt by the board to wrest public funding and public land for their commercial objectives.

The club has since secured funding through alternate means – a loan thought to be in the region of £5million through Northampton Borough Council – and with planning permission rubber-stamped, building will commence in the summer of 2015. The stand, which will take the name of the Barwell family, is due to be completed in time for the start of the 2015–16 Premiership Rugby season, and will take the capacity at Franklin's Gardens up to 15,249.

Northampton Saints had an unbeaten home record that stretched from March 2007 to March 2009, much of this record was set during the Saints' 2007/08 promotion from the RFU Championship (previously National Division One). During the 2008/09 English Premiership regular season the Saints only lost at Franklin's Gardens on one occasion, to the Newcastle Falcons.

The club's Barwell Stand was finished in October 2015 and debuted against Saracens on 7 November 2015.

In September 2021, Northampton Saints announced a six-year sponsorship deal with online car dealership cinch which including naming rights to Franklin's Gardens. The stadium immediately became cinch stadium at Franklin's Gardens and cinch would become the club's principal sponsor from 2022 to 2023 season.

Stadium MK
The club played a 2011 Heineken Cup quarter final match against Ulster at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, because Franklin's Gardens was too small to meet the minimum 15,000 seats demanded by the European Rugby Cup tournament organisers. The Saints won the match, beating Ulster 23–13, witnessed by a crowd of over 21,000. The Saints also played their semi-final there the same year, beating Perpignan 23–7. The Saints then hosted one Premiership match a season at the stadium between 2014–15 and 2016–17; most recently, an Easter Sunday match against Saracens on 16 April 2017, narrowly losing 25–27.

Kits
In 2008, after being promoted from the championship to the premiership, Saints changed from Kooga to Rhino. After two years with Rhino, and coming second in the table, Saints switched again to Burrda Sport, a Swiss sports apparel company. Northampton signed a four-year deal with Burrda which have brought back the old-fashioned ring but with a modern twist for the home shirt and the away shirt with its black and gold ring with a peppermint light green background. In the 2014/15 season Burrda released a kit with horizontal green, black and gold stripes of the same size. It was one of the most popular kit releases of Saints History. Starting in the 2016/17 season Macron are Saints' kit supplier, signing a 10-year deal with the club. For the 2021–2022 season the club released an away shirt with the names of the season-ticket holders that had donated their ticket to the club because of the coronavirus.

Current kit
The kit is supplied by Macron. On the front of the shirt, Cinch is at the centre while GRS appears on the left and right of the collar. The shoe company Church's appears on the left sleeve. On the right sleeve, the logo of the tournament varies between matches and below it is the Rugby Against Racism logo. On the back of the shirt, Cinch is located above the player name and number. Cinch is also at the top on the back match day shorts.

Rivalries
Saints' main rivals are Leicester Tigers, whom they face in the East Midlands Derby. Over a number of recent years, the Saints have developed a rivalry with Saracens, largely due to the increased number of fixtures the two teams have performed against one another in, the most notable fixture being the 2013–14 Premiership Rugby Final, in which the Saints ran out victors.

Northampton Saints

 * Premiership Rugby
 * Champions: (2) 2013–14, 2023–24
 * Runners–Up: (2) 1998–99, 2012–13
 * RFU Championship
 * Champions: (3) 1989–90, 1995–96, 2007–08
 * European Rugby Champions Cup
 * Champions: (1) 1999–00
 * Runners–Up: (1) 2010–11
 * European Challenge Cup
 * Champions: (2) 2008–09, 2013–14
 * Anglo-Welsh Cup
 * Champions: (1) 2009–10
 * Runners–Up: (2) 2011–12, 2013–14
 * Premiership Rugby Cup
 * Champions: (1) 2018–19
 * RFU Knockout Cup
 * Runners-up (4):1990–91, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2002–03
 * EDF Energy Trophy
 * Champions: (1) 2007–08
 * Selkirk Sevens
 * Champions: (2) 1991, 1993
 * Middlesex Sevens
 * Champions: (1) 2003

Northampton Wanderers (Reserves)

 * Premiership Rugby Shield
 * Champions: (3) 2008–09, 2016–17, 2017–18
 * Runners–Up: (4) 2003–04, 2007–08, 2013–14, 2015–16

Current squad
The Northampton Saints squad for the 2024–25 season is:

Club staff
First team coaching
 * Phil Dowson – Director of Rugby
 * Lee Radford – Defence Coach
 * Sam Vesty – Head/Attack Coach
 * Matt Ferguson – Scrum Coach
 * James Craig - Line Out Coach

Academy
 * Mark Hopley – Academy Manager
 * Alex O'Dowd - Player and Coach Development Manager
 * Jake Sharp - Academy Coach
 * Will Parkin - Academy Coach
 * Jim Henry - Academy Coach
 * Tim Grimsey - Academy Coach

Rugby World Cup
The following are players which have represented their countries at the Rugby World Cup, whilst playing for Northampton:

British and Irish Lions
The following players have toured with the British & Irish Lions while members of the club, other players have been selected but did not tour due to either injury, suspension or other reasons:

 * Blair Swannell (1899 & 1904)
 * Robin Harrison (1910)
 * William Henry Weston (1936)
 * Jeff Butterfield (1955 & 1959)
 * Dickie Jeeps (1955, 1959 & 1962)
 * Frank Sykes (1955)
 * Keith Savage (1966 & 1968)
 * David Powell (1966)
 * Bob Taylor (1968)
 * Peter Larter (1968)
 * Bryan West (1968)
 * Ian Hunter (1993)
 * Martin Bayfield (1993)
 * Matt Dawson (1997 & 2001)
 * Tim Rodber (1997)
 * Nick Beal (1997)
 * Gregor Townsend (1997)
 * Paul Grayson (1997)
 * Ben Cohen (2001)
 * Steve Thompson (2005)
 * Euan Murray (2009)
 * Courtney Lawes (2017 & 2021)
 * George North (2017)
 * Dan Biggar (2021)

Hall of Fame
The history of Northampton Saints is one filled with illustrious names. To recognise and honour its best players, the club established its Hall of Fame in 2004. To date 21 players have been inducted:

Captains

 * 1880–81 F Barker
 * 1882 A Timms
 * 1883 T Racer
 * 1884 E Eyles
 * 1885–86 C Stanley
 * 1887 T Stanley
 * 1888 E S Dunkley
 * 1889 C Stanley
 * 1890 A E Orton
 * 1891 C Stanley
 * 1892–93 A E Orton
 * 1894–95 C H Davis
 * 1896 K H Kingston
 * 1897 C H Davis
 * 1898 K H Kingston
 * 1899 H B Kingston
 * 1900–01 W H Kingston
 * 1902 H T F Weston
 * 1903–04 H E Kingston
 * 1905 R West
 * 1906 E C Palmer
 * 1907 J H Miles
 * 1908–13 E R Mobbs
 * 1914 E C Cook
 * 1920–22 A G Bull
 * 1923 C P Tebbitt
 * 1924 A G Bull
 * 1925 R Vaughan
 * 1926 A F Blakiston
 * 1927 R Jones
 * 1928 J B Merry
 * 1929–30 W H Weston
 * 1931 E Coley
 * 1932 T Harris
 * 1933–34 W H Weston
 * 1935 A D Matthews
 * 1936 R J Longland
 * 1937 T Harris
 * 1938 W H Weston
 * 1939–41 G S Sturtridge
 * 1943–46 A P Bell
 * 1947 R Longland
 * 1948 R W Hamp
 * 1949 E R Knapp
 * 1950–54 D R White
 * 1955 M J Berridge
 * 1956–57 D R White
 * 1958 R E G Jeeps
 * 1959–61 C R Jacobs
 * 1962–63 P J Taylor
 * 1964 A R Turnell
 * 1965–66 C R Jacobs
 * 1967 R B Taylor
 * 1968–72 D L Powell
 * 1973–74 M J Roper
 * 1975–76 I D Wright
 * 1977 J J Page
 * 1978 P Johnson
 * 1979–80 P Sweet
 * 1981–82 P McGuckian
 * 1983 V Cannon
 * 1984 J A G D Raphael
 * 1985–86 D R Woodrow
 * 1987 G J Poole
 * 1988 G Steele-Bodger
 * 1989–91 G Pearce
 * 1992–93 C J Olver
 * 1994–99 T A K Rodber
 * 1999–2001 P R Lam
 * 2001 A C Pountney
 * 2002–04 A C Pountney and J Leslie
 * 2004 C Krige until November then S G Thompson
 * 2005 S G Thompson and T B Reihana
 * 2006–09 T B Reihana
 * 2009–14 D M Hartley
 * 2015 L Dickson
 * 2016 T Wood
 * 2017–18 D M Hartley
 * 2018–19 A Waller and D M Hartley
 * 2019-20 A Waller and T Harrison
 * 2020-21 A Waller and L Ludlam
 * 2021-24 L Ludlam

Overall stats

 * Most Points in a match: 111 (v Timișoara Saracens 2019)
 * Most Tries in a match: 17 (v Timișoara Saracens 2019)
 * Most Conversions in a match: 13 (v Sedgley Park 2008) and (v Timișoara Saracens 2019)
 * Most Penalty Goals in a match: 7 (v Richmond 1997)
 * Most Drop Goals in a match: 2 (v Newcastle Falcons 1996)

Seasons summary
Gold background denotes champions Silver background denotes runners-up Pink background denotes relegated

* After dropping into the competition from the Champions Cup/Heineken Cup

Player Stats
APPEARANCES

470 - Ron Jacobs (1949–66)

448 - Don White (1943–61)

438 - Vince Cannon (1973–89)

436 - Alf Chalmers (1897–1912)

426 - Tom Harris (1923–37)

TRIES

219 - Teddy Cook (1908–23)

207 - Billy Kingston (1895–1905)

185 - Barry Oldham (1964–78)

179 - Edgar Mobbs (1905–13)

178 - Frank Packman (1983–96)

POINTS

2,786 - Paul Grayson (1996–2005)

2,655 - Stephen Myler (2006–2018)

1,463 - Roger Hosen (1955–67)

1,385 - John Steele (1988–94)

1,113 - Ian Moffat (1967–74)

title: Northampton Saints


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Saracens F.C.

Saracens Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in North London, England, currently playing in Premiership Rugby, the highest level of competition in English rugby.

Established in 1876, the club has spent most of its existence in and around Southgate in the London Borough of Enfield. Since 2012, Saracens have played their home games at Copthall Stadium (or StoneX Stadium for sponsorship reasons) in Hendon, in the borough of Barnet. Before this, they played at Vicarage Road in Watford for 15 years. The club's home kit playing colours are black and red. They are also affiliated with the Saracens Women's team, which competes in the top tier Premiership Women's Rugby competition.

Saracens have won 11 major trophies. They have been crowned European champions three times – in 2016, 2017 and 2019. The club has also won the English Premiership six times – most recently in 2023 – and the domestic cup twice, in 1998 and 2015. In addition, they have also won the RFU Championship, the second division title in 1989, 1995, and 2021.

Origins
Saracens were founded in 1876 by the Old Boys of the Philological School in Marylebone, London (later to become St Marylebone Grammar School). The club's name is said to come from the "endurance, enthusiasm, and perceived invincibility of Saladin's desert warriors of the 12th century". The fact that their local rivals were called the "Crusaders" may also have been a factor. The Crescent and Star appearing in the club's emblem are reminiscent of those appearing on the flag of Tunisia.

Saracens amalgamated with neighbouring club Crusaders two years later. In 1892, Saracens moved from Crown Lane, Southgate, to Firs Farm, Winchmore Hill. They then played on nine different grounds before the move to Bramley Road, Southgate, for the 1939–40 season (although the Second World War prevented them from playing there until 1945).

After their inaugural match against Blackheath, the Saracens had to wait another 9 years before Harlequins offered to include them on their fixture list. Saracens found it difficult to get games against first-class sides as the facilities at Bramley Road were so poor.

The club produced several internationals in the pre-league era, such as hooker John Steeds who won five caps representing England from 1949 to 1950; Vic Harding, a lock also for England from 1961 to 1962; and George Sherriff, an England back-rower from 1966 to 1967.

The club enjoyed fixtures with the leading clubs for many years and enjoyed a particularly successful time in the 1970s when they reached the semi-finals of the National Cup. Special games played at Bramley Road during this period include the 1971 match against a select International XV. The game was reportedly attended by a 5,000 strong crowd (the largest ever to watch a rugby union game in North London at the time). They came to watch a magnificent contest, ending Saracens 34 International XV 34.

This Saracens team also won the 1972 Middlesex Cup, beating Met Police in the final. Wasps were beaten in three Middlesex Cup finals in 1976, 1980, and 1986.

The Courage leagues
After some bleak years in the early 1980s, the club responded to the challenge of the Courage Leagues, and with Floyd Steadman as captain and Tony Russ as coach, they won the second division in 1989 with a 100% record. The next year in the first division they surprised many by finishing fourth in the league behind Wasps, Gloucester, and Bath.

Within the space of two years, Saracens had lost Jason Leonard to Harlequins, Dean Ryan to Wasps, and Ben Clarke to Bath. Many proclaimed that they were quickly becoming a nursery for the more prestigious clubs. The 1992–93 season saw the leagues restructured. This caused Saracens and three other clubs to get relegated to the second division. In 1993–94 Saracens finished third and narrowly missed out on promotion but the following year they finished as champions and were again back in the top flight.

Former player David Wellman was given the task to re-brand Saracens. He gave former player Mike Smith the remit to take Saracens professional. A sponsor was required to improve the ground and playing staff. Saracens' seesaw existence over the nineties was about to continue in 1995–96 when they again found themselves at the wrong end of the table along with West Hartlepool but they were saved by their new CEO Mike Smith, who persuaded the RFU that there should be no relegation for the first season of professional rugby.

1996–2000
In November 1995, Saracens gained the financial backing of Nigel Wray. This enabled the club to recruit the likes of Michael Lynagh, Philippe Sella, Francois Pienaar and Kyran Bracken. Saracens moved again to Enfield F.C.'s ground, Southbury Road, and they started the new season with a victory over title favourites Leicester. They only finished seventh, just missing out on Heineken Cup qualification.

The 1997–98 season was a landmark year. They began a ground share with Watford FC and their 22,000 all-seater Vicarage Road Stadium. The agreement ran until February 2013, when Saracens relocated to Barnet Copthall.

The appointment of Peter Deakin as Chief Executive saw Saracens splashed all over the broadsheets, tabloids, magazines and TV and with the help of a small band of fez-wearing followers that had been following the club for a number of years, "the year of the Fez" began.

Close season signings like Danny Grewcock, Roberto Grau, Gavin Johnson and Ryan Constable joined forces with the home grown talent of Tony Diprose, Richard Hill and Steve Ravenscroft to form a side that would prove a significant force during the season. This team lost only three games during the season to finish second in the Premiership, missing out narrowly to Newcastle, another club that had embraced the changes that the professional game had brought.

Consolation for missing out on the league title came in the then principal domestic cup competition, the Tetley Bitter Cup. Saracens beat Wasps 48–18 in the cup final at Twickenham, in doing so equalling Bath's cup-final record score of 48 points. Their run had included a 59-point win over Blackheath, a 14–13 victory over Leicester, a quarter final 36–30 win over Richmond, followed by a victory over Northampton. It was the first major silverware that Saracens had won in their 122-year history. The game was also notable for being the last competitive game for two legends of the sport, Lynagh and Sella. Both of them were inducted into Saracens' Hall of Fame.

After a solid start to 1998–99 season, Saracens were rocked in December when they lost to third from bottom London Scottish in a shock defeat at home, but a win against Bedford and West Hartlepool and a draw with Wasps still saw them in touch with leaders Leicester. The second half of the season was a roller coaster ride with Saracens going from eighth and out of European contention after a run of four losses, to eventually finishing third as London's top club.

The 1999–2000 season saw more big name players move to Vicarage Road with Mark Mapletoft, Thierry Lacroix, Scott Murray and Dan Luger joining the club along with Darragh O'Mahony and the up-and-coming Julian White. With the squad ravaged by World Cup duty and then injury the club's first attempt at the Heineken Cup was not a happy one. They lost three games by a couple of points in the last seconds of the game and didn't make the quarter finals.

With a few games left they were looking at a possible failure to qualify for Europe again, but Kyran Bracken returned from a ten-month injury to inspire Saracens into fourth place and Heineken Cup qualification.

2000–2006
2000–01 saw another difficult start to the season. By October Saracens had effectively crashed out of the Heineken Cup with back to back defeats to Cardiff, and with the team short of internationals due to the Autumn Tests, the final blow was dealt when Thomas Castaignède suffered an Achilles tendon injury.

The results went downhill fast, and a fifth-place finish saw the club miss out on a Heineken Cup place.

The 2001–02 season brought many changes, with established players such as Luger, Grewcock, White, Wallace and, much to the consternation of his loyal fan club, Tony Diprose, all leaving the club. Further weakened with the news that Castaignède was likely to miss the whole of the coming season, Francois Pienaar, now in full control of coaching operations, opted to make use of a crop of younger players coming through the club system.

After a reasonable start to the season, Saracens found themselves in their -by then- accustomed top half of the table position. The curse of the Autumn Internationals once again took its toll, and Saracens' performances weakened drastically. Entering the New Year, Saracens were again flirting with relegation danger, and soon exited all cup competitions. With morale sinking, Pienaar stepped down from his various roles with the club after a five-year stay.

Lacking a coach, the senior players took charge, the morale problem seemed to have passed, but results remained sketchy, and the Saracens ended up in a lowly 10th place.

All Black legend Buck Shelford took over the coaching reins for the 2002–03 season, while the playing squad saw the arrival of the likes of Andy Goode, Christian Califano, and Craig Quinnell amongst several signings of established players. In a repetition of the pattern of some of the preceding seasons, Saracens once again got off to a flying start, beating Bath and Bristol.

Once again though, sound defeats, this season administered by London rivals, Wasps and Irish, seemed to shatter the team's confidence, to such an extent that once again by early in the new year, Saracens were once again uncomfortably close to the relegation zone, the only real success coming in an impressive run in the European Challenge Cup.

The club once again rallied towards the tail end of the season, with victories over Bristol, and then high flying Sale securing a 5th place in the table, that seemed unlikely at the turn of the year, and a place in the play off system for the remaining European Cup place. A comfortable win over fourth-place Leeds in the play off semi-final brought an astonishingly tight final against Leicester.

With temperatures soaring at Franklin's Gardens, 80 minutes was not enough to separate the teams, with a late rally by Saracens tying the scores at 20–20. Ultimately, a Neil Back try was to see Leicester through, but at least it appeared that Saracens had rediscovered their fighting spirit.

The late rally was not enough to save Shelford, and he and most of the rest of the coaching staff paid the price for the weak season, being replaced by the experienced Australia and Leicester player, Rod Kafer, at that time a relative newcomer to a coaching roll, for the 2003–04 season. Key signings included Fijian Simon Raiwalui, former French captain Raphaël Ibañez, Springbok Cobus Visagie, and All Black Taine Randell.

The club's finances were also diversified, with Nigel Wray divesting himself of nearly 50% of his shares to spread the financial cost and risk of supporting Saracens. This led to the addition of five new members being appointed to the Saracens' board.

The change of faces did little to change the pattern of consistent inconsistency of previous seasons. Once again, the early rounds saw a false dawn as Saracens found themselves in the top three, and again the club coped badly with the international call-ups for the 2003 World Cup, once again finding themselves near the foot of the table. Only the long gap to bottom place Rotherham avoided any serious relegation danger. The victorious return of Richard Hill and Kyran Bracken from World Cup duty brought somewhat more upbeat performances for the second half of the season, but it still took a rare away victory at London Irish to claim the same 10th place of two seasons before.

2004–05 saw a bold strengthening of the squad, for once eschewing their cosmopolitan recruitment policy and securing mainly English based players, possibly with one eye on the effect that international call-ups had had in previous seasons. In came Kevin Yates, Iain Fullarton, Alex Sanderson, Dan Scarbrough and Hugh Vyvyan, while Matt Cairns returned to the club and Steve Diamond arrived at the club as forwards coach. Another signing who was to become a prominent part of the Saracens' line up was fly half Glen Jackson from New Zealand.

The season got off to the best off all possible starts with Saracens scoring a victory over reigning champions Wasps at the first ever London 'Double Header' at Twickenham. Once again, Saracens' winter malaise struck, and after inconsistent performances, Diamond took over the coaching duties from Kafer. The New Year brought a string of convincing performances, and a long unbeaten run saw the club finish the season in the top half of the table, in fifth place.

Once again in the wild card system for a European Cup place, Worcester were comfortably beaten, setting up the chance to end the season where it had begun, back at Twickenham. A late try secured victory over Gloucester and a place in the next season's Heineken Cup was ensured.

There was further shuffling of the coaching pack in 2005–06 with Diamond becoming Director of Rugby and defensive coach Mike Ford taking over the front line coaching role. In a reversal of the previous season's outcome Saracens lost their opening double-header game against Wasps, but unlike some previous seasons, this did not immediately trigger a run of bad results, and indeed until December Saracens progressed well. The Christmas season saw the start of a calamitous dip in form and going into the final months of the season the prospect of ending up in another relegation scrap seemed very real.

Diamond parted company with the club, with Ford taking over full control of the team, assisted by future England coach Eddie Jones in a consulting role. Results improved, and an away win at Sale who were to be champions that season even brought the prospect of another Heineken cup place.

A few disappointing results at the end of the season took some of the shine off the improved run of form, with Saracens ending the season in 10th place. The season's end also brought to a close the distinguished playing career of Kyran Bracken.

2006–07
With Mike Ford being offered a role in the England set-up, former Leinster, Munster and Australia coach Alan Gaffney was appointed coach for the 2006 campaign. Among the new signings was South African, Neil de Kock, a player who was influential in the club's best season since 2000. Once again, Saracens were narrowly defeated by Wasps in the London double-header.

This was to be followed by what turned out to be a good away draw at Bristol in the context of the excellent season that Bristol would go on to have, before a bonus point win was secured against the Newcastle Falcons. A morale-boosting run of results followed, losing only three times between October and the following March. No individual result could quite produce the reaction that the return of England's Richard Hill to top flight action, with supporters of both clubs giving Hill a huge ovation on his return to the pitch after 18 months of knee reconstruction, capping off his comeback with a try.

This period also saw the long-awaited arrival of former Great Britain Rugby League captain, Andy Farrell, initially at flanker, but later at centre, the position at which he went on to take his England debut.

With the prospect of a place in the Premiership play-offs becoming ever more real, Saracens were also progressing well in the European Challenge Cup. They qualified for the knockout stages as second seeds, with only an away draw at Glasgow spoiling their group stage progression. A further win at the quarter-final stage against Glasgow saw Saracens host Bath for the semi-final, only to lose to ultimate runners up of the competition.

Results in the Premiership went Saracens' way, leaving them with the possibility of ending up anywhere from second to fifth as the final round of matches approached. After a day of games almost all of which had significant consequences in terms of positions at the top, and at the foot of the table, Saracens found themselves in the Premiership playoffs for the first time, squeezing Wasps into a rare 5th-place position, out of playoff contention.

The campaign was to end with a heavy defeat away at Gloucester, however, overall the season represented a significant advance on those of recent years. After the end of the season there was to be personal success for Glen Jackson, whose league topping 400 points for the season and consistent high-level performances almost every week saw him awarded the PRA Player of the Year Award by his fellow professionals. On a sadder note the mercurial Thomas Castaignède, one of the most enduringly popular players at the club decided to bring his club rugby career to an end after providing many years of entertaining rugby at its best both for Saracens and France.

2007–08
Preparation for the 2007–08 seasons saw somewhat less activity in comings and goings from the squad, reflecting the relatively solid 2006–07 season. Among signings to date, specialist cover for Glen Jackson came in the form of Scotland fly half Gordon Ross, while South African utility back Brent Russell was highly regarded by many Springbok fans.

The most spectacular signing though was that of All Black second row Chris Jack, widely regarded as the world's best in his position, who joined Saracens after the 2007 World Cup. In addition to his all-round game, Saracens hoped that Jack would bring some solidity to a Saracens' line-out which was one of the areas where they were consistently pressured in the previous season. The estimated value of Jack's contract raised eyebrows with a three-year contract at a total value of £750,000.

The loss of Glen Jackson and Brent Russell for the opening of the season due to pre-season injuries represented a significant blow to the club, but nonetheless the season began well with a return to winning ways against Wasps in the opening day London double-header. Defeat at the first home game by early pace setters Gloucester brought the team down to earth, before a solid away win at struggling Leeds, revenge for the previous season's home and away defeats away at Worcester, and a win back at Vicarage Road over Leicester. Defensive frailties saw Saracens go into the Autumn Premiership break for cup matches third in the table, but also with the third worst defensive record, after a defeat away at Sale.

The first round of cup competition saw Saracens win comfortably away at Leeds in the EDF Energy Cup, despite conceding four tries. Another bonus point win over Bristol back at Vicarage Road positioned Saracens well with maximum points ahead of a difficult away trip to Llanelli. Turning to Europe, Saracens' return to Heineken Cup action also saw the return of Glasgow Warriors to Vicarage Road. As in the two European Challenge Cup home games against the same team in the previous season, Saracens ran out bonus point winners, albeit not without defensive frailties causing anxious moments going into the final minutes of the game. The following weekend Saracens lost out by a single point against Biarritz Olympique being denied by a penalty scored from the half-way line in the dying moments of the match.

The brief return to Guinness Premiership action at the end of November saw Saracens come out top in a tight battle at home against London Irish, with the lead changing hands several times. Cup action in the form of the final round of EDF Energy Cup pool stage games, where Saracens failed once again to win away in Wales, but taking a losing bonus point and a try bonus too was enough to see them qualify for the semi-final stage for the first time in their Anglo-Welsh cup history, ahead of their opponents Llanelli Scarlets. Further progress was then made in the Heineken Cup in an impressive ten try to one defeat of Viadana at home in a game which saw the first team debuts for Chris Jack and Brent Russell. Viadana almost took their revenge in the return fixture the following week, where Saracens conceded a 26–3 half time lead to the Italians, before showing composure in the second half to score 31 unanswered points and take the win that would see them enter the New Year at the head of their Heineken Cup pool.

The return to premiership action over Christmas and the New Year began well for Saracens with a win away at London rivals Harlequins, however once again defensive weakness and coming out of the blocks slowly saw Saracens take only a losing bonus point from their final fixture of 2007 in the Premiership, though it was enough to see them go into the New Year in third place in the domestic league.

The buildup to the first game of 2008 was dominated by talk away from the field of play, with the news that former Wallaby coach Eddie Jones was to succeed Alan Gaffney at the top of the coaching subject with Gaffney adopting the same consulting role Jones had been providing, while rumours of substantial cash investment from South African rugby interests abounded. When the focus returned to on-field matters Saracens suffered a second successive defeat in the Premiership, this time away at Bristol, failing even to take a losing bonus point for the first time in any competition in the season and raising fears of the all too familiar Saracens' winter slump.

2009–10
The arrival of Brendan Venter to the head coach role sparked major controversy. Shortly after arrival he triggered the culling of 18 players within 48 hours, known among fans as "the night of the long knives", this would then be followed up by the arrival of a number of South Africans to the squad. This caused the club to be strongly criticised as they were seen to be swaying away from being an English club. Some even began calling the club "Saffracens", due to their strong South African links (Saffa being slang for South African).

This didn't stop Saracens going on a 10-match unbeaten run at the start of the domestic season which saw wins over London Irish (at Twickenham in the London Double Header), Northampton (at Wembley), London Wasps and Bath.

On 16 November a Derick Hougaard drop goal saw a one-point win over South Africa at Wembley. Viewed by some as a notable example of the South Africa excessive presence (Saracens fielded 9 South Africans), Saracens managed to overturn a 6–18 half time deficit to win 24–23. Generating greater publicity than the actual game was Stuart Tinner managing to win £250,000 by kicking a ball to directly hit the crossbar of the posts.

27 December saw Saracens lose away to London Irish, which was their first defeat of the domestic league competition, having had one draw and two losses in all competitions before this date. What followed was five defeats in the next six games; Leicester, Wasps, Bath and Leeds Carnegie all defeated Saracens, accompanied with being knocked out of the Amlin Challenge Cup despite losing only one match.

The post-Christmas slump in form for Saracens looked all too familiar. Yet a change in playing style and having found a new sense of attacking rugby, Sarries stopped the rot with a 58–15 drubbing of struggling Newcastle. From then on, they went on to win four out the five matches played, including impressive wins away to Sale, Northampton and table-topping Leicester Tigers.

This drastic change in form secured Saracens' Guinness Premiership Semi-Final spot in a respectable 3rd place and now faced Northampton Saints, the fifth time this season, away at Franklin's Gardens looking to end a streak of six semi-final losses in all competitions in the last three-years. Saracens defeated Northampton 21–19 in an all-mighty clash, with Glen Jackson ensuring that Sarries reached their first final since 1998 with a late kick, converting Schalk Brits's driving-maul try.

The 2010 Guinness Premiership Final at Twickenham, pitted Saracens against the eight-time and reigning English Champions, Leicester Tigers. In a pulsating game of rugby, Leicester sneaked Saracens to a 33–27 win with a late try to Dan Hipkiss providing the difference after Saracens flyhalf Glen Jackson had kicked what looked to be the winning penalty with only a few minutes left. Heartbreak for Sarries and their fans, but it just wasn't to be a fairy-tale ending for a remarkable season.

The final also marked the last match for a number of players including Fabio Ongaro, Matías Agüero, former All Black Justin Marshall and loyal fly-half Glen Jackson.

2010–11: Premiership champions
Saracens opened the 2010–11 season with a loss to London Irish in the opener of the London Double Header at Twickenham, Following the loss, their form improved as they ran off four wins in succession before a shock loss to Premiership newcomers Exeter Chiefs. They crashed out of the Heineken Cup in the pool stage, finishing bottom of a tough pool that featured Leinster, the ultimate Heineken Cup winners, and Clermont and Racing Métro, both of which made the French semi-finals. Saracens' domestic form, however, proved much stronger; they secured a home semi-final with one league match left, defeating Harlequins on the final day to complete a run of ten straight victories, including away at Northampton, Wasps, Exeter and Leicester Tigers. In the regular season Saracens won more games than any other side −18 in total – only missing out on top spot in the league because of the bonus point system. Gloucester awaited the Men in Black in the Semi-Final at Vicarage Road. A nervy finish and a late penalty from young flyhalf Owen Farrell gave Sarries the 12–10 win they wanted to reach their second successive Premiership Final.

In the Final, they again faced Leicester Tigers in a dramatic encounter. Saracens dominated the first half, leading 16–9 at half-time thanks to a James Short try, and showed a strong defensive performance to keep out waves of Leicester attack. This culminated in a nine-minute period of extra time during which they defended over 30 phases of Leicester assault through the forwards while leading 22–18, finally being awarded a penalty to crown them English champions for the first time and get revenge against Leicester for the previous year's final. Schalk Brits, who set up James Short's try, was awarded Man of the Match. Saracens also had one major off-field development during the season. Their landlord Watford FC activated a break clause in their groundshare deal, which at the time meant that Saracens needed a new home for the 2011–12 season. After looking at several venues in the area, Saracens announced on 10 November 2010 that it was in serious discussions with Barnet Borough Council about a move to the athletics stadium at the Barnet Copthall complex. Under the plan, Saracens would redevelop the stadium into a modern facility with 3,000 permanent seats and demountable stands to allow a rugby capacity of 10,000, and include the first artificial pitch in English rugby union.

Because of delays in the Barnet Copthall project, Saracens eventually reached an agreement with Watford to extend the groundshare at Vicarage Road for the 2011–12 season; the agreement covered at least 10 home matches that season.

2014–15: Premiership champions
Saracens started the 2014–15 with high-scoring victories against London rivals Wasps and Harlequins, and went on to finish the regular season in fourth place, qualifying for the play-offs. After beating first-placed Northampton 29–24 in the semi-final, Saracens met Bath in the final. Saracens scored three unanswered tries in the first half, and went on to win the game 28–16, becoming the first team to become Premiership champions from a fourth-place finish. They made it a double, with a 23–20 win against Exeter in the final of the Anglo-Welsh Cup, a last minute penalty from Ben Spencer claiming Saracen's second Cup win.

In the first iteration of the European Rugby Champions Cup Saracens made it to the Semi-Finals before losing to ASM Clermont. In the boardroom, CEO Edward Griffiths departed and was replaced by Heath Harvey, a former director at Club Wembley.

2019 relegation
In March 2019, allegations first emerged that Saracens might have broken Premiership Rugby's salary cap. Saracens chairman Nigel Wray had been investing in companies alongside players such as Richard Wigglesworth, Mako Vunipola, Billy Vunipola and Maro Itoje. In June, Premiership Rugby announced that they would hold an investigation into Saracens.

In November 2019, they were found to have been in breach of the salary cap regulations due to failure to disclose player payments in the 2016–17, 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons, which would have taken them over the £7 million senior player salary cap. They were handed a 35-point deduction for the 2019–20 Premiership Rugby season and fined £5.3 million. The judgement found that Saracens had been reckless in entering into the arrangements with players without disclosing them to Premiership Rugby.

On 2 January 2020 Chairman Nigel Wray stood down and former chief executive officer Edward Griffiths returned to the role he left in 2015 with Mittesh Velani moving into a consultancy position. Wray was replaced as Saracens' Chairman by Neil Golding on 9 January 2020.

On 18 January 2020, Premiership Rugby announced that Saracens would be relegated to the RFU Championship for the 2020–21 season. Premiership Rugby CEO Darren Childs said this punishment was due to Saracens' lack of cooperation in a mid-season audit to prove compliance in the 2019–20 season.

After pressure from Premiership Rugby and the media Lord Dyson's full report into Saracens' spending was published on 23 January 2020, it revealed the overspend was £1.1m in 2016–17, £98,000 in 2017–18 and £906,000 in 2018–19. These included £923,947.63 of property investments between Nigel Wray and three unnamed Saracens' players. It also included Saracens' claim that the Salary Cap was unenforceable under competition law; this defence was rejected.

On 28 January 2020, Griffiths resigned as CEO after less than a month in charge and Premiership Rugby applied a further 70-point deduction for the 2019–20 season to ensure Saracens would finish bottom of the league table.

2020/21 Season
The 2020/21 rugby season was a successful one for Saracens, who won the RFU Championship and were promoted back to the Gallagher Premiership. The club finished the regular season top of the table, winning 10 of their 11 matches. They then defeated Ealing Trailfinders in the play-off final to secure promotion.

Saracens' success was built on a strong team performance. With a number of experienced players in their squad, including Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje and Billy Vunipola. These players helped to provide leadership and direction, and they were also able to contribute to the team's attacking and defensive play.

Saracens' success in the 2020/21 season was a major achievement. The club had been relegated from the Gallagher Premiership the previous season, but they bounced back in style. They showed that they are still one of the leading clubs in English rugby, and they will be looking to challenge for trophies in the Gallagher Premiership in the coming seasons.

Key moments from Saracens' 2020/21 season:
 * Saracens' biggest win of the season was a 73–0 victory over Coventry. This was a dominant performance from the club, and it showed that they were a class apart from their opponents.
 * Saracens' most important win of the season was their 117–15 victory over Ealing Trailfinders in the play-off final. This win secured promotion back to the Gallagher Premiership, and it was a major moment for the club.

2021/22 Season
Saracens' 2021/22 season was a successful one, as they finished as runners-up in the Gallagher Premiership. The Men in Black were crowned champions of the RFU Championship the previous season. They quickly adapted to life back in the top flight, and were in contention for the title for most of the campaign.

Saracens' strength in depth was a major asset, as they were able to rotate their squad throughout the season without losing too much quality. They also had a number of world-class players at their disposal.

The Men in Black's only major disappointment of the season was their defeat in the Premiership final to Leicester Tigers. However, they can take great pride in their overall performance, and they will be hoping to go one better next season.

Standout players:
 * Maro Itoje was Saracens' player of the season. The England lock was in outstanding form throughout the campaign, and he was named in the Premiership Dream Team.
 * Owen Farrell was another key player for Saracens. The England fly-half was at his best in the big games, and he scored 183 points in the regular season.
 * Alex Goode was also a major contributor for Saracens. The England full-back was a constant threat in attack, and he also played a key role in defence.

Stadium and training facilities
The current Saracens home ground is Barnet Copthall Stadium (currently known as the StoneX Stadium for sponsorship reasons) in Hendon, North London. The club has been based at the venue since January 2013, when it was then named Allianz Park. In partnership with National League 2 East club Old Albanians, Saracens currently operates its main training base at Woollams in St Albans.

Prior to the relocation to Barnet Copthall, Saracens spent 16 years at Vicarage Road, having maintained a groundshare agreement with professional football club Watford between 1997 and 2013. Before that, the club called Bramley Road its home for more than 50 years, through to the advent of professionalism.

Showpiece fixtures
Between 2004 and 2017, Saracens played select home matches at Twickenham Stadium, as part of the London Double Header, a marquee occasion held during the autumn of each Premiership season, involving London-based clubs. In addition, the club has hosted its own annual showpiece fixture – formerly branded as 'Derby Day' and now known as 'The Showdown' – at large high-capacity stadiums since 2009. To date, this game has taken place at Wembley Stadium, London Stadium and, currently, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

International relations and overseas matches
In the summer of 2013, Saracens played two international matches. They beat the South African Barbarians on 16 May at Artillery Ground. They toured the Atlantic Ocean island Bermuda to promote rugby. They visited a number of schools, ran coaching workshops and engaged in fundraising activities while on tour. To finish, they played a Bermuda International Select XV, which included Simon Taylor, Mike Scholz, Zach Pangelinan, Shaun Perry and Gcobani Bobo who are all internationally capped. The side was coached by former England international Lewis Moody and captained by former Ireland player Geordan Murphy.

On 12 March 2016, Saracens' away Premiership match against London Irish was held at the Red Bull Arena in the U.S. state of New Jersey. This was the first time a Premiership match had taken place overseas. Saracens won by a score of 26–16. The club then returned to the United States when they were hosted by the Newcastle Falcons on 16 September 2017, at the Talen Energy Stadium in Philadelphia. Saracens won by a score of 29–7.

Playing kit
The kit is currently supplied by Castore, from the beginning of the 2021–22 season. The club's principal sponsor is City Index, a subsidiary company whose parent is owned by Saracens' principle partner StoneX. The replica kit featured the logo of the Saracens Foundation, a charity operated by the club and £5 of proceeds from each jersey are donated to the foundation.

Recent kit designs
The following graphics represent the designs of the Saracens playing kit between 2006 and 2017:

Summary of kit manufacturers and sponsors
The following organisations have manufactured and sponsored the Saracens playing kit since the 1996–97 season:

Saracens F.C.

 * Premiership Rugby
 * Champions: (6) 2010–11, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2022–23
 * Runners–Up: (4) 1997–98, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2021–22
 * RFU Championship
 * Champions: (3) 1988–89, 1994–95, 2020–21
 * European Rugby Champions Cup
 * Champions: (3) 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19
 * Runners–Up: (1) 2013–14
 * RFU Knockout Cup
 * Champions: (1) 1997–98
 * Anglo–Welsh Cup
 * Champions: (1) 2014–15
 * Premiership Rugby Cup
 * Runners–Up: (1) 2018–19
 * Middlesex Senior Cup
 * Champions: (4) 1971–72, 1975–76, 1979–80, 1985–86
 * Runners–Up: (3) 1974–75, 1977–78, 1980–81

Saracens Storm Reserves

 * Premiership Rugby Shield
 * Champions: (2) 2014–15, 2018–19
 * Runners-Up: (1) 2012–13

Saracens Sevens

 * Premiership Rugby Sevens Series
 * Champions: (3) 2010, 2018, 2019
 * Runners–Up: (1) 2011
 * Melrose Sevens
 * Champions: (2) 2012, 2013

Current squad
The Saracens senior squad for the 2024–25 season is:

Note: Players listed in bold have received at least one senior international test cap.

Academy squad
The Saracens academy squad for the 2024–25 season is:

Coaching and ownership structure
The current Saracens senior management and coaching staff, as of the 2024–25 season, is as follows:

Timeline of coaches (professional era)
The following coaches have held the lead coaching role (either director of rugby or head coach) for the Saracens senior team since the beginning of the professional rugby union era:

Notable former coaches
The following former Saracens players and assistant coaches have gone on to serve in high-profile positions at international level, at other top-flight clubs in major domestic leagues – including the English Premiership, the French Top 14 and the United Rugby Championship – or in other professional sports:

 * 🏴 Mike Ford (defence coach 2004–05, head coach 2005–06)
 * Ireland defence coach 2002–05; England defence coach 2006–11
 * British Lions defence coach 2005
 * Bath backs coach 2012–13, director of rugby 2013–16
 * Toulon head coach 2016–17; Leicester defence coach 2019–21
 * 🏴 Andy Farrell (player 2005–09, backs coach 2009–11, head coach 2011–12)
 * England defence coach 2012–15
 * British Lions defence coach 2013 & 2017, head coach 2025
 * Ireland defence coach 2016–19, head coach 2019–
 * 🏴 Paul Gustard (player 2006–08, senior coach 2008–09, defence coach 2009–16)
 * England defence coach 2016–18
 * Harlequins director of rugby 2018–21
 * Benetton defence coach 2021–22; Stade Français defence coach 2022–
 * 🏴 Al Sanderson (player 2004–05, forwards coach 2008–16, head coach 2016–21)
 * Sale director of rugby 2021–
 * 🏴 Steve Borthwick (player/captain 2008–14, academy coach 2012–14)
 * Japan forwards coach 2014–15; England forwards coach 2016–20
 * British Lions forwards coach 2017
 * Leicester director of rugby 2020–22
 * England head coach 2022–
 * 🏴 Kelly Brown (player 2010–17, academy coach 2016–20, lineout coach 2021–23)
 * Canada defence coach 2017
 * Glasgow assistant coach 2020–21
 * 🏴 Richard Wigglesworth (player 2010–20, academy coach 2017–20)
 * Canada defence and kicking coach 2019
 * Leicester attack and kicking coach 2021–22, interim head coach 2022–23
 * England attack and kicking coach 2023–
 * 🏴 Richard Hill (player 1993–2008, academy coach 2010–13)
 * England team manager 2016–
 * 🇫🇯 Mosese Rauluni (player 2004–10, academy coach 2010–12)
 * Fiji backs coach 2011, defence and skills coach 2014–17
 * 🏴 Mark Mapletoft (player 1999–2000, academy coach 2005–07)
 * RFU pathway coach 2007–10, 2020–23; England Under-20s head coach 2023–
 * Harlequins attack and backs coach 2010–20

 * 🏴 Paul Turner (player 1999, backs coach 1999)
 * Gloucester assistant coach 2001–02; Harlequins backs coach 2002–05
 * Dragons head coach 2005–11; Wasps attack and skills coach 2011–12
 * 🏴 Donald Barrell (academy coach 2008–12, academy director 2012–17)
 * RFU head of regional academies 2017–22
 * RFU head of performance programmes and pathways 2020–
 * 🇫🇯 Simon Raiwalui (player 2003–07, captain 2003–04/2006–07)
 * Racing 92 forwards coach 2012–13, team manager 2013–14
 * Stade Français assistant coach 2014–17; Biarritz assistant coach 2017–18
 * Australia assistant coach 2018–20
 * Fiji team manager 2020–23, head coach 2023
 * 🇿🇦 Petrus du Plessis (player 2009–17)
 * Glasgow scrum coach 2019–20; Leicester scrum coach 2023
 * Australia scrum coach 2020–23
 * 🏴 George Kruis (player 2009–20)
 * England lineout coach 2023
 * 🏴 Mouritz Botha (player 2009–15, women's forwards and defence coach 2023–)
 * Germany forwards and defence coach 2018–19
 * Belgium forwards coach 2023
 * 🇫🇷 Thibault Giroud (player 2003–04, strength and conditioning coach 2003–04)
 * Pau S&C coach 2004–05; London Broncos S&C coach 2005–07
 * Celtic Crusaders S&C coach 2007–09; Biarritz S&C coach 2009–14
 * Glasgow S&C coach 2016–17; Toulon S&C coach 2017–19
 * France athletic performance director 2019–
 * 🏴 Andy Edwards (strength and conditioning coach 2006–20)
 * England A fitness coach 2010–16; South Africa athletic performance director 2020–
 * 🏴 Ian Vass (academy coach 2013–17)
 * England Under-20s head coach 2017
 * Montpellier defence coach 2017–20; Northampton defence coach 2020–23
 * 🏴 David Priestley (head of psychology and personal development 2008–14)
 * Arsenal head of psychology and personal development 2014–20
 * Leicester psychology consultant 2020–23
 * 🏴 Ross Hamilton (performance analyst 2012–14, talent profile specialist 2013–14)
 * England performance analyst 2014–18

Rugby World Cup
The following players have been selected to represent their national teams at the Rugby World Cup while at Saracens:
 * Tournament winners are listed in bold

British and Irish Lions
The following players have been selected to represent the British & Irish Lions on tour while at Saracens:

Club captains
The following players have held the position of Saracens club captain since 1876:

 * 1876–1882 - 🏴 F.W. Dunn
 * 1882–1887 - 🏴 A. Jenkins
 * 1887–1890 - 🏴 G. Sparks
 * 1890–1891 - 🏴 J. Bongard
 * 1891–1893 - 🏴 H.E. Read
 * 1893–1896 - 🏴 W.T.A. Beare
 * 1896–1897 - 🏴 A. Warden
 * 1897–1899 - 🏴 W.T.A. Beare
 * 1899–1900 - 🏴 T. Sawyer
 * 1900–1901 - 🏴 W.T.A. Beare
 * 1901–1907 - 🏴 C.S. Bongard
 * 1907–1909 - 🏴 J.W. Jennings
 * 1909–1911 - 🏴 T.H. Pentony
 * 1911–1912 - 🏴 W.A. Andrew
 * 1912–1913 - 🏴 A.J. Wilson
 * 1913–1914 - 🏴 D. McMillan
 * 1919–1920 - 🏴 D.H. Keith
 * 1920–1921 - 🏴 G.P. Mayne
 * 1921–1922 - 🏴 F.S. Chaan
 * 1922–1923 - 🏴 T.F. Pilcher
 * 1923–1924 - 🏴 J.S. Greer
 * 1924–1925 - 🏴 W.T. Williams
 * 1925–1926 - 🏴 J.S. Greer
 * 1926–1927 - 🏴 K. Brown
 * 1927–1928 - 🏴 O.R.G. Williams
 * 1928–1929 - 🏴 L.C. Johnson
 * 1929–1930 - 🏴 W.L. Prosser
 * 1930–1933 - 🏴 K. Brown
 * 1933–1935 - 🏴 M. Barak
 * 1935–1936 - 🏴 E.O. Furness
 * 1936–1938 - 🏴 A.V.N. Bartlett
 * 1938–1939 - 🏴 G.J. Burkle
 * 1939–1940 - 🏴 P. Brown
 * 1940–1946 - 🏴 E. Heptonstall
 * 1946–1949 - 🏴 G.A. Turner
 * 1949–1950 - 🏴 R.D. Bruce
 * 1950–1952 - 🏴 L.W. Knowlson
 * 1952–1954 - 🏴 R.D. Bruce
 * 1954–1955 - 🏴 E.A. Eames
 * 1955–1956 - 🏴 R. Robertson
 * 1956–1957 - 🏴 V.S.J. Harding
 * 1957–1958 - 🏴 D.J. Dowling
 * 1958–1960 - 🏴 D.M. Thomas
 * 1960–1962 - 🏴 K.J. Bartlett
 * 1962–1965 - 🏴 J.A.D. Wyness
 * 1965–1968 - 🏴 G.D. Hunt
 * 1968–1970 - 🏴 R. Weaver
 * 1970–1972 - 🏴 J.A. Lockwood
 * 1972–1973 - 🏴 R. Headey
 * 1973–1974 - 🏴 J.M. Heggadon
 * 1974–1976 - 🏴 M. Williams
 * 1976–1977 - 🏴 J.A. Lockwood
 * 1977–1978 - 🏴 D. Harrigan
 * 1978–1981 - 🏴 R. Faircloth
 * 1981–1982 - 🏴 A. Harrower
 * 1982–1983 - 🏴 F. Steadman
 * 1983–1987 - 🏴 A. Keay
 * 1987–1988 - 🏴 L. Adamson
 * 1988–1990 - 🏴 F. Steadman
 * 1990–1992 - 🏴 J.R. Buckton
 * 1992–1996 - 🏴 B. Davies
 * 1996–1999 - 🏴 T. Diprose
 * 1999–2000 - 🇿🇦 J.F. Pienaar
 * 2000–2001 - 🏴 K.P.P. Bracken
 * 2001–2002 - 🇫🇷 A. Benazzi
 * 2002–2003 - 🏴 K.P.P. Bracken
 * 2003–2004 - 🇫🇯 S. Raiwalui
 * 2004–2006 - 🏴 H.D. Vyvyan
 * 2006–2007 - 🇫🇯 S. Raiwalui
 * 2007–2008 - 🇿🇦 N. de Kock
 * 2008–2014 - 🏴 S.W. Borthwick
 * 2014–2016 - 🇿🇦 A.J. Hargreaves
 * 2016–2020 - 🏴 B.M. Barritt
 * 2020–2024 - 🏴 O.A. Farrell

Player of the Year

 * 🏴 Alex Goode
 * (2015–16)
 * 🏴 Ben Earl
 * (2021–22)

Player of the Year

 * 🏴 Maro Itoje
 * (2015–16)
 * 🏴 Owen Farrell
 * (2016–17)
 * 🏴 Alex Goode
 * (2018–19)

Season summaries
Gold background denotes champions Silver background denotes runners-up Pink background denotes relegated

Additional Sources

 * 'The Saracen', Matchday programmes 1998–2007

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Saracens F.C.


text:
Le Fresne-Camilly

Le Fresne-Camilly is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is home to the Château du Fresne-Camilly.

title: Le Fresne-Camilly


text:
Wasps RFC

Wasps Rugby Football Club was a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby, until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022, the club entered administration, resulting in relegation from the league and all staff being made redundant. They exited administration on 16 December 2022.

Founded in 1867 as Wasps Football Club, from 1923 to 1996 they were based at Repton Avenue in Sudbury, London. From 1996 to 2002 the team played at Loftus Road in Shepherd's Bush, London and from 2002 to 2014 they played at Adams Park in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. From 2014 to 2022 their home ground was the Coventry Building Society Arena (known until 2021 as the Ricoh Arena) in Coventry. They have not yet announced a permanent playing ground following their exit from administration.

Wasps won 12 major titles. They were European Champions twice, in 2004 and 2007; won six English Championships including three in a row from 2003 to 2005; and won three Anglo-Welsh Cups. They also won the 2003 European Rugby Challenge Cup. Wasps most recent trophy was the 2007–08 Premiership.

In 2021–22 Premiership Rugby, their last completed season, Wasps finished 9th. Lee Blackett was appointed head coach in February 2020, until being made redundant.

In October 2023, the owners of the club announced plans to revive the team in a permanent home in Kent, while maintaining the possibility of playing from Sixways Stadium in Worcester pending completion of any new build. The club stated that it hoped to be involved in the pending relaunch of the professional game in England from 2025.

Wasps FC: 1866–1995
Hampstead Football Club was founded in 1866. A split in the membership resulted in the formation of two different clubs: Harlequin F.C. and Wasps. Wasps Football Club was itself formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London; names of insects, birds and other animals were considered fashionable in the Victorian period. In December 1870, Edwin Ash, Secretary of Richmond Football Club published a letter in the papers which said, "Those who play the rugby-type game should meet to form a code of practice as various clubs play to rules which differ from others, which makes the game difficult to play."

As a reasonably well-established club, the Wasps were eligible to be founder members of the Rugby Football Union (RFU). On 26 January 1871 the meeting was scheduled to take place. However a mix-up led to them sending their representative to the wrong venue at the wrong time on the wrong day. Another version of the story was that he went to a pub of the same name and after consuming a number of drinks was too drunk to make it to the correct address after he realised his mistake. Wasps were, therefore, not present at the inauguration ceremony and thus forfeited their right to be called foundation members.

Wasps' first home was in Finchley Road, North London. Later, grounds were rented in various parts of London until in 1923 the Wasps found a permanent home at Sudbury, Middlesex, eventually buying the ground outright. The side had somewhat of a renaissance during the 1930s; in the earlier part of the decade they were seen as one of the better English clubs, going unbeaten in the 1930/31 English season. The 1930s also saw the emergence of Neville Compton, who captained the side between 1939 and 1947 and went on to become fixture secretary in 1959 and eventually became the club president in the early 1970s before retiring in 1988.

Wasps went on to host Welsh internationals Vivian Jenkins and Harry Bowcott, in addition to this national representation, numerous Wasps came to play for the England national side, such as Ted Woodward, Bob Stirling, Richard Sharp and Don Rutherford. In 1967, the Wasps club celebrated their centenary. Celebrations took the form of two matches that were held at the Rugby school grounds, where William Webb Ellis is thought to have originated the rugby union game. One match was played against the Barbarian F.C., the other, against another London rugby union club, the Harlequins.

The 1980s saw what was, at that point, an all-time high representation of Wasps players in the England national side. In 1986, Wasps Football Club made their first appearance at the final of the John Player Cup knock-out competition, which originated in 1972. Wasps were defeated by Bath in a close game, where Bath emerged as winners, 25 points to 17. The following year Wasps continued their success in the knock-out competition and they again met Bath in the final. They were however again defeated by Bath in a close game, Bath winning 19 points to 12. Wasp Rob Andrew captained England against Romania in 1989. In 1990, Andrew captained Wasps to their first Courage League title, as they narrowly pipped Orrell R.U.F.C. to be English champions.

In 1995 Wasps lost 16–36 to Bath in the final of the Pilkington Cup. It was their first appearance in the final since 1987 and 1986, when their opponents – and the eventual winners – on both occasions were also Bath.

After winning the title, Wasps regularly finished in the top three of the Courage league title, although they were never quite good enough to overcome Bath, the pre-eminent club of the time. Then in 1995–96, with many pundits predicting Wasps could make a run for the title, Rob Andrew took up a lucrative deal to become Player Manager of Newcastle Falcons. He recruited several other leading Wasps, including, most notably, Club Captain Dean Ryan. For a few weeks Wasps looked like becoming the first casualty of the professional era as the backbone of their team had left. But under newly appointed captain Lawrence Dallaglio, the club steadied the ship, and managed to finish fourth, and secure a place in the following season's Heineken Cup, which English teams were entering for the first time.

Wasps RFC: 1996–1999
The following season, 1996–97, Wasps won their second league championship, and became the first English Champions of the new professional era. It was an equally momentous season off the field. The club split into two parts, with the professional side becoming part of Loftus Road Holdings PLC, who also owned Queens Park Rangers F.C. One element of the deal saw Wasps move from their traditional Sudbury home to share QPR's Loftus Road stadium.

In 1998, the now-professional Wasps again reached the final of the Tetley's Bitter Cup, but lost 18–48 to a strong Saracens side. The following year Wasps again reached the final, they defeated Newcastle Falcons 29–19 to claim their first cup final win. In 2000 Wasps reached the final for the third consecutive year, successfully defending their title in a 31–23 victory over Northampton Saints.

London Wasps: 1999–2014
In the summer of 1999, the professional team – which had been operating as Wasps RFC (professional) since the 1996–97 season – was renamed as London Wasps, to differentiate it from Wasps FC, the amateur side of the club. At the same time they adopted a new logo, which was selected as being in keeping with the club's history.

In 2001 ex-Wigan rugby league star Shaun Edwards joined as a coach. He has largely been credited with creating Wasps' famous Blitz Defence that stops teams and is the basis for Wasps' own scoring chances. London Wasps agreed to move out of Loftus Road to allow Fulham F.C. to groundshare for two seasons between 2002 and 2004, while their ground, Craven Cottage, was redeveloped. They became tenants to Wycombe Wanderers F.C. at Adams Park at the end of the 2001–02 season. The success of Wasps at their new ground meant they did not return to Loftus Road after Fulham left.

In the 2002–03 European Challenge Cup, Wasps made their way to the final, where they met Bath. Though Bath beat them in numerous finals in the 1990s, Wasps emerged as champions, winning 48–30 at the Madejski Stadium. They also defeated Northampton Saints in the Premiership semi-final, after finishing second in the league table. They then faced Gloucester in the final at Twickenham, to win in their first English title since 1997, by 39 points to 3.

Wasps finished top of their pool in the 2003–04 Heineken Cup, where they went on to defeat Gloucester at the quarter-finals and won a final berth after beating Munster 37–32 in the semi-finals. They met Toulouse in the final at Twickenham, where they became champions, defeating the French side 27–20, winning their first Heineken Cup. Wasps followed up the win the following week, again at Twickenham, by beating Bath to retain the title of England's champion side, and complete a double.

In December 2004 the RFU revealed that the team was to be disqualified from the Powergen Cup for fielding an ineligible player, hooker Jonny Barrett, in a sixth-round game against Bristol. Wasps went through the season well, after the cup glitch, and retained the English title for a second time, by beating Leicester Tigers in the final at Twickenham. Edwards, however, was not a totally happy man as Wasps conceded their first try of the three Premiership finals in the dying minutes. Warren Gatland signed off at Wasps with a rare smile to continue his coaching with Waikato in New Zealand.

Ian McGeechan became the new Director of Rugby at Wasps from the 2005–06 season, taking over from Gatland. Wasps won the Powergen Anglo-Welsh Cup in the 2005–06 season, beating Llanelli Scarlets in the final at Twickenham. Before the 2006–07 season began, Wasps won the Middlesex 7s in Twickenham, beating Leicester Tigers in the final.

In England's game against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in the 2007 Six Nations Championship, Wasps supplied the back row of the scrum, James Haskell, Joe Worsley and Tom Rees all made an appearance. This was the first time that any club supplied the entire back row. Unfortunately for England, Wales won the encounter 27 to 18.

In the 2006–07 Heineken Cup, Wasps qualified by topping their group for a home quarter-final. They were drawn against Leinster on 31 March. There was a full house at Adams Park, and three players in total were sent to the sin bin, Lawrence Dallaglio in the last moments of the first half, Dominic Waldouck of London Wasps and Malcolm O'Kelly of Leinster later spent time there as well. The final score was 35–13 to wasps. In the semi-final at Coventry City's Ricoh Arena on 22 April, Wasps beat Northampton 30–13 and in doing so, gained a place in the Heineken Cup Final against Leicester Tigers at Twickenham.

Leicester Tigers were the favourites, as they had already won the Anglo-Welsh cup and the Guinness Premiership, the latter just the week before. Wasps went ahead early, and while Leicester kept in the match, Wasps won 25–9, thanks to penalties by Alex King and tries by Raphaël Ibañez and Eoin Reddan to become 2007 champions.

During the 2007–08 season, Wasps went from 10th in the league during October, to beat Leicester Tigers in the Guinness Premiership Final. This sealed a dream send-off for the retiring Lawrence Dallaglio at Twickenham. Wasps won 26–16 thanks to penalties by Mark van Gisbergen and tries by Josh Lewsey and Tom Rees to become the English 2008 champions. Wasps have now won six league titles in all, equal with Bath and just one behind Leicester.

The 2008–09 season was to see Wasps come unstuck. With their captain having retired, many of the players failed to play to their full potential. Wasps would eventually finish in seventh place, having also failed to reach the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup and EDF Anglo Welsh Cup. On 12 May 2009 it was announced in the evening standard that Ian McGeechan had been forced to step down and will now take a consultancy role both at London Wasps and London Scottish. This was confirmed by the BBC on 14 May. Tony Hanks, a former coach at the club, was announced as the new Director of Rugby soon after. He had more recently been coaching at Waikato and also been a stand in for McGeechan for the latter part of the 2008/09 season, while he was primarily committed to British and Irish Lions duty. McGeechan had technically been a Lions employee for the whole season and through agreement with Wasps was loaned back to the club.

The 2009–10 season started off with an exodus of key players including James Haskell and Tom Palmer who moved to Stade Français, Riki Flutey who also crossed the channel to join Brive and Eoin Reddan who left to join Leinster in Ireland.

In late February it was announced that Danny Cipriani would be leaving for the Melbourne Rebels in Australia and he was determined to leave on a high.

After beating Gloucester 42–26 in the quarter-final of the Amlin Cup scoring five tries (including a hat-trick from winger Tom Varndell), Wasps lost 15–18 at home to Cardiff Blues in the semi-final with Dave Walder kicking all of Wasps points with five penalties. Cardiff subsequently beat French Top 14 side Toulon in the final of the competition at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille.

Shaun Edwards left the club in November 2011.

Wasps had a poor 2011–12 season, finishing in their lowest position for many seasons in 11th place, narrowly avoiding relegation from the Premiership. The season was notable for a good start where Wasps beat with a 15–20 reigning champions Saracens at Twickenham in the opening match and then runners-up Leicester in the second match with a 35–29. Things went downhill from there on as the worst injury toll known to professional rugby union hit the squad with a combined total of 16 serious and long-term injuries and retirements.

Dai Young recruited well through the summer bringing in players such as Andrea Masi (2012 6 Nations Player Of The Tournament) and Stephen Jones. He also welcomed back former Wasps Tom Palmer and James Haskell.

Wasps beat their record of their European highest-scoring margin with a 90–17 win against Viadana on 12 October 2013, beating the 77–17 margin of victory against Toulouse on 26 October 1996.

Wasps Rugby relocation to West Midlands: 2014
On 30 June 2014, the club announced that the "London" prefix of the name had been dropped, returning to Wasps for the first time since the re-branding in 1999.

In September 2014, Simon Gilbert, of the Coventry Telegraph reported the side were in talks to permanently relocate to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, from their home at Adams Park, in High Wycombe. In October 2014 Wasps announced that from December 2014 they would play their home games at the Ricoh Arena. On 14 November 2014 Wasps confirmed the purchase of the final 50% of shares in the stadium from the Higgs Charity to become outright owners of the facility.

Their first game as owners was a 48–16 win against London Irish on 21 December 2014.

Wasps in Coventry: 2014–2022
The 2014–15 season saw Wasps finish 6th. Andy Goode was the Premiership's top scorer, ending the season with 240 points.

Things improved for Wasps in the 2015–16 season, with them finishing 3rd in the league. They lost their play-off semi-final with eventual runners-up Exeter Chiefs.

Wasps finished 1st in the 2016–17 regular season. Despite this success, Wasps went on to lose to Exeter Chiefs in the play-off final, having beaten Leicester in the semi-final.

In the 2017–18 regular season, Wasps finished 3rd. They faced Saracens in the semi-final play-off, but lost 57–33. The 2017–18 season marked 150 years since the foundation of Wasps Rugby Football Club and was celebrated with an anniversary game against Bath Rugby.

The 2018–19 campaign saw Wasps slip to an 8th-place finish overall. Across the season, Wasps recorded 10 wins and 12 losses.

The 2019–20 Gallagher Premiership Season saw huge improvement for Wasps who finished 2nd in the table (71 points) behind league leaders Exeter Chiefs (74 points). As a result of finishing 2nd, Wasps earned a home semi-final against Bristol Bears on Saturday 10 October 2020 at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. Wasps won 47–24 earning a place in the Gallagher Premiership Final on Saturday 24 October 2020 against Exeter Chiefs at Twickenham Stadium. In a repeat of the outcome of the 2016–17 Final, Wasps were defeated by Exeter Chiefs. The result was 19–13.

The 2020–21 season saw another slump for Wasps who fell out of the Top 4 playoff positions, finishing 8th in the table.

In May 2021 it was announced that Wasps' home stadium would be renamed to the Coventry Building Society Arena. On Monday 19 July 2021, Wasps announced a new logo to bring all elements of Wasps including the Netball team, Women and Amateur rugby sides under one new visual identity.

Financial troubles and administration: 2022
On 15 May 2022, Wasps failed to repay the £35 million bond finance they had raised in 2015, however stated they hoped to re-finance by 13 August. On 13 August 2022, Wasps did not refinance the bond, with owner Derek Richardson stating "we are not in administration and we are not going to be" after rumours of administration appeared on the internet. On 21 September 2022, Wasps Holdings announced their intention to appoint administrators due to ongoing financial difficulty. After a second notice of intention was filed on 4 October, the club were suspended from all tournaments on 12 October due to inability to field a team and Wasps Holdings were placed into administration on 17 October 2022 with all their playing and coaching staff made redundant. The team had their current results removed and were also relegated to the RFU Championship, the second tier of English rugby. The club had debts totalling £95 million.

On 30 October it was confirmed that the administrators had accepted an offer from a consortium to buy the club, with the RFU expecting a 'decision ahead of Christmas.'

The club confirmed on 16 December that the club had been successfully sold and exited administration. It was also confirmed that they had satisfied all RFU requirements to join the Championship from the 2023–24 season. They were rumoured to be remaining in the West Midlands as they were rumoured to have agreed a groundshare with Solihull Moors at the ARMCO Arena.

Following an extended deadline of 14 February 2023 to submit an application to the RFU Wasps were announced as formally able to compete in the Championship for the 2023–24 season on 15 February. However, this position was rescinded on 18 May 2023 as a result of a failure to hit a deadline to confirm commitments made when the license was first approved in December. As a result, they will now be placed "at the bottom of the playing pyramid in tier ten" of the English rugby union system.

Proposed move to Swanley
In 2023 a Sevenoaks District Council spokesman said that Wasps, owned by Christopher Holland, were considering building a multi-use stadium, training facilities, a hotel, and enabling development on the outskirts of Swanley, Kent.

Rivalries
Wasps' main rival were Harlequins in Twickenham, London. Both clubs were once unified as Hampstead Football Club. Wasps split from Hampstead Football Club (which changed its name to Harlequin F.C. in 1870) over discord among members in 1867.

Following Wasps' move to Coventry, Wasps tried to kindle rivalries with other clubs in the Midlands of England. This included the likes of Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints leading one rugby commentator to state that the games, "lack the history that a derby demands".

Wasps Netball
Wasps expanded their sporting brand in 2016 with the addition of Wasps Netball. They play their home games at the Indoor Arena - Coventry located in the Coventry Building Society Arena.

In the 2018 and 2019 Netball Superleague seasons, they finished in top position, with Loughborough Lightning in 2nd place. Both teams proceeded to the Grand Final for a 2017 rematch, with Wasps winning their 2nd consecutive title with a scoreline identical to the 2017 and 2018 finals.

Wasps Netball were also placed into administration on 17 October 2022 with all their playing and coaching staff made redundant.

On 10 November 2022, England Netball announced that Wasps Netball would no longer be eligible to compete in the Netball Super League moving forwards.

Home ground
Wasps' first home was in Finchley Road, North London although subsequent years saw grounds being rented in various parts of London. In 1923 the club moved to a permanent home at Repton Avenue, Sudbury, Middlesex, eventually buying the ground outright.

Loftus Road
In 1996 Wasps moved to play their home games at Queens Park Rangers' home ground, Loftus Road, in West London. The site of the ground at Sudbury was later developed for housing, though the original club house still stands and is used as a community centre.

Adams Park
Wasps made another move in 2002, this time 30 mi west of Greater London, playing their home games at Wycombe Wanderers F.C.'s ground, Adams Park, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The attendance figure went up by 31.8% the next season. Between 2004 and 2015 Wasps took part in the London Double Header at Twickenham, this was a designated home match in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013. In 2006 this drew a crowd of 51,950, breaking the record set in 2004.

In 2007 Wasps, Wycombe Wanderers and Wycombe District Council entered a joint venture that would fund a new stadium in the High Wycombe area. The favoured site for the new stadium was at Wycombe Air Park, a 208 acre site owned by Wycombe District Council and close to the M40 motorway. The planned stadium was of 16–17,000 capacity, and would have been the first new football ground in England with terraced section since the Taylor Report. The development would also have included retail, hotel, conference and other facilities. Wasps and Wanderers funding was primarily from Steve Hayes, who had become a 25% share holder through a £250,000 investment in Wycombe Wanderers in June 2004, when the football club became a plc company; and later became managing director. Hayes bought an 11.6% stake in London Wasps Holdings Ltd in August 2007, and became chairman of Lawrence Dallaglio's benefit committee. In December 2008, Hayes bought Wright's controlling interest and John O'Connell's share holding in Wasps to take complete control. After the stadium plans at Booker Airfield were turned down, Steve Hayes put the club up for sale, with Derek Richardson becoming principal shareholder in April 2013

Coventry Building Society Arena
Wasps' first official home game in Coventry was during the 2007–08 Heineken Cup when they used the Ricoh Arena as their home venue against Munster on 10 November 2007 due to its bigger capacity. While commercially the move was seen as a success, with Wasps winning the game 24–23 in front of a crowd of 21,506, the move attracted severe criticism from many of the club's supporters, citing the long distance from London (a round-trip of almost 200 miles for London-based fans). The club argued that they had little choice but to relocate the match as their landlords, Wycombe Wanderers, had a home FA Cup tie the same day.

On 7 October 2014, Wasps purchased 50% in Arena Coventry Ltd (the operating company of the Ricoh Arena) with the intention of relocating to the Midlands. After gaining a 100% stake in the company on 14 November 2014, Wasps played their first game in Coventry as owners on 21 December 2014; a 48–16 win against London Irish. While initially the relocation was only for 1st team home games; the club relocated completely ahead of the 2016–17 season.

After the team entered administration in 2022, the Coventry Building Society Arena was purchased by the Frasers Group on 17 November 2022 and Wasps ceased to be based there.

Season summaries
Gold background denotes champions Silver background denotes runners-up Pink background denotes relegated

* After dropping into the competition from the Champions Cup/Heineken Cup

 * As Wasps FC – 1987–1996
 * As Wasps RFC – 1996–1999
 * As London Wasps – 1999–2014
 * As Wasps Rugby – 2014–2022

Wasps RFC

 * Premiership Rugby
 * Champions: (6) 1989–90*, 1996–97**, 2002–03^, 2003–04^, 2004–05^, 2007–08^
 * Runners-up: (6) 1987–88*, 1990–91*, 1992–93*, 2000–01^, 2016–17**, 2019–20**
 * European Rugby Champions Cup
 * Champions: (2) 2003–04^, 2006–07^
 * European Challenge Cup
 * Champions: (1) 2002–03^
 * Anglo-Welsh Cup
 * Champions: (3) 1998–99**, 1999–2000^, 2005–06^
 * Runners-up: (4) 1985–86*, 1986–87*, 1994–95*, 1997–98**
 * Middlesex Senior Cup
 * Champions: (8) 1973–74*, 1974–75*, 1976–77*, 1977–78*, 1978–79*, 1981–82*, 1983–84*, 1986–87*
 * Runners-up: (4) 1975–76*, 1979–80*, 1982–83*, 1985–86*

Wasps A

 * Premiership Rugby Shield
 * Champions: (2) 2006–07^, 2007–08^
 * Runners-up: (2) 2004–05^, 2008–09^

Friendly
* As Wasps FC – 1987–1996 ** As Wasps RFC – 1996–1999 & 2014–2022 ^ As London Wasps – 1999–2014
 * Middlesex Sevens
 * Champions: (5) 1948*, 1952*, 1985*, 1993*, 2006^
 * Runners-up: (4) 1933*, 1951*, 1996*, 2005^
 * Premiership Rugby Sevens Series
 * Champions: (2) 2016**, 2017**
 * Runners-up: (2) 2015**, 2018**

Ownership
Irish businessman Derek Richardson became principal shareholder of Wasps group in April 2013, taking the group from the brink of insolvency to administration in October 2022 with over £100m of debt.

Kit
On 29 April 2021, Wasps announced a new multi-year deal with Danish sportswear manufacturer Hummel to become 'technical and retail partner'. The contract, commencing the 2021–22 season, would see Wasps become the first British domestic rugby union team to use the company. Previous manufacturers include Canterbury and Kukri. The first away kit produced by Kukri in 2012 (a hooped blue away shirt) was a change from the white or black and gold hoops traditionally used as a tie in with the clubs chosen charity MIND in a combined effort to help raise the awareness of mental health issues in sport.

Rugby World Cup
The following are players which have represented their countries at the Rugby World Cup, whilst playing for Wasps:

Lions tourists
The following players have been selected to tour with the Lions while members of Wasps:

 * 1983: Nigel Melville
 * 1989: Rob Andrew, Chris Oti
 * 1993: Rob Andrew
 * 1997: Lawrence Dallaglio
 * 2001: Rob Henderson, Phil Greening, Lawrence Dallaglio
 * 2005: Josh Lewsey, Matt Dawson, Lawrence Dallaglio
 * 2009: Tim Payne, Phil Vickery, Simon Shaw, Joe Worsley, Riki Flutey
 * 2013: Christian Wade
 * 2017: James Haskell, Elliot Daly

title: Wasps RFC


text:
HMS Corunna (D97)

HMS Corunna (D97) was a later or 1943 Battle-class destroyer fleet destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was named in honour of the Battle of Corunna, which took place during the Peninsular War in 1809 between British and French forces. Corunna was built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Limited on the Tyne. She was launched on 29 May 1945 and commissioned on 6 June 1947.

Design and construction
The Battle-class was developed as a result of operational experience in the early years of the Second World War, which had shown that the Royal Navy's existing destroyers had inadequate anti-aircraft protection, and in particular, lacked a modern dual-purpose main gun armament, capable of dealing with both surface targets and air attack, with guns lacking the high elevation mountings necessary to deal with dive bombers. The resulting design was armed with two twin 4.5 inch high-angle gun-turrets of a new design mounted forward and a heavy close-in anti-aircraft armament, with 16 Battle-class destroyers ordered under the 1942 construction programme.

For the 1943 construction programme, 24 Battle-class destroyers of a revised design (known as "1943 Battles" ) were ordered, with three destroyers (Corunna, Oudenarde and River Plate) to be built by Swan Hunter.

Corunna was 379 ft long overall, 364 ft at the waterline and 355 ft between perpendiculars, with a beam of 40 ft and a draught of 12 ft normal and 15 ft at full load. Displacement was 2550 LT standard and 3420 LT full load. Two Admiralty 3-drum boilers supplied steam at 400 psi and 700 F to two sets of Parsons single-reduction geared steam turbines which drove two propeller shafts. The machinery was rated at 50000 shp, giving a speed of 34 kn (31 kn at full load. 766 LT of fuel oil was carried, giving an endurance of 4400 nmi at 20 kn.

Two twin 4.5 inch (113 mm) Mark IV gun mounts, capable of elevating to 85 degrees, were mounted forward, while a single 4.5 inch gun, elevating to 55 degrees was fitted behind the funnel - this fifth gun, which could fire astern, replaced a 4-inch gun fitted to the 1942 Battles used for firing Star shell and could be controlled by the main fire control system. Close-in anti-aircraft armament was eight Bofors 40 mm gun, with two twin stabilised STAAG mounts, with integrated fire control, aft, one simple Mark V twin mount amidships, and two single mounts on the bridge wings. Two quintuple 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo-tubes were fitted, with a Squid anti-submarine mortar aft.

Corunna, named after the 1809 Battle of Corunna, was one of thirteen 1943 Battles ordered on 23 April 1943. The destroyer was laid down at Swan Hunter's Tyneside shipyard on 12 April 1944, was launched on 29 May 1945. The end of the Second World War in August 1945 resulted in the decision to cancel 16 of the 1943 Battles, with construction of the remaining ships slowed. Corunna was commissioned on 23 May 1947, and was completed on 6 June 1947.

Service
On commissioning, Corunna joined the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, part of the Home Fleet, but was temporarily laid up in reserve for several months from October 1947 owing to a manning crisis in the Royal Navy. On 8 December 1948 Corunna was in collision with the oiler RFA Wave Sovereign while being refuelled, and was under repair at Chatham from 16 December to 18 February 1949. In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1954, Corunna, with the rest of the Squadron, formerly Flotilla, deployed to the Mediterranean, remaining there until 1955. Corunna, with the rest of the Squadron, returned to the region in 1956 and took part in the Suez Crisis. On 15 March 1959, Corunna accidentally collided with her sister ship HMS Barrosa (D68) in the Bay Of Biscay.

Corunna subsequently began her conversion to a Radar Picket, of which three other ships were also converted. The conversion included new Anti-Aircraft weaponry, new radar, and the addition of the Sea Cat missile system. In 1962, Corunna joined the 7th Destroyer Squadron, based in the Mediterranean, and the following year joined the 21st Escort Squadron.

In 1964, Corunna deployed, along with the rest of the Squadron, to the Far East, where she would remain until 1965.

Decommissioning and fate
In 1967, Corunna was placed in reserve and was put on the disposal list in 1972. On Friday 17 January 1975 "Corunna" was photographed alongside the partially demolished D86 HMS Agincourt at Sunderland. In 1975, Corunna arrived at Blyth in Northumberland where she was subsequently broken up.

title: HMS Corunna (D97)


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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/George Tutuska

The page has no educational content except for the current band the guy is drumming for, and includes a ridiculously stupid burn/comment, "He is not a druggie like Johnny and Robby."

Only page that links to it it Goo Goo Dolls. --blankfaze 22:38, 1 May 2004 (UTC)

 * I would say keep; he's a real member of a famous band. Could certainly be improved; I'll see what I can do. Meelar 23:59, 1 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Now a stub. Keep. Meelar 00:16, 2 May 2004 (UTC)

 * OK, you cleaned it ALL up. Good job Meelar.  I retract my vote.  Keep.  --blankfaze 01:54, 2 May 2004 (UTC)