In an exclusive extract from his new book, Robert Kitson reveals the true anger and dismay at the salary cap breaches by their arch rivals
Nothing lasts forever, not least in professional sport. Less than 72 hours after
England had been hammered 32-12 by
South Africa in the
World Cup final in Tokyo in early November, a different kind of typhoon ripped through the
UK newspapers. Premiership Rugby, following months of deliberation, announced that Saracens had been found guilty of breaching the salary cap regulations, fined them an unprecedented £5.36m and initially docked them 35 league points. They stopped short of stripping Sarries of their titles but with large sections of the game in uproar the points deduction was ultimately increased by a further 70 points to guarantee their relegation to the Championship.
Few tears were shed in the West Country and Rob Baxter, in particular, was less than sympathetic. Having spent hours poring over spreadsheets to try to work out how to build a competitive Premiership squad beneath the cap ceiling, Exeter’s director of rugby was unimpressed by the argument that Saracens were simply guilty of innocent naivety or muddled accounting.