England rugby turmoil: Saracens relegated as rival says the scandal has more to give

Kicked out... England stars Jamie George and Owen Farrell, who play for relegated Saracens. Photo / Photosport

Glamour English rugby club Saracens will be relegated for its salary cap rort, with conflicting views on how it will affect the national team.

Saracens will drop to the lower divison because of a further 35-point deduction, after they accepted they would not be able to get under the $14 million salary cap this season.

Exeter rugby chairman Tony Rowe, when asked if Saracens would keep their titles, told the BBC Radio "there is still some more to come out and I'm not privy to talk about that at the moment."

"Everybody has had their suspicion for along time. Five years ago they were hauled over the coals for similar offences. We just want a level playing field."

England's coach Eddie Jones names his Six Nations squad tomorrow with about 10 players from Saracens including captain Owen Farrell expected to be included. England play the All Blacks at Twickenham in November.

Farrell has reportedly told team mates he will be sticking with the club.

Some commentators believe England will be strengthened by the latest news, because the affected players will be able to concentrate solely on test duties without the distraction of trying to avoid relegation.

But the players face a massive adjustment, going from champions to playing a lower class of rugby in the championship for at least a season.

Saracens, who have won four of the past five titles, had already been docked 35 points, and fined $10m for failing to disclose player payments for the past three seasons.

Jones is already starting his England re-build with an eye towards the next World Cup in France. Saracens other star players include Maro Itoje, Mako and Billy Vunipola, Jamie George and George Kruis.

Saracens will compete in the Championship, where no salary cap exists, and have to open their books before being allowed back into the premiership.

There has even been talk that Saracens may attempt to join the PRO14, involving clubs from Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.

Darren Childs, chief executive of Premiership Rugby, said: "Premiership Rugby is prepared to take strong action to enforce the regulations governing fair competition between our clubs.

"At the conclusion of dialogue with Saracens about their compliance with the Salary Cap Regulations, it has been decided that Saracens will be relegated at the end of this season.

"At the same as enforcing the existing regulations, we want to ensure a level playing field for all clubs in the future, which is why we have asked Lord Myners to carry out an independently-led review of the Salary Cap."

Neil Golding, chairman of Saracens, said: "As the new chairman of Saracens I acknowledge the club has made errors in the past and we unreservedly apologise for those mistakes.

"I and the rest of the board are committed to overseeing stringent new governance measures to ensure regulatory compliance going forward."

The BBC reported: "There are no rules precluding selecting Championship players for England. While playing a significantly poorer standard of rugby in the second tier would be far from ideal preparation for international rugby - let alone the Lions in 2021 - there could even be benefits for the national side.

"For example, if a star name stays at Saracens in the event of relegation, he may be able to focus more on being fit and available for England, without the week-to-week grind of Premiership and Champions Cup action."

Some of the strongest criticism of Saracens has come from their beaten title rivals Exeter, whose chairman Rowe said: "They had two choices: either open up their books so that premiership rugby could do a forensic audit of exactly what has gone on, or they could take relegation.

"So it was their choice not ot open up their books. All the chairmen, we just want to move on.

"They have cheated. And I'm just a bit upset it has taken so long to do this. They are still picking their team each week largely from the squad they had last year which is still in breach of the salary cap."

Kilted-Kiwi Sean Maitland is Saracens' only New Zealand player.