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Investec Champions Cup: Sharks v Saracens
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban Date: Saturday, 13 December Kick-off: 15:15 GMT
George Martin will be followed by more signings in the coming weeks as Saracens aim to restore their glory days, says director of rugby Mark McCall.
England second row Martin’s arrival from Leicester for the start of next season was confirmed on Tuesday, while Saracens have been heavily linked to Gloucester scrum-half Tomos Williams, whose contract at Kingsholm expires in the summer.
With Tom Willis bound for Bordeaux-Begles, back rows Jac Morgan and Hoskins Sotutu have been mentioned as possible reinforcements.
However, according to reports, Gloucester lead the race for Morgan, as Newcastle do for Sotutu.
“There’s possibly one, maybe two signings hopefully, either now or after Christmas,” said McCall.
“I think the last time we had this scale of a rebuild was around 2015 and we managed to keep that group together for a while.
“But, like any group, it gets to the end of their life cycle, with the likes of Sean Maitland, Mako Vunipola, Billy Vunipola leaving the club.
“We’re about 18 months into this next group… we’ve got plenty of youngsters that you’ve seen this year coming through – Jack Bracken, Tobias Elliott, Angus Hall, Noah Caluori, Nathan Michelow, Charlie Bracken – we are excited by the players we are producing.
“We want to build from within as much as possible, but occasionally you just need to go to the outside as well.”
Last season was Saracens’ first since 2009, excluding those affected by the club’s 2020 demotion to the Championship for salary cap breaches, in which they fell short of the play-offs.
Between 2015 and 2019, Saracens won four English titles and three Champions Cups.
McCall says Martin’s ability to play at blind-side flanker, his physicality and his desire to win those top prizes motivated Saracens’ move for him.
“He’s the perfect age, he’s 24, already with a lot of experience behind him, both at club level and international level. He’s a real tough abrasive hard-hitting back-five forward,” McCall said.
“We were super impressed with him when we met, just what he wants to achieve in the years ahead and how hungry he is.”
Martin has been out since February with a shoulder issue and missed six weeks with a knee injury at the start of 2024.
However McCall says Saracens have done their “due diligence” before investing.
“We’ve talked to all the people that we needed to talk to, be assured that everything’s going to be fine for that point,” he said.
After their opening-round Champions Cup win over Clermont Auvergne last weekend, Saracens take on South Africa side Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
While Sharks suffered a 56-19 defeat by Toulouse last week and have won only once in their first six games in the United Rugby Championship, South Africa captain Siya Kolisi and a clutch of his international team-mates are available once more.
Grant Williams, Andre Esthuizen and Bongi Mbonambi could all feature.
“They’ve got one of the best squads in the competition, man for man,” said McCall.
“I know they’ve had a difficult start to their season, but they’re really massively disrupted by the Springbok programme and how many players are unavailable.”
