Saracens 2025/26 preview

Published on 24 September 2025 at 19:23

Saracens

Last season's finish: 6th

Director of rugby: Mark McCall

Captain: Maro Itoje

Star player: Theo McFarland

Young player to watch: Charlie Bracken

Last season was a tricky one for Saracens. They suffered the consequences of losing the core of the team that had brought them so much success. Brothers Billy and Mako Vunipola departed the club as well as Owen Farrell and Alex Lewington. The departure of Owen Farrell was felt particularly badly. Despite the valiant efforts of Fergus Burke, the gap that Farrell left could not be filled. This season, Saracens have also lost Alex Goode, who has retired, and Liam Williams who has just signed for Newcastle.

The good news for Saracens is that they have a couple of returning stars. Owen Farrell has returned after ending his disastrous spell in Paris early. Max Malins has also re-joined the team from Bristol, and will hopefully be fit for the start of the season after being out injured for almost a year. He'll be a more than adequate replacement for Alex Goode.

Saracens may not have made a host of additions, but they didn't need to. Theo Dan and Jamie George are both England internationals and make the strongest hooker duo in the league. Saracens also have a plethora of props, including international like Riccioni and Mawi. Hopefully, Rhys Carre will benefit from another season of top flght rugby and he'll surely be highly motivated about the prospect of a Wales call-up being more likely under the new coaching staff.

The back 5 of Saracens is a massive strength. Their combination of quality and depth is unrivalled across the league. Maro Itoje will return to North London having captained a successful Lions Tour and he'll be playing with yet more test stars. Nick Isiekwe and Hugh Tizard have been reliable contributors for a long time and the development of Olamide Sodeke provides some more excitement for the team. At just 20-years-old, he stands at 6ft and 9 inches, making him a unique prospect for his club and country. The back row will be led by Tom Willis, who is the best ball-carrier in the league, and has made a big claim for the England no.8 spot. The man whom he replaced in that position is Ben Earl, who plays at openside flanker for Saracens and is the heartbeat of this team. Theo McFarland and Juan Martin Gonzalez are athletic freaks that can play across the back 5 with ease.

The half backs will now be a legitimate strength of this team due to Farrell reuniting with Ivan van Zyl. Behind them, Fergus Burke is an excellent 2nd choice and Gareth Simpson is a solid scrum half. The one player that could shake up that hierarchy is Charlie Bracken. He has been marked as a high-potential prospect who has already begun to earn some chances in the senior team. He looks ready to make another jump in 2025.

The other back-line spots are fairly fluid. Malins will almost certainly be the fullback with Daly starting on the other wing, Tobias Elliot was the standout young player in the league last season, so will probably start opposite Daly. Lucio Cinti can also play on the wing but spends more time at centre. Alex Lozowski and Nick Tompkins are still going strong; they are the experienced options in the team but will be under serious pressure for their spots. Sam Spink and Olly Hartley will also be vying for more game time this year after not featuring as much as they would've liked last season.

This team looks like it has all the ingredients to fight for the title - it is all dependent upon the level that Owen Farrell can bring after a tricky year abroad.

Notable ins

Owen Farrell - Max Malins - Tiete Tuimauga

Notable outs

Alex Goode - Liam Williams - Tom Parton

Squad

Hooker

Samson Adejimi - Eoghan Clarke - Theo Dan - Jamie George - James Hadfield - James Isaacs

Prop

Harvey Beaton - Phil Brantingham - Rhys Carre - Alec Clarey - Owen Gillett - Alex O'Driscoll - Eroni Mawi - Vilikesa Nairau - Alex O'Driscoll - Alan Poku - Gabriel Registe - Marco Riccioni - Marcus Street - Tiete Tuimauga - Lewis Young

Lock

Tayo Adegbemile - Charlie Barker - Mathis Dehauter - Maro Itoje - Nick Isiekwe - Jack Murphy - Kaden Pearce-Paul - Olamide Sodeke - Hugh Tizard - Kennedy Sylvester - Harry Wilson

Back row

Totoa Auva'a - Mathew Brach-Holland - Ben Earl - Max Eke - Toby knight - Theo McFarland - Juan Martin Gonzalez - Reggie Hammick - Jack Marshall Barney Merrett - Nathan Michelow - Andy Onyeama-Christie - Charlie West - Tom Willis

Scrum half

Charlie Bracken - Gareth Simpson -Asa Stewart-Harris - Ivan van Zyl

Fly half

Fergus Burke - Luke Davidson - Patrick Keaveney - FInn Keylock - Owen Farrell - Cammy Hutchinson - Louie Johnson

Centre

Lucio Cinti - Olly Hartley - Brandon Jackson - Ryan Jones - Alex Lozowski - Fraser Rawlins - Sam Spink - Nick Tompkins - Oscar Wilson

Wing

Jack Bracken - Noah Caluori - Tobias Elliot - Zac FInch - Angus Hall - Seva Kava - Francis Moore - Rotimi Segun

Fullback

Elliot Daly - Max Malins - Jenson McInulty - Ben Morrow

Starting XV and bench

1.Phil Brantingham 2.Jamie George 3.Marco Riccioni 4.Maro Itoje 5.Theo McFarland

6.Juan Martin Gonzalez 7.Ben Earl 8.Tom Willis 9.Ivan van Zyl 10.Owen Farrell

11.Elliot Daly 12.Nick Tompkins 13,Lucio Cinti 14.Tobias Elliot 15.Max Malins