SARACENS INTEND TO face Super Rugby’s Stormers in “a high-profile game” in London in 2021, the English club announced this afternoon.
Plans are afoot to play the game at the 62,000-capacity home of Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur, with whom Saracens signed a five-year partnership in 2019 to play an annual “showpiece” fixture at the venue.
“Saracens, the DHL Stormers and Tottenham Hotspur are working closely together with other stakeholders to confirm the details in line with evolving government Covid-19 safety protocols,” Saracens explained in a statement.
Amid their impending relegation to the Championship due to salary-cap breaches, Saracens will be eager for opportunities to take on top-level opposition while simultaneously bidding for a swift return to the Premiership.
Despite dropping down to the second tier of English rugby, the club has managed to retain the services of star players like Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Jamie George, Elliot Daly and the Vunipola brothers, Billy and Mako.
“We see this game with the DHL Stormers, alongside our recent player announcements, as strong indicators of the club’s high ambitions,” said Saracens chairman Neil Golding.
“Despite the challenges that the club has experienced over this past season, everybody at the club – the board, the players, coaches and support staff at the training ground, all commercial staff and all those supporting our considerable community programmes – is focused on setting our own high standards.
“We want to continue to provide our supporters with fantastic experiences and lasting memories and a game against the DHL Stormers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would certainly deliver that.”
For Saracens, the game would see their England contingent go up against members of the South Africa side – such as Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Frans Malherbe and Steven Kitshoff – that defeated them in last year’s World Cup final.
“Saracens are one of the top club teams in the world and renowned for their innovation and forward-thinking on and off the pitch, which this match is another good example of,” Stormers head coach John Dobson said.
“This trip would give our players the chance to test themselves against a quality team in a world-class venue, and we are very much looking forward to being able to be part of this.”
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall added: “We have a history of filling big stadiums in London for big games and we have also enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with the DHL Stormers and Western Province Rugby, so we are very excited about this game.”
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