Director of rugby: Brendan Venter
Captains: Steve Borthwick
Ground: Vicarage Road (18,214 capacity)
Last season: GP - 9th ECC - Lost in semi-finals to Northampton
England elite squad: 1 (Borthwick)

Saracens begin life under the stewardship of Brendan Venter, who has previous Premiership experience with London Irish and is nothing if not a sharp operator.

Six South Africans - four from the Super 14, two from other English clubs - have formed the bulk of their recruitment, and much will depend on how soon they gel with the English and Italian contingents.

The off-field ambition of the new board will see Sarries play the first of what they hope will be several home games at Wembley, against Northampton on 12 September, and hopes are high for an improvement on the field as well.

"We must play with an intensity which is what all the good sides do in this league. We are lucky at Saracens, the expectation of the owner is to be proud of this club and if he has invested in this club and we can not give him something that he is proud of then I am not doing my job as a head coach. Obviously he wants to win, but he wants to play in such a way that whether we win or lose they are still proud of how we have performed."
Director of rugby Brendan Venter