London (AFP)

Obviously, the Saracens have decided ... Heavily sanctioned for exceeding the salary cap, the English club gives priority to maintaining the Championship of England, at the expense of the European Cup he will start without his best players against Racing 92 Sunday.

Admittedly, coach Mark McCall had warned that he would not send his vice-world champions to Paris (Farrell, Itoje, the Vunipola brothers ...) two weeks after the final lost to South Africa . And he intended to reward the usual reservists who made a good start in the league.

But he pushed the reasoning to the end ... The Saracens, sacred 3 times in the last 4 European seasons, will start the 2019-2020 campaign with their team on Sunday.

"We must prepare for the worst scenario, so avoid relegation is now the priority, in front of Europe," warned, on the BT Sport channel, Mark McCall, whose team has snubbed the presentation appointment of the 'test.

At the center of the dilemma: the 35 penalty points and 5.3 million pounds (EUR 6 million) fine inflicted on the club by the English authorities for exceeding the salary cap for 3 years.

Since the announcement in the form of a club blow early last week, the club has strived to show a fighting face. The Saracens have appealed for a reduction of the penalty at worst.

"People have the right to have their opinion, of course (... but) things are never as black and white as that, and I do not think there are so many people who know so much on the facts in this case, but it will come out in time, "promised Mark McCall, director of rugby Saracens Wednesday, in an interview with BT Sport.

-Inquietude of the organizers-

To bet on the success of a call to the uncertain calendar and outcome would nevertheless be like unconsciousness.

In case of failure, the club in Watford, a suburb of London, will need 7 wins with offensive bonus more than another team to avoid the last place and relegation to the second division. And to avoid such a catastrophe, the Saracens will not be able to afford to leave anything on the way to the Premiership.

The temptation to concentrate all his efforts, especially a post-World Cup year, is therefore real.

Sufficient credibility to react EPCR, the organizer of the European competitions. "The concern for us lies more in their ability to play the European Cup thoroughly," said managing director Vincent Gaillard.

"We take the European Cup very seriously and we will go to Paris to win," said center Alex Lozowski, hero of the final against Leinster last May and who is on the team that will start the game on Sunday.

"The other teams want to beat us because we are the champions, but what has just happened is only adding to the target on our backs," he said. "It's something that we know how to manage: since I've been here, we've always been unanimously hated."

Racing, whose dream of continental rite has broken in 2016 on the London wall, must dwell on this hate.

© 2019 AFP