Irish captain Paddy Johns is not the only player leaving Saracens this season. Troy Coker (left), who was part of the Australian World Cup winning side in 1991, has quit the club and the English game, saying that the standard of rugby is rubbish. Leaving aside for one moment what he might think of the Irish set-up, Coker gave a refreshingly candid opinion of the modern English game.

"The rugby is rubbish and yet I see dodgy players getting paid enormous amounts for reasons I can't explain. I don't hold out much hope for the future of British rugby the way things are structured at the moment," he said. "Illegal killing of the ball is the biggest problem facing rugby over here, yet rucking people out of the way isn't allowed. When I was at Harlequins, I raised a boot to ruck a guy against Gloucester and got booed by my own crowd. A rucking game is badly needed to stop these people ruining the game by their illegal tactics."