There are motivational messages splattered all over the walls at both Saracens’ St Albans training ground and their StoneX Stadium home.
Three mantras are repeated often – work rate, competitiveness and discipline. They serve as a reminder to not only Mark McCall’s first-team squad but also the aspiring players of the future, of the qualities required to represent one of English rugby’s most historic clubs.
Mike Hynard, the academy manager at Saracens and a man responsible for producing some of the country’s biggest talents, knows what it takes to make it to the top.
‘Those words are our core values,’ he tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘They’re everywhere you look as a reminder of how important they are to us. The one that probably stands out the most for me is competitiveness. That’s what young players coming into our senior academy and first team have to have. It’s the one thing Mark looks for in all his players, but particularly young guys from our system.’
Hynard’s first 13-year spell with the Saracens academy saw him bring through household names such as Owen Farrell, George Kruis and Jamie George, all part of the ‘Class of 2008’, not to mention England captain Maro Itoje. Jackson Wray, Ben Earl, Max Malins and Nick Isiekwe are also academy products.
After leaving for a role at Prem Rugby, where he oversaw the standard of all the clubs’ academies, Hynard returned to the team he loves most in 2017 and immediately set about a repeat trick. And, sure enough, Saracens are at it again with starlet Noah Caluori, 19, the figurehead of a new generation of talent in red and black.
Noah Caluori is leading the next generation of Saracens stars who are causing a great deal of excitement at the club
England captain Maro Itoje was one of a number of talented Sarries academy graduates under the watchful eye of Mike Hynard
‘The group coming through now is certainly as talented, if not more talented, than the one from 2008,’ Hynard says. Given the careers Farrell and George have had, it is quite the statement.
‘What we’re trying to do is build a core to our club that has come through the academy,’ Hynard continues, ‘that understands the values of what it takes to be a Saracen, and then becomes the standard bearers to take us forward into the future.’
Wing Caluori has been the season’s breakout star – going from a previously unheard of teenager to a member of Steve Borthwick’s England squad in a matter of months at the end of last year. Jack and Charlie Bracken, Angus Hall, Tobias Elliott, Nathan Michelow and Olamide Sodeke are other young guns Saracens senior director of rugby McCall has blooded quickly. Remember the names.
McCall isn’t a man prone to gushing praise, but his admiration for the work Hynard and the rest of the coaches in his team’s pathway system have done is obvious.
‘They’re going to be great players in the future for our club,’ McCall says. ‘We’ve got some really good young talent and that’s probably been the one real shining light of our season.
‘Our academy has done a wonderful job. This group of 19 to 20-year-olds is more emotionally ready to play than the group from years ago.
‘I used to have conversations with 19-year-olds a decade ago where I’d tell them they weren’t playing for the first team. It would be the easiest conversation in the world. Now, I’m getting challenged as to why they’re not in the team. I like it. I like Angus grilling me as to why he’s not playing. This group is keeping me on my toes.’
Unusually for Saracens, they have been inconsistent so far this term and sit sixth in the Prem pile. Four wins and five losses from their nine games sums up their rollercoaster form. But McCall hopes that by exposing his next generation to the highest level early, the latest iteration of Saracens will arrive sooner and that the trophies will begin to flow once again.
Before injury struck, Charlie Bracken – son of 2003 World Cup winner Kyran – had stamped his mark as a scrum-half of real promise this term
Owen Farrell, back at Saracens after a short spell in France, passes on his expertise, often spending long periods with the players who will one day fill his boots
‘I’ve worked with Mark for a long time now, so there’s a lot of trust on both sides around bringing players through,’ Hynard says. ‘I know what he’s looking for in young players and I think he trusts us to bring through players that have the characteristics and behaviours he wants.
‘Young players have to earn the right to be given a chance and that involves a lot of hard work right throughout our system. One of the things we were tasked with by Mark was to try and produce academy players that are ready earlier. We’ve got an unbelievably talented group of young players we’re incredibly passionate about.’
Before injury struck, Charlie Bracken – son of 2003 World Cup winner Kyran – had stamped his mark as a scrum-half of real promise this term. A first England cap for Caluori is also surely only a matter of time.
Hynard’s work, however, is never done. At Saracens, young players work with men who know the club inside out. Hynard, James Tirrell and recently retired players Alex Goode, Duncan Taylor, Richard Barrington and Sean Maitland all represented the team with distinction and have roles with the club.
Farrell, back in English rugby with the club he started at after a short spell in France, passes on his expertise too, often spending long periods with the players who will one day fill his boots. When Dai Flanagan arrived at StoneX Stadium as backs coach this summer having previously worked in Welsh rugby, he was amazed at the depth of talent his new employers could call on.
So highly-renowned is the Saracens academy, that it has caught the eye of club rugby’s best team, Toulouse. In March last year, coaches from the French giants – who Saracens met in Europe last weekend – came to visit. They plan to repay the favour in the future.
Caluori’s rapid rise saw him make Steve Borthwick’s England squad last year, just a month after making his PREM debut in September
Hynard has overseen the development of dozens of top players over two stints at Sarries
Leading outfits from other sports are showing an interest, too. Premier League side Nottingham Forest popped in to see what makes Hynard and Co tick earlier this season, with former Ireland midfielder Andy Reid – who works with Forest’s young players – leading the mission.
‘In 2016, they (Toulouse) were at their lowest point,’ McCall said. ‘We went over there (in January 2016) and won quite easily. The stadium was half empty. Their solution was to build from within. They knew they had a crop of youngsters at the time who are all in their late 20s or early 30s now and have led the club over the last 10 years.
‘The club had a bit of pain as they came 12th in the Top 14 in 2017, but it was communicated to the fans and everyone was on board with this build from within project. I learned a lot around that. Building a young team takes time and people need to be patient. They’ve obviously got some overseas players, but on the whole they’ve produced their own and made them who they are. They’re a magnificent club.’
Saracens work closely with Championship side Ampthill to ensure their young players are given the game time they need, alongside learning from Lions stars and England captains past and present in Farrell and Itoje on a daily basis.
McCall, in his 17th season in charge, is constantly evolving his team. ‘We’re not going out to the market to look for outside backs because we already have players in that position at the club who are 19 to 21 and are going to be very good,’ he said.
‘Angus Hall is an interesting one because he’s a little bit like Elliot Daly with his positional flexibility. He can play to a high level at 13, but he can also play full-back, 11 and 14. He’s one we’re really excited about.’
‘Angus Hall is an interesting one because he’s a little bit like Elliot Daly with his positional flexibility,’ adds McCall. ‘He’s one we’re really excited about’
‘We’ve got some really good young talent and that’s probably been the one real shining light of our season. Our academy has done a wonderful job,’ says Sarries boss Mark McCall
It all bodes well for Borthwick, too. England’s Under-20 and A teams are packed with ready-made internationals as clubs develop talent. Northampton are also an outfit with a thriving academy.
‘My job at Saracens keeps me young – it’s exhilarating,’ Hynard adds. ‘As soon as you produce academy graduates who go up into the first team and start working with Mark, you are already looking at what’s next and the journey that’s to come for the next crop of players.
‘The academy systems across the whole country are producing some really exciting young talent. There are some phenomenal athletes coming out of the English club systems. That can only be good for the Prem in the short term but also England in the long term.
‘It’s unbelievably exciting where things can go. Hopefully, it can help produce winning England teams of the future as well as winning Saracens teams. That’s my first goal.’