How Fergus Burke can fill the Owen Farrell shaped hole at Saracens

The 2024/25 season will be a fascinating one for Saracens fans. Many of their long-term servants moved onto new pastures at the end of last season, with a whole host of talents set to make the step up in this new era.

Two of the three Vunipolas and Owen Farrell have moved to France, wingers Maitland and Lewington have retired and 18 others have vacated the StoneX. This has left room for the remaining roster to make the starting spots theirs.

One of the biggest gaps left in the Saracens’ ranks is, of course, the aforementioned, Owen Farrell. How does head coach Mark McCall go about replacing a former captain who had spent his entire career at a club and helped guide to the most successful era in its history?

Well, hiring the Crusaders flyhalf is probably a good start…

But what do we really know about Fergus Burke? What can the 25-year-old bring to the squad?

When asked about the impact that Burke has on the team, Mark McCall chose to focus on the direction that he can provide to the team in a wider sense, saying: “It all comes down to what you want from your flyhalf, and his primary role is to provide direction and to control where we play and how we play, and he does that really well.

“He plays with a lot of clarity and calmness, and because of that, he’s able to direct the team in the way that we want him to.”

For years it was Owen Farrell dictating the way Saracens played with expert ease and precision, allowing those inside and outside him to take the plaudits, and it appears as though Burke will continue to fit that mould.

“All the skills that he’s got on top of that are really important in terms of how he kicks and how he can pass, but the primary role for a fly half in the Premiership is to provide direction to the team and Fergus is very good at that,” McCall continued.

Saracens host Sale at the StoneX on Saturday as they look to follow up their impressive first victory over Gloucester last weekend.