Mark McCall confirms Saracens opened discussions with Racing 92 for Owen Farrell as Premiership club miss out on play-offs
By Rhys Jones
Published 31/05/2025 at 20:01 GMT+1
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Saracens may have missed out on the Gallagher Premiership play-offs, but a boost for supporters of the north London side could be a potential return for club legend Owen Farrell. Mark McCall confirmed that discussions opened with Racing 92 for the 33-year-old's return to England following an injury to Alex Lozowski. Farrell joined Top 14 side Racing at the end of the 2023/24 season.
McCall confirms Saracens in talks with Racing 92 to re-sign Farrell
Video credit: TNT Sports
Mark McCall has confirmed that Saracens have been in touch with Racing 92 about bringing Owen Farrell back to the club.
The former Sarries fly-half, who played over 250 games for the London side, left to join Top 14 side Racing 92 at the end of the 2023/24 season, but could be in line for a return to the Gallagher Premiership.
McCall revealed that discussions over bringing him back had begun, citing that a long-term injury to fly-half Alex Lozowski opened the door for his return as Saracens became eligible for an injury dispensation to cover him.
When asked what he is able to reveal about a potential return for Farrell, McCall said: "When Alex got his injury up in Leicester, which was the second week in April, you're allowed to bring in an injury dispensation for that player because they're out for such a long period of time.
"You need to bring someone in in his position who you can afford, so you compile a list and as far as I know, Owen can only join that list if Racing are prepared to let him go.
"I think there are some discussions with Racing as to whether they would release him from his contract."
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Saracens beat Bath 36-26 on the final weekend of the Premiership but, despite that, they finished sixth in the table and two points away from the top four.
It was only the third time that Saracens have missed out on the play-offs since 2009.
It brings to an end what has been a season of transition for Saracens following Farrell's departure, and that is likely to continue with club icon Alex Goode departing.
"I don't really want to talk about today, a pretty stodgy game to be honest," McCall said following the Bath fixture.
"We probably showed a lot of improvements in the growth that the team made. We weren't prepared to do a lot of the things that you need to earn good performances and good results at times today, and that's been the story this season.
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Lam looks ahead to mouth-watering semi-final against West country derby rivals Bath
Video credit: TNT Sports
"I think at times this year we've shown what a good team we can be, we can play at a very high level. But we can be taken away from that high level far too easily and we've got to work at that for sure. But it is the start of the journey with this team and we exposed a lot of talent during the course of the year, so looking forward to next year.
"Watching some of the other teams that have gone through the same transition as us - when we played Bath three or four years ago they were nowhere near as good as they are now. Northampton exactly the same.
"We are where we are, there's been some good steps forward, some foundations laid, but we have plenty of work to do."
While Saracens missed out, Sale Sharks, Leicester Tigers, and Bristol Bears joined Bath in the play-offs, live on TNT Sports and discovery+ next weekend.
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