By The Saracens
August 12 2022

The Salary Cap has probably reduced the number of players joining Sarries this season but there are 4 guys to welcome to StoneX. 3 new faces and the return of an old one! Interestingly they are all forwards, 3 of them props! Our coaches must be confident of our back row cover and that our numerous utlilty backs can cover any gaps due to injury and international call-ups .... along with promotion from the Academy of course. Will this season see another Andy Christie or Rotimi Segun? That's a question for another article. Meanwhile here is a brief bio on our new guys!

Hugh Tizard

Hugh was born in Guildford in 2000 and having joined Guildfordians RFC at the age of 7 he joined Harlequins as a 16 year old making his senior debut in oct 19 in the premiership cup against Saracens!. He spent the rest of that season on loan to London Scottish for whom he played 6 games until COVID got in the way. He found his way back into the first team the folllowing year and by last season he was a regular. He represented England u20 in all 4 of their matches during the truncated 2020 six nations tournament. At 6’5” and 18 stone, Hugh was born to play in the 2nd row. He said his father Jeremy was the biggest influence on his career, giving him a good understanding of the game. When referring to his move across London, Hugh said “I’m massively excited to make the move to Saracens …although it was an incredibly hard decision, I feel that it is the right decision for my rugby. I want to challenge myself and grow as a player and I feel Saracens will be the perfect place to do that.”  

Mark McCall said of his new signing “We are delighted to be welcoming Hugh to Saracens. He has significant experience considering he is just 21 years old. We were impressed by his obvious hunger and determination to take his game to the next level. Hugh will complement the other locks we have at the club very well and we are confident he can realise his huge potential in the years to come”.

Hugh is a Liverpool supporter and lists his favourite food as spaghetti bolognaise

Eduardo Bello 

Eduardo joins Saracens from Italian club Zebre. He is an Argentina International who was born in Cordoba in 1995. He is a tighthead with the unenviable job of stepping into Vincent’s almighty boots. Eduardo started his career with Atletico del Rosario (for whom he played 36 times scoring 3 tries between 2015 & 2017) before crossing the Atlantic to spend 4 years with Zebre. He was a regular  for Zebra making 86 appearances and scoring 2 tries. Having represented Argentina U20’s and an Argentina XV, he was called up to the senior Pumas squad in September 2021 making his debut against Australia. So far he has won 3 caps.

Eduardo has also attended the appropriate PR school because once his signing for Sarries was announced, he said “I am really happy and excited to join this team of great players, I hope to grow as a player and do my best for the club”. Director of Rugby Mark McCall was delighted to be welcoming the prop to Sarries. “We are looking forward to welcoming Eduardo and Florencia into the Saracens family. He is a very strong front-rower who will add real power to our set piece, and with his experience he can become a valuable member of our squad next season.”

James Flynn

James Flynn joins the club from Jersey Reds. James was born in 1993 and made his professional debut for Sale Sharks in 2012. He remained at Sale for 7 years, making 55 appearances and scoring 1 try. During his time at Sale he also played for Stockport and Sedgley Park. He has been a bit nomadic since leaving Sale, largely due to the impact of COVID I suspect, spending a season with Yorkshire Carnegie and then a year with Ampthill before moving to Jersey for the 2021-2 season. He had an excellent season, starting the majority of games and helping Jersey to a commendable 4^th place in the table. James is a loosehead so will presumably be there as back up to Mako, Eroni Mawi & Ralph Adams-Hale, a role played admirably for so many years by another former Jerseyman Baz Barrington (although whether James can match Baz’s musical skills and unique personality, let alone his hairstyle remains to be seen). Like Eduardo, James has been given the appropriate PR training. About joining Sarries he said: “My goal for the last two years has been to get back into the Premiership and I am incredibly happy and fortunate that I have been given an opportunity here at Saracens. I’m looking forward to the challenge and being a part of such a great squad!”

Mark McCall said “James is a great addition to our squad and we are very pleased to have him on board. He has good experience and is very motivated to make the best of this opportunity.”

Christian Judge

Christian Judge is no stranger to Saracens having made 20 appearances for the club during a loan spell in 2018-19. Although born in the Midlands, Christian spent most of his career up until then in the West Country, playing for Launceston, Plymouth Albion and Cornish Pirates (although he did spend the 2016-17 season with Bedford Blues). Originally he came to Allianz Park for 3 weeks in September 2018 as injury cover for Juan Figallo. The loan was extended to January 2019 and then, after a brief hiatus, to the end of the season when he came off the bench to help Sarries beat Exeter in that memorable 2019 Premiership Final. By then he had been snapped up by Bath (the move agreed back in January) and Sarries were sorry to lose him. His stay at Bath didn’t go wholly to plan although he did make 43 appearances for his new club and he spent last season with struggling Worcester Warriors.

Another graduate of the Sarries’ PR school, Christian said “To be rejoining Saracens is something I’m hugely excited about. My first season with the club was an unforgettable experience and for me it’s a special place. I’m looking forward to getting stuck back in and making more memories.

I’d also like to thank and wish everyone at Worcester Warriors all the best for the future. Whilst results haven’t always gone our way, it has been a great privilege to represent the club and work alongside some brilliant people.”

Director of Rugby Mark McCall is looking forward to welcoming Judge back to StoneX.

“We are delighted to be welcoming Christian back to the club this summer. Judgey was a well- respected and popular member of the group during his loan spell and he returns having picked up invaluable experience over the last three seasons. We are convinced that his best days are ahead of him”