Saracens players were told at a breakfast meeting today that the club will be relegated from the Gallagher Premiership. The English and European champions are resigned to being hit with another 35-point deduction for breaching salary-cap regulations again this season.

Ed Griffiths, the interim chief executive, and the coaching staff will hold individual meetings with players next week to work out what the future holds for them.

Today’s meeting lasted half an hour and ended with the players being given the morning off before reconvening for training at Allianz Park to prepare for Sunday’s Heineken Champions Cup game against Racing 92.

The salary cap is set at a maximum of £7 million. Saracens were fined £5.36 million and docked 35 league points after an investigation