Saracens are considering appealing a ruling that has denied them the chance to finish top of the second division RFU Championship.

Saracens were dealt a setback in their push for a return to the Premiership following a Championship disputes committee’s decision to rule their postponed game with Hartpury due to an Covid-19 outbreak as a draw without any league points awarded.

Mark McCall’s men had their round-11 fixture against Hartpury University RFC postponed over this past weekend after a number of Hartpury players tested positive for Covid-19. That led to Hartpury needing to isolate several more players in accordance with the contact tracing protocols, resulting in the game being called off.

A bonus-point win with a margin of at least 12 points would have let Saracens jump above Ealing Trailfinders into top spot at the end of the regular season of the truncated Championship.

While the committee decision does not affect which sides will play in the two-leg promotion playoff battle, it does mean that it will be Ealing, rather than Saracens, who are now set to determine the order of the home-and-away legs as the first-placed side. The former European champions will for that reason appeal against the disputes committee’s ruling.

Saracens issued a statement confirming they could challenge the ruling, saying: ‘There is a right to appeal. As a club, we will consider our options, and have until 11th June to appeal the decision should we decide to proceed. All ticket purchasers for the scheduled Saracens v Hartpury University RFC game on 29th May will receive a full refund with the process expected to take between 7 to 10 working days.’

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