07/04/2009 5:00 AM
Saracens chief executive Ed Griffiths insisted the club is not in the grip of a South African revolution and will remain 'emphatically English in spirit' as it aims to compete with the best in Europe.
Griffiths issued a strongly-worded statement to try and allay fears over the so-called 'South Africanisation' of a club with 133 years of history in north London.
Earlier this season, Saracens received a six million pound cash injection from an investment firm with connections to the Blue Bulls and Western Province.
Saracens are looking to create a 'home away from home' for rugby fans among the estimated 750,000-strong South African ex-pat community living in London.
The possibility of moving from Vicarage Road to Craven Cottage, which is positioned right in the heart of London's South African population, has been investigated.
The appointment of former Springbok Brendan Venter as director of rugby for next season led to speculation that an influx of players from the Currie Cup and Super 14 would follow.
But Griffiths insisted Saracens will not betray its responsibilities to English rugby as it looks to broaden its appeal off the field and improve its rugby on it.
"There is no revolution unfolding at Saracens. There is an evolution from the mid-table team of recent years into one of the leading clubs in Europe," said Griffiths.
"Much has been said and written about the club in the past six weeks, and most of it has been wildly inaccurate and untrue."
"There has been no boardroom takeover. There will be no mass influx of South Africans. The club will shortly announce 10 new signings for next season - some English, some Italian and some South African."
"Saracens is and will remain emphatically English in spirit and character, and will continue to identify and produce excellent young players such as Alex Goode, Noah Cato, Andy Saull and Tom Mercey and strive to deliver them into the England side."
"There will be no change in name and no change in playing kit and the club remains committed to playing home matches at Vicarage Road, Watford."
"The recent investment from South Africa has strengthened the club in many respects and we will eagerly seize opportunities to expand our supporter base into the large expatriate South African community in London and south-east England."
"This proud English rugby club is indeed changing, for the better, on and off the field, but this is a carefully managed evolution, not any kind of revolution."
Part of Saracens' expansion plans include taking two of their Premiership London derbies to Wembley stadium next season in the hope of attracting a world record crowd for a club game.
Across town, Harlequins attracted 50,000 to Twickenham for their Premiership game against Leicester over Christmas while Wasps drew a reduced capacity 33,000 for their Heineken Cup fixture against Leinster.
Griffiths added: "The club is planning to enhance its profile by playing two matches at Wembley Stadium next season, aiming to attract the world's largest ever crowd at a club rugby match."
Parisien glamour club Stade Francais were the architects of the idea and they have enjoyed incredible success in staging sold-out league and Heineken Cup matches in the Stade de France.
Saracens will also take advantage of their South African connections in the hope of developing some of their young English players at a faster rate.
From December, the Saracens academy will be transplanted to the Western