After some bleak years in the early 1980s, the club responded to the challenge of the Courage League, and with Floyd Steadman as captain and Tony Russ as coach, they won the second division in 1989 with a 100% record.

Saracens' seesaw existence over the nineties was about to continue in 1995–96 when they again found themselves at the wrong end of the table along with West Hartlepool but they were saved by their new CEO Mike Smith, who persuaded the RFU that there should be no relegation for the first season of professional rugby.

[24] After a solid start to 1998–99 season, Saracens were rocked in December when they lost to third from bottom London Scottish in a shock defeat at home, but a win against Bedford and West Hartlepool and a draw with Wasps still saw them in touch with leaders Leicester.

The second half of the season was a roller coaster ride with Saracens going from eighth and out of European contention after a run of four losses, to eventually finishing third as London's top club.

The 1999–2000 season saw more big name players move to Vicarage Road, with Mark Mapletoft, Thierry Lacroix, Scott Murray and Dan Luger joining the club, along with Darragh O'Mahony and the up-and-coming Julian White.

With a few games left, they were looking at a possible failure to qualify for Europe again, but Kyran Bracken returned from a ten-month injury to inspire Saracens into fourth place and Heineken Cup qualification.

Lacking a coach, the senior players took charge, the morale problem seemed to have passed, but results remained sketchy, and the Saracens ended up in a lowly 10th place.

All Black legend Buck Shelford took over the coaching reins for the 2002–03 season, while the playing squad saw the arrival of the likes of Andy Goode, Christian Califano, and Craig Quinnell amongst several signings of established players.

Key signings included Fijian Simon Raiwalui, former French captain Raphaël Ibañez, Springbok Cobus Visagie, and All Black Taine Randell.

Once again, the early rounds saw a false dawn as Saracens found themselves in the top three, and again the club coped badly with the international call-ups for the 2003 World Cup, once again finding themselves near the foot of the table.

[26] 2004–05 saw a bold strengthening of the squad, for once eschewing their cosmopolitan recruitment policy and securing mainly English based players, possibly with one eye on the effect that international call-ups had had in previous seasons.

Once again in the wild card system for a European Cup place, Worcester were comfortably beaten, setting up the chance to end the season where it had begun, back at Twickenham.

Diamond parted company with the club, with Ford taking over full control of the team, assisted by future England coach Eddie Jones in a consulting role.

This period also saw the long-awaited arrival of former Great Britain Rugby League captain, Andy Farrell, initially at flanker, but later at centre, the position at which he went on to take his England debut.

Among signings to date, specialist cover for Glen Jackson came in the form of Scotland fly half Gordon Ross, while South African utility back Brent Russell was highly regarded by many Springbok fans.

The following weekend Saracens lost out by a single point against Biarritz Olympique being denied by a penalty scored from the half-way line in the dying moments of the match.

The brief return to Guinness Premiership action at the end of November saw Saracens come out top in a tight battle at home against London Irish, with the lead changing hands several times.

Further progress was then made in the Heineken Cup in an impressive ten try to one defeat of Viadana at home in a game which saw the first team debuts for Chris Jack and Brent Russell.

Saracens defeated Northampton 21–19 in an all-mighty clash, with Glen Jackson ensuring that Sarries reached their first final since 1998 with a late kick, converting Schalk Brits's driving-maul try.

[36] The final also marked the last match for a number of players including Fabio Ongaro, Matías Agüero, former All Black Justin Marshall and loyal fly-half Glen Jackson.

Saracens' domestic form, however, proved much stronger; they secured a home semi-final with one league match left, defeating Harlequins on the final day to complete a run of ten straight victories, including away at Northampton, Wasps, Exeter and Leicester Tigers.

A nervy finish and a late penalty from young flyhalf Owen Farrell gave Sarries the 12–10 win they wanted to reach their second successive Premiership Final.

[42] Saracens started the 2014–15 with high-scoring victories against London rivals Wasps and Harlequins, and went on to finish the regular season in fourth place, qualifying for the play-offs.

[50] On 2 January 2020 Chairman Nigel Wray stood down and former chief executive officer Edward Griffiths returned to the role he left in 2015 with Mittesh Velani moving into a consultancy position.

Premiership Rugby CEO Darren Childs said this punishment was due to Saracens' lack of cooperation in a mid-season audit to prove compliance in the 2019–20 season.

[55] On 28 January 2020, Griffiths resigned as CEO after less than a month in charge and Premiership Rugby applied a further 70-point deduction for the 2019–20 season to ensure Saracens would finish bottom of the league table.

[57] In partnership with National League 2 East club Old Albanians, Saracens currently operates its main training base at Woollams in St Albans.

[58] Prior to the relocation to Barnet Copthall, Saracens spent 16 years at Vicarage Road, having maintained a groundshare agreement with professional football club Watford between 1997 and 2013.

[60] Between 2004 and 2017, Saracens played select home matches at Twickenham Stadium, as part of the London Double Header, a marquee occasion held during the autumn of each Premiership season, involving London-based clubs.

The following former Saracens players and assistant coaches have gone on to serve in high-profile positions at international level, at other top-flight clubs in major domestic leagues – including the English Premiership, the French Top 14 and the United Rugby Championship – or in other professional sports:[126][127][128][129][130][131][132][133][134][135][136][137]