Saracens chief Griffiths resigns after less than a month with crisis-hit club

Saracens’ interim chief executive Ed Griffiths has resigned from the post after just 26 days in charge.

The crisis-hit Premiership club announced his departure on Tuesday.

Griffiths was appointed on January 2, when Saracens said he had taken on the role for 12 months.

He was in a second spell with the London club, having first served as chief executive from 2008 to 2015, and took the reins on the day Nigel Wray resigned as chairman.

Griffiths returned to Saracens with the aim of guiding the reigning English and European champions through choppy waters following their breach of Premiership Rugby’s salary cap.

His tenure coincided with Premiership Rugby announcing Saracens would be relegated to the Championship next season.

Wray’s successor as Saracens chairman Neil Golding said: “The club is very grateful to Edward for temporarily stepping away from his other commitments to provide significant assistance during a difficult period, and wishes him well in the future.”

Griffiths stressed he had never intended his second stint with Saracens to last for long.

“This was always going to be a very short-term appointment, and others are well-placed to drive forward the rebuilding of the club,” Griffiths said in a club statement.

Saracens said their recruitment process had begun with a view to finding a long-term chief executive.

Griffiths last week denied having a conflict of interest with respect to his activities in cricket. He has held a consultancy role with Middlesex and also refuted acting as an unregistered player agent.

He told London’s Evening Standard newspaper last week the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was looking at the claim, saying: “Someone has brought something forward to the ECB.

“They have due process and are required to investigate it. I am very happy to co-operate.”

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