Saracens hooker Matt Cairns has penned a contract that will keep him at the club until 2010 by which time he would have completed a 12-year association with Saracens.

Cairns, who made his full England debut on last summer's tour to South Africa, has made 180 appearances in two spells for the North London club and is excited at the prospect of being part of Saracens for a further two years.

He said: "It was a very easy decision for me to stay with the club and I wouldn't have wanted to look anywhere else. I feel really settled here and believe the club is on the verge of something very special. We've got a great bunch of guys at the club, the majority of who have been together for four years. That consistency is starting to show in terms of our results.

"We're also developing our own style of play and that is also important. People are starting to identify us with a fast and attacking game and it's certainly been producing the tries and some exciting rugby this season. It's great to be part of that and it really suits the squad of players we have at the club."

"This new deal will take my association with Saracens to 12 years and having been through plenty of ups and downs during that time, there really is a feeling that we can continue to move forward and really challenge for trophies. We're also playing some great rugby and it's really exciting to be part of that. When I sat down to discuss a new deal, I wanted to stay and the club said that they wanted to keep me so after that, everything was all very straightforward. I delighted to continue to be a part of Saracens."

Currently ruled out with a broken arm, Cairns is expecting to return to training within the next few weeks and has set a target of returning in advance of the EDF Energy Cup semi-final and Heineken Cup quarter-final - both games coming against the Ospreys.

He added: "It's very frustrating to be out injured at the moment, but the rehab has been going well and I hope to be able to start doing some light training within the next few weeks and then move to some contact work a few weeks after that. But my aim is to definitely be back by the time those two big games come around."

And having had a taste of the action with England last summer, the hooker is hopeful of more chances on the international stage.

He said: "It was a great experience to be part of that tour and yes, I would love the chance to be part of the national set up. But I know that won't come unless I'm playing regularly and well for Saracens and that is what I have to concentrate on."

Saracens Director of Rugby Alan Gaffney added: "Matt has been an important member of the squad for many years and its excellent news that he will continue to part of the club.

"Matt is part of a squad that for the majority, has played together for a number of seasons and we've seen the benefits of that consistency over the past 18 months. It's disappointing for Matt that he's out injured at the moment, but he is recovering well and it won't be long before he is back on the pitch to play a vital role in our Heineken Cup, Guinness Premiership and EDF Energy Cup campaigns."