MATCH REPORT | Saracens Men 39 - 24 Northampton Saints (GPR Rd 8)
Saracens rounded off their home fixtures of 2024 in style, toppling the reigning champions, Northampton Saints, at the StoneX Stadium.
The Men in Black produced a bonus-point win in blistering conditions, which included a half of 24 unanswered points, putting them fourth in the Gallagher Premiership table.
The hosts started on the front foot and thought they had crossed inside the first 10 minutes. Two probing kicks from Fergus Burke unlocked space for the Saracens centres, the latter nudge falling into the path of Nick Tompkins on what was his 200th appearance for the club. However, it wasn’t to be the fairytale start to his milestone game, as he was found to be offside, ruling out the score.
The Men in Black did manage to find the whitewash minutes later, though. After a good catch and drive from the forward pack on halfway, Ivan Van Zyl spotted some space on the blindside. The scrum-half drew the first defender before offloading to Tobias Elliott. In his first touch of the ball, Elliott raced past the Saints defence and chipped a kick in behind for Burke to latch onto, allowing the Kiwi to score in the corner.
It didn’t take long for the reigning champions to snap into gear. Successive penalties for the Saints marched them deep into the Saracens half, but valiant defence from the North Londoners kept Northampton at bay.
Both teams then endured an immense passage of play, with both sides attempting audacious attacking kicks and line breaks sparked by a superb solo effort from Van Zyl, starting on his own line. Sarries then went coast to coast and thought they were over once more after Tom Willis dotted down on the 20-minute mark, but play was brought back for an earlier knock-on.
In similar fashion to the first score, it came soon after a disallowed effort. After some impressive work at scrum time, Saracens produced back-to-back penalties just metres out from the Northampton line. The pressure soon told for the visitors as they couldn’t stop Rhys Carre, who crashed over from close range.
It appeared Christmas had come early at the StoneX, as just inside half an hour, Saracens had their third. Another penalty at scrum time provided Burke with the chance to head to the corner. More superb work at the maul from the Saracens forwards gave Theo Dan the opportunity to break from the pack, beating multiple defenders in a rampaging run to the line.
In what was turning into a feisty encounter, Northampton made attempts to break through the Men in Black’s defence. However, incredible acumen from the Saracens side consistently denied Northampton an opening score.
Instead, it was Sarries who would pick up a bonus-point score just before the break. A looping pass from Nick Tompkins allowed Brandon Jackson some space to manoeuvre on the wing. Jackson then provided an audacious offload to Williams to keep the attack flowing. After a successful afternoon under the high ball so far, Van Zyl once again looked to the skies. This time, it was Lucio Cinti who batted possession back into the path of Fergus Burke, who slid in for his second just before the break.
The second half didn’t start the way Sarries intended. Northampton managed to get their first points of the afternoon just minutes after the whistle, with a moment of individual brilliance from Tommy Freeman, allowing the winger to race in from 25 metres out to open the Saints’ account for the afternoon.
Soon after, the North London outfit were reduced to 14 men for the next 10 minutes after captain Maro Itoje saw yellow for a high tackle. The man advantage allowed the visitors to turn the screw, with Tom Pearson starting and finishing an attacking passage that saw Northampton reduce the deficit to 12 points.
With pressure mounting on the hosts, but after an audacious rip in the tackle from Nick Tompkins, Saracens quickly turned defence into attack. A probing grubber from Alex Lozowski left Alex Mitchell with little choice but to guide the ball into touch, giving Sarries lineout ball. Fresh off the bench, Jamie George fed the Saracens drive and finished off the score, dotting down off the back of the maul to further the advantage.
The Men in Black then dealt another crushing blow to the Saints' hopes of a comeback on the hour mark. Capitalising on spilt possession from the hosts in midfield, Lucio Cinti hacked the ball downfield before collecting it and finding Tom Willis. The back-rower linked up with Ben Earl, who stretched his legs before dotting down under the sticks.
Northampton did manage to produce two scores at the end of the game, after successive infringements from Saracens, Saints played quick with time not on their side. Multiple tap penalties provided space for Ollie Sleightholme out wide, the winger racing in for a score five minutes before the final whistle.
A second try in as many minutes was formulated on Northampton’s own line. Slick handling gave space for George Hendy to break through, with the fullback offloading to replacement scrum half Archie McParland who provided the visitors with a try bonus point.
Despite a late flurry, it wasn’t enough to overcome Saracens who slotted a last minute penalty in front of the posts giving them their third successive win in all competitions.
Sarries now travel to Bath next Saturday before returning to the StoneX Stadium to face Bristol Bears in their first game of 2025 on Saturday 4th January. Book your place here.
