MATCH REPORT | Saracens Men 54 - 19 Newcastle Red Bull (CUP R3)
The men in black return to StoneX for the second week running, and this time the stakes were different. Seven days on from our Premiership win over Newcastle Red Bulls, we welcomed them back to North London, this time in the PREM Rugby Cup.
Saracens ran in eight tries in a commanding PREM Rugby Cup win over Newcastle Red Bulls at StoneX Stadium.
Six of them came before the break, as the Original Club of North London made the most of a cold, foggy afternoon in NW4.
The hosts started at a rapid pace and were ahead inside the first 15 minutes. Tom James sliced through the middle of the field and finished under the sticks, with Luke Davidson adding the extras to get Sarries moving.
Two minutes later they had a second. Luke Davidson burst through the defence before chipping through, and Fraser Rawlins was on hand to dot down.
The third try came from the set piece. Jack Bracken played a long ball into the corner, which Newcastle gathered before sliding into touch. That handed Saracens a lineout platform, and a rolling maul did the rest, with Eoghan Clarke emerging with the ball over the line. Davidson was on target from the tee again.
Another followed before the 20 minute mark. Davidson took it to the line and kicked through, and Sione Va’Enuku gathered and dotted down for a fourth. The fly half then added the conversion himself.
The visitors struggled to find a foothold, and Saracens were soon back at the line. Nathan Michelow was the man to finish after another rolling maul from close range, following a lineout, and Davidson converted.
The set piece then delivered once more. A dominant scrum on the Newcastle five metre line gave Andy Onyeama-Christie the chance to gather and drive over, sending Saracens in with a 40 point lead heading into half time.
The Red Bulls responded after the break. Jake Dalziel showed great footwork at the line, dancing through a few tackles to score, before landing the conversion himself.
Saracens were not to be denied, though, and after the hour mark they turned on the gas. Charlie Bracken put up a box kick for Rawlins to chase, and Toby Knight gathered the loose ball. He showed his pace, running it in from outside the 22 with defenders on his tail, and Davidson converted.
Five minutes later it was another. Michelow burst through the defence and into the Newcastle 22, and after a couple of extra carries, the ball went wide to Finn Keylock, who was waiting out on the wing to cross the whitewash. Davidson was successful once more.
Newcastle ensured they finished strongly. In the closing stages, Finn Baker scored a short range effort from a penalty five metres out from the Saracens try line, and Dalziel added the extras.
Then, with the clock in the red, Kaleem Barreto capped the visitors’ afternoon. Newcastle ran the ball out wide from deep in their own half, and Barreto finished a long range try, though this one went unconverted.
It was a clinical day for Saracens, who made the most of the maul and scrum to build a platform for a side full of pace and width. Newcastle showed plenty of fight, but this was a statement performance from Sarries in the PREM Rugby Cup.
Now our attention turns to the next PREM Rugby Cup round, where we travel to take on Leicester Tigers on Sunday 15th November.
Your next chance to see Saracens Men at StoneX is on the 21st November, where we welcome London rivals Harlequins into home territory to battle for bragging rights.
