MATCH REPORT | Saracens Men 30 - 7 Bristol Bears (PREM R3)
Caluori marks return as Saracens see off Bristol in NW4
The Original Club of North London ran in four tries, with a resolute defensive display limiting the visitors to a single digit score.
Saracens started on the front foot, piling on early pressure, and it took just five minutes for the returning Noah Caluori to make his mark. Sarries worked the ball superbly out to the right, allowing the winger to battle his way over the line on his first game back. Owen Farrell couldn’t quite add the extras from a tight angle.
Farrell made no mistake shortly after, pointing to the posts and slotting a penalty to establish early control for the hosts.
However, Saracens were soon down to 14 men. Olamide Sodeke was shown a yellow card for shoulder to head contact, with referee Anthony Woodthorpe finding enough mitigation to downgrade it from a red. Bristol also had a setback around the same time, with George Taylor going off for a head injury assessment, which he later failed.
Max Malins looked to break after gathering a chip kick from Louis Rees-Zammit, but Sam Worsley came across with a crunching tackle to dislodge the ball.
Sarries managed their 10 minutes a man down very well. Just as Sodeke returned to the field, the hosts earned a penalty right in front of the posts and Farrell slotted it from close range.
Caluori continued to cause problems down the right, stepping inside Aidan Boshoff to break through a gap and make 15 metres. At the other end, Max Clark made a strong carry through the middle, but ran away from his support, allowing Toby Knight to come in and steal the ball.
Jack Bracken then produced a try saving interception just before the break, ensuring Saracens took an 11 point lead into half time.
Bristol started the second half the brighter of the two sides. The Bears worked their way down the left hand tramlines, with Harry Randall darting down the blindside and releasing Boshoff, who beat Caluori on the outside before passing back inside for his scrum half to race in from 35 metres out. Williams added the extras to reduce the deficit to four.
Saracens struck back quickly. Replacement Alex O’Driscoll made an instant impact, stretching over the line, and Farrell’s conversion restored the 11 point lead.
On the hour mark, Sarries set up an attacking lineout five metres out. The maul looked to be heading towards the line before Lovejoy Chawatama dragged it down, resulting in a yellow card for the prop and a penalty try for the men in black.
Saracens made the extra man count straight away. Jack Bracken showed sensational pace down the left wing to dot down in the corner, securing the bonus point. Farrell couldn’t add the conversion this time.
From there, Sarries kept Bristol at bay for the remainder of the game to see out a convincing win in North London.
Saracens now travel to Galway next Saturday to take on Connacht at Dexcom Stadium in their first game of the Champions Cup.
