MATCH REPORT | Saracens Men 35 - 26 Bristol Bears

Saracens Men kicked off 2025 in style with a 35-26 bonus-point win over Bristol Bears.

On what was a historic day as club stalwart Jamie George reached 300 club appearances, Sarries put on a show for the bumper StoneX crowd in a bonus point win launching them to third in the Gallagher Premiership table.

The Men in Black got off to a perfect start, dotting down after just seven minutes. After clever interplay between Nick Tompkins and Fergus Burke unlocked the Bears' defence, they released Elliot Daly down the short side. The fullback pinned his ears back before offloading to Lucio Cinti, with the Argentine stopped inches from the line. With the try line in sight, it didn’t take long for Tom Willis to get a hold of the ball and crash over, taking three Bristol defenders with him.

The hosts continued their form with another score soon after. Once again, Lucio Cinti sparked the chance, racing down the touchline to put Sarries inside the Bears' 22. More strong carries led to a half-gap for Fergus Burke to exploit, the fly-half speeding through the hole to continue his fine try-scoring form at the StoneX.

Bristol soon burst into life, inspired by a barnstorming carry from Viliami Mata. After picking up a penalty in the Saracens' half, Sam Worsley kicked to the corner, and the pack struck, pushing a driving maul to within metres of the line. Harry Randall provided the finishing touch with a snipe at the base of the ruck.

Successive penalties in the red zone curtailed Sarries' positive start, as Matt Carley reached for his pocket, giving Maro Itoje time in the sin bin. With the man advantage, Bristol edged closer to the line, but resilient defence from the Men in Black forced a knock-on in the shadow of the posts.

It was then the Bears who allowed ill-discipline to creep into their game. A penalty just inside the Bristol half gave Alex Lozowski the chance to add a further three. His attempt off the tee, however, struck the upright, bouncing back into play. Minutes later, however, Sarries picked up another penalty from a similar position. This time, Elliot Daly made no mistake, extending the North Londoners' advantage to 10 points.

With minutes left of the first half, Bristol looked to once again reduce the deficit. More strong work from the Bristol driving maul got the visitors to within 10 metres of the line, but an intercept from Maro Itoje sparked defence into attack, sending the StoneX into delirium. The skipper ran 50m up the pitch before launching the ball back infield. The Men in Black didn’t hang around, as Lozowski flung the ball out to Willis, who danced down the touchline, beating three defenders to score in the corner, finishing the half with aplomb.

The hosts started the second half in similar fashion. Rhys Carre igniting an attack with an impressive solo carry. Sarries then worked it wide before Willis picked from the base offloading to Harry Wilson who in turn popped the ball to Van Zyl. The scrum half then drew the last man whilst finding Lucio Cinti who raced in to score the bonus point try.

StoneX Stadium thought they had been treated to another score on the 50 minute mark. Superb carries from the pack pushing Saracens ever closer to the line. However, Bristol managed to hold up Maro Itoje’s effort.

On the hour mark, the Bears began their comeback attempt. A quick tap penalty from Harry Randall inside the Sarries half put the hosts on the back foot, allowing replacement Ravouvou managing to dot down in the corner with his first touch of the ball.

The visitors were close to getting in once more moment later, but continued defensive prowess from the Men in Black kept the door closed. Instead the hosts managed to turn the ball over, Burke soon launched a ball into the sky. Rich Lane was under it but the resulting hit from Willis forced the fullback to knock it on in his 22. The North Londoners then picked up a penalty at scrum time giving Lozowski a chance to add three more points from in front of the posts.

The drama did continue heading into the final ten minutes. Bristol managed to pick up a penalty at the breakdown and Harry Byrne headed to the corner. The Bears maul this time showed little sign of stopping as Thacker dotted down closing the deficit to nine points.

As decibel levels increased around the StoneX, Saracens backed up the support with an incredible defensive set keeping the visitors in their own 22. After forcing a knock-on in the red zone, the Men in Black managed to pounce. Burke picked up his second score of the evening after a quick snipe in the corner.

It was Bristol who would have the final say however. A carbon copy of their previous score, the Bears picked up a penalty before kicking to the corner and scoring off a rolling maul.

Despite the final flurry, it was Saracens who confirmed a big five point win to kick off 2025!

We're back at StoneX Stadium on Sunday 19th January when we welcome Castres Olympique in a huge Investec Champions Cup clash!

Book your tickets before they sell out NOW!