MATCH REPORT | Saracens Men 68 - 10 Hartpury Rugby
Saracens Men ended their Premiership Rugby Cup campaign in style with a dominant 68-10 victory over Hartpury at StoneX Stadium.
The Men in Black produced a stunning second half display as they scored 56 points after the break to record a confidence boosting win ahead of the Gallagher Premiership opener against Exeter Chiefs next Saturday.
It was a slow start to proceedings in the North London sunshine but towards the end of the opening quarter Sarries got themselves in front with their first try of the afternoon.
A lineout deep in the 22 gave the hosts the perfect field position, and the ball was perfectly moved from right to left, eventually finding Rotimi Segun who was never going to be stopped from five metres out.
Francis Moore then almost doubled the lead when he tried to gather Aled Davies’ grubber kick but Jack Johnson won the footrace for the visitors who could clear.
Nathan Michelow was next to try to breach the Hartpury defence as he broke down the left wing, however the ball came loose at the breakdown and the opportunity passed.
The visitors then got themselves on the scoreboard with a penalty from Harry Bazalgette, cutting the lead to just two points with 22 minutes played.
Another chance then came for the hosts as Davies charged down a clearance but the ball wouldn’t bounce up for Olly Hartley who was waiting for a clear run to the line.
Segun got his second with half an hour gone to give Sarries some much needed breathing space. The winger bumped over his opposite man down the left and then used his searing pace to run clear from 35 metres to the delight of the home crowd. Alex Lozowski’s brilliant touchline conversion made it 12-3 as we approached the break.
Sarries looked to put the hammer down just before half time with a great chance in the final play, but the maul was held up and the teams went down the tunnel with the hosts leading 12-3.
The second half started in better fashion for the Londoners who eased their way to try number three just six minutes after the restart to increase the lead. Summer signing Tom Willis, who was growing in to the game burst through a gap on half way and drew in the final man before releasing Hartley who could stroll under the posts from 20 metres out. Lozowski’s conversion made it 19-3 as they turned their attention towards the try bonus point.
The bonus point arrived barely a minute later as the hosts started to add some real gloss to the scoreboard. Alex Goode trotted over the half way and then his smart offload found Samson Adejimi who used his incredible pace to race through for an impressive try. Lozowski once again added the extras as the lead grew again.
Davies then joined the party as he scored a lovely individual try from outside the 22 to dive under the posts, and another followed just four minutes later as Adejimi powered over from close range for his second of the game.
Toby Knight’s close range finish on the hour mark was the seventh of the day, as a a rampant Sarries continued to put the foot down as they all of a sudden held a 47-3 lead.
Ralph Adams-Hale almost marked his return to action with a try as he bulldozed over the line but unfortunately as he went to place the ball down it popped out of his hands.
Hartpury got themselves a consolation try with 10 minutes to go as Sam Smith gathered a loose ball to score under the posts, but that clicked Sarries back in to gear who responded with a try straight from kick off.
The restart was gathered but Ollie Stonham charged it down and then won the race to the ball to acrobatically finish in the corner, brining up the half century of points. Gareth Simpson’s excellent touchline conversion made it 54-10 as we entered the final few minutes.
There was still time for two more scores as Knight got his second from just a metre out, and then Tom Parton used his quick feet to step over in the final play of the match to give the fans even more to shout about, as they signed off the Cup campaign with a 10-try triumph.
