MATCH REPORT | Worcester Warriors 16-38 Saracens Men

Saracens Men secured their sixth consecutive victory in the Gallagher Premiership after a dominant 38-16 win over Worcester Warriors at Sixways. 

Mark McCall’s men scored six tries in total including an incredible four from Max Malins who lit up the West Midlands with a fantastic individual display. 

The win puts them in a strong position to secure a home semi-final with just two games left in the regular season. 

Sarries started on the front foot and were playing in expansive fashion as they looked for an early lead. Elliot Daly’s sparkling break almost did exactly that, but he was brought down just outside the 22 when it looked as if he might go all the way.

They didn’t have to wait much longer though, as Malins opened the scoring with just five minutes played. A penalty was kicked to the corner, and then the ball was spun wide to the England man who used his impressive footwork to dive over in the corner. Owen Farrell’s extras made it 7-0.

The hosts then got themselves on the board with a penalty from Fin Smith, but two tries in four minutes from Sarries then put them firmly in control of the match. 

A Worcester line out was over thrown on half way and it bounced up kindly to Ben Earl, who still had a huge amount of work to do but used his incredible pace to run all the way to the line to score a fantastic try.

Then almost straight away they had try number three to the delight of the visiting supporters. A penalty gave them a line out just five metres from the line, and after the maul was pulled down the ball was spun wide to Rotimi Segun who could stroll over unattended. Both conversions went narrowly wide from the touchline, but all of a sudden Sarries now had a 17-3 lead. 

Smith added three more from the tee as the Warriors looked for a route back in to the match, but the Wolfpack defence stayed firm multiple times just before the break in trademark fashion to stop them going over the line. 

His third penalty cut the Saracens lead to 17-9, and Segun was inches from securing the bonus point just before the break but he was held up over the line and his side had to settle for an eight point lead as they headed down the tunnel.

McCall’s side only had to wait two minutes after the restart to get that bonus point score as they started the second half in sensational style. Farrell’s kick pass over the top of the defence created some space for Nick Tompkins, and then Malins gathered the ball with plenty of space in front of him and cruised over from 30 metres out. Farrell’s extras meant the lead was now up to 15 points. 

Jackson Wray was then held up as the pressure kept coming, and Theo McFarland’s brilliant acrobatic interception looked like a memorable try but it was brought back for an earlier infringement. 

Malins then completed his hat-trick just before the hour mark as he continued his fantastic season in the try-scoring department. Sean Maitland’s strong carry took play in to the 22, and then Daly floated an inch-perfect pass over the top which allowed Malins to stride over in the corner. The touchline conversion saw the lead grow up to 22 points. 

Clearly not content with just a hat-trick, he went over for number for with 10 minutes left to make a brilliant day even better. An inside ball fooled the Worcester defence, and he picked a great line before racing away form outside the 22 to score. Manu Vunipola’s conversion added further gloss to an already attractive scoreboard.

There was still time for Tom Howe to get a consolation score for the hosts, but the day belonged to Saracens who headed back to North London with another crucial five points.