Match action
WITH Mako Vunipola wielding the cudgel up front and Owen Farrell slipping the dagger in when Northampton had been battered, this try beating might yet be enough to see Saracens defend their European title.
The bonus point they had secured in a first half blitz ensured Saracens second place in their group on 18 points, behind Clermont. However, they face a fraught weekend waiting on other results because only the three best secondplaced teams progress to the quarter-finals.
If they do squeeze through the back door, on this evidence no-one will be too keen to host them because after the stuttering draw against the Ospreys last weekend this was more like the formidable Saracens side that have been back-to-back champions in the last two years.
By the end of this encounter they had swamped a Northampton side that flattered to deceive with a brisk start that saw a darting Cobus Reinach try from a spill by Alex Goode, converted by Harry Mallinder, give them a 7-0 lead.
However, when a Farrell penalty was followed by Vunipola rumbling over from short range the cracks in the Saints defence were exposed, and although Nafi Tuitavake briefly gave them a 14-10 lead after taking a scoring pass from Michael Paterson after 17 minutes, it was the last time they registered on scoreboard.
The arrival of Nathan Earle for the injured Chris Wyles was a significant part of their undoing, with the England squad wing making an immediate impact by punching though the Northampton midfield from a scrum. When the ball was moved wide for Goode to finish with a flourish – Farrell converting for a 17-14 lead – the floodgates opened.
After a Farrell dummy parted the Saints defence like the Red Sea he put Marcelo Bosch over, and when Richard Wigglesworth ran in the fourth try to make it 29-14 six minutes before half-time for the bonus point after classy inter-passing by Goode and Earle they had already hit their target.
However, there was no respite for the visitors with Vincent Koch drilling over for a 36-14 lead at the interval after Jamie Gibson had been sin-binned for collapsing a Saracens line-out drive. With the Northampton pack in reverse the punishment continued in the second-half with two Farrell penalties and a Sean Maitland try stretching the gap to 49-14.
The gulf in power and cohesion between the teams was emphasised further on the hour when Sione Vailanu, their young Tongan international back rower, smashed his way over from a five metre scrum after coming on for Schalk Burger.
Farrell ran the game with precision from fly-half – finishing with 11 from 12 goal-kicks – and it earned him the accolade of “outstanding” from Saracens rugby director Mark McCall.
It was fitting that he rounded-off the home side’s account with two penalties that took their tally past 60.
Whether it will be enough is unknown for the moment – but if it is, Saracens look capable of making the most of the lifeline.