Saracens keep heat on Exeter with big win over Saints
MAX MALINS was the star of the show as Saracens returned to winning ways after last week’s defeat at Gloucester with this six-try win.
The 22-year-old, who won a Junior World Cup with England in 2016, normally plays fly-half but stepped in at full-back as the champions ran riot in the first half.
Malins had a hand in Saracens’ first two tries and was the stand-out performer even though he didn’t manage to get on the score sheet.
Mark McCall, his director of rugby, now has the problem of where to fit everyone in with Alex Goode and Matt Gallagher at the club and Elliot Daly arriving next season.
Malins looked every inch a 15 with his interventions into the line and solidity in defence as Saracens threatened to run up a cricket score.
They led 29-3 at the break, with five tries and a bonus point in the bag inside 28 minutes, but took their foot off the gas in the second half which Northampton won 14-7.
After hooker Tom Woolstencroft had gone over just before half-time Saints must have feared they were in for another severe beating at the hands of the North Londoners who put 50 points on them four times last season.
It is a measure of the strength in depth Saracens have that they can make light of the absence of all their international stars and still return a five-star 40 minutes like this.
Northampton fought back with tries from Reece Marshall and Lewis Ludlam to regain some pride ahead of their game against Bristol next week.
Saracens had this game by the throat from the moment prop Richard Barrington, acting as a scrum-half, fed Goode and the multi-talented fly-half found Malins in the line. Malins shifted the ball on for wing Sean Maitland to land an easy score.
Centre Nick Tompkins added the second on nine minutes after a big carry from Will Skelton and when David Strettle went over on 17 minutes a bloodbath looked on the cards.
Maitland got the fourth after another long pass from the visionary Goode and Woolstencroft got on the end of a driving maul for his second try in three games.
Northampton had been disrupted by the loss of flyhalf James Grayson to a thigh injury just before the match and George Furbank had to switch from full-back with Ahsee Tuala filling in for him.
Director of rugby Chris Boyd said the back line looked like one that might have been playing in a reserve game 12 months ago and it showed early on.
But with captain for the match Lewis Ludlam turning it on after the break from flanker, Northampton got some ball and Ludlam’s try was a show stopper when he got on the end of a sweeping move to finish in the left hand corner.
It was too little too late but it was a lot better than it might have been when Saracens were rampant in the first half.