Sarries hit Exiles academy boys for six

SARACENS continued to build towards their Champions Cup quarter-final against Leinster on September 19 with a comfortable win over London Irish.

While there is work to be done, boss Mark McCall was encouraged by side’s ability to turn pressure into points in a six tries to two victory.

McCall said: “We did some good things but we didn’t sustain them. In general when we had good field position in the 22, we came away with a

lot of points and that was encouraging because it’s one of the things we’ve talked about.

“We’re not quite where we need to be for the Leinster game, but we’re building. Individually some of our players are playing really well.”

Irish, with nine starters who had come through their academy, started brightly and, but for a poor pass by Curtis Rona, could have been

first on the board, but he missed Ross Neal with a twoon-one chance on the right wing.

Sarries got into their stride as Jamie George was mauled over after ten minutes from a 5m lineout, with Brad Barritt scoring by the same method three minutes later.

Agustin Creevy grabbed a debut try for Irish but Billy Vunipola scored from close range after a quick free-kick.

Matt Williams was on hand to score after Vunipola and Maro Itoje were involved in a mix-up inside their own 22, but George restored the twotry advantage with another push-over try. Richard Barrington twice forced his way over in a three-minute spell, while Juan Pablo Socino had his first try for the club ruled out for a forward pass.

London Irish DoR Declan Kidney said: “That was our best available team and they didn’t let themselves down. We managed to score two tries and had one or two more opportunities.”

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