Malins the master as Saracens march on
MAX Malins made a mockery of England’s decision to leave him out of the final Six Nations encounter with France by scoring four tries at Sixways.
The performance of the Saracens full-back was the highlight of a predictable game with the Londoners not reaching anywhere near top gear to achieve a victory which virtually guarantees them a home semi-final in the end of season play-offs.
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said: “Max is one of those players who make things happen and he makes a habit of scoring tries for us. It’s a solid away win as a few sides have tripped up here and to come away with six tries to one is a good effort.
Star man Malins said: “I’d love to represent my country again but I’m not looking too far forward as there’s still a lot of rugby to be played.
“The game was enjoyable but loose at times and it certainly wasn’t an 80 minute performance so we need to ensure that we don’t drop off from our high standards.”
This game was merely a precursor for the huge challenges that lie ahead for Saracens with a diffiVunipola
cult European Challenge Cup tie at Gloucester on Friday before they continue to build their momentum in an attempt to regain their Premiership title. As a result, star performers, Owen Farrell and Billy strolled through the game and it was left to centres, Elliot Daly and Nick Tompkins, to illustrate their value with Malins providing the stardust.
Worcester were limited but spirited throughout and can take heart from the courageous performances of half-backs Gareth Simpson and Fin Smith and a whole-hearted effort from evergreen No.8, Matt Kvesic.
Saracens made an explosive start to take an early lead. A clean break from Daly threatened the tryline before a period of pressure resulted in the first for Malins.
Farrell converted before Smith put Warriors on the scoreboard with a straightforward penalty but his side then conceded a soft try.
On halfway, Worcester misjudged their lineout throw and Ben Earl was on it in a flash to seize possession and race 50 metres to score.
Worcester’s afternoon got worse when they soon conceded a third. The visitors turned down an easy kick at goal in favour of an attacking lineout and were rewarded when Rotimi Segun was provided with a walk-in.
Despite this Worcester were still in contention at the interval when they trailed 17-9 thanks to two further penalties from Smith.
Within a minute of the restart, Saracens secured their bonus point when following a strong run from Tompkins, Malins was given acres of space to score his second.
The visitors sealed victory when Malins completed his hat-trick when a long pass from Daly put the full-back into the clear.
With a raft of replacements, the game fizzled out as Warriors barely threatened and it was left to Malins to enliven proceedings by skipping through a tired defence to stroll 30 metres for his fourth.
Warriors looked set to be try-less but Howe rewarded a period of pressure to make the final score more respectable.