In the unpredictable world of top-flight rugby here was a result we could all understand. Bristol arrived in north London on a record-breaking run of 10 away wins but hindered by significant injuries. They rarely looked likely to seriously trouble a full-strength Saracens, hungry to atone for last Saturday’s record thrashing by Bath.
The Bears have never won at this venue, and a debut victory would have been a fitting way to celebrate Ilona Maher’s bow for the women’s side at Ashton Gate today. But two first-half tries by Sarries’ No 8 Tom Willis – the second one of the best, most fleet-footed finishes you will see from a forward – helped Mark McCall’s men take a grip on the contest they never relinquished.
The Saracens director of rugby made eight changes after that humbling by the league leaders. He had opted to rest a few frontline players at the Recreation Ground but the hooker, Jamie George, was one of the big guns to start in that uncharacteristic performance. The England hooker, with six Premiership titles and three Champions Cups to his name, was determined to mark his 300th club appearance with a win.
The home captain, Maro Itoje, apologised to the Saracens supporters who had travelled to Bath in his programme notes, assuring all concerned that McCall’s team had a plan to put things right.
Bristol, meanwhile, were bound to miss Gabriel Ibitoye, the wing injured in last weekend’s sobering 38-0 home defeat by Sale, who had crossed the try-line seven times in nine matches and made more line breaks than anyone in the division. In the absence of the fly-half AJ MacGinty, too, the 21-year-old Sam Worsley started again after his full debut last week.
A problem with the clock led to a delay but there was nothing wrong with Saracens’ timing: Alex Lozowski and Nick Tompkins linked on the left, allowing Fergus Burke to release Lucio Cinti. Bristol scrambled well but Willis capitalised on some half-hearted defending to barge over on eight minutes.
More slick handling sent Cinti haring down the left again. The Bears covered, but the pressure was relentless, and Burke breezed through a gap on the 22 before touching down.
At 14-0 after another conversion by Lozowski it was shaping up to be a long night for Bristol, but Pat Lam’s men did not lie down. The scrum-half Harry Randall darted over from close range, and with Bristol pushing for their second try, Itoje was then shown a yellow card for what the referee Matthew Carley said were three infringements in quick succession.
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Leicester battled to a much‑needed yet unconvincing win over struggling Exeter in a dour contest. The Tigers were the better side in the first half, but the visitors dominated the second period until Will Rigg was sent to the sin‑bin and the Chiefs can consider themselves unfortunate not to come away from Welford Road with at least a point.
Olly Cracknell, Cameron Henderson, Ollie Hassell-Collins and Ben Youngs scored Leicester’s tries, with Handré Pollard converting all four. For Exeter, some Henry Slade magic created two tries for Tom Wyatt, with Josh Hodge converting one. Slade added a penalty.
Exeter took a fourth-minute penalty from that Slade penalty but from their first period of pressure Leicester responded with a try from Cracknell, when the No 8 proved unstoppable from a five-metre scrum. Pollard converted to make it 7-3 at the end of a competitive but disjointed first quarter.
Leicester extended the lead when a half-break from Pollard gave Henderson the chance to crash over under the posts. Pollard converted, but his missed from a long-range penalty meant a 14-3 interval lead.
Two minutes after the restart, Exeter scored an excellent try with Slade’s crossfield kick being collected by Wyatt for the wing to race over and the Chiefs continued to have the better of the third quarter. Stu Townsend and Slade neatly combined to provide Wyatt with a walk-in score. Hodge took over the kicking from Slade and nailed the conversion from near the touchline to put his side in front.
With 15 minutes remaining, Exeter lost Rigg to the sin-bin for taking Freddie Steward out in the air and the Tigers immediately capitalised. A break from Dan Kelly tore the defence to shreds and, when the ball was recycled, Hassell‑Collins outflanked the cover to score.
Rigg was still absent when Youngs saw a gap to secure a scarcely deserved bonus point. PA Media
The hosts reasserted control and a long-range penalty by Elliot Daly extended Saracens’ lead into double figures. Itoje returned from his 10 minutes in the sin-bin with Bristol having failed to trouble the scorers in the meantime – and the England second row’s interception and bullocking run set up Willis for a sensational finish in the corner, beating three defenders and crashing over. A 15-point deficit looked intimidatingly large for Lam’s side.
Soon after the break Worsley was replaced by the Irish fly-half Harry Byrne, signed on loan from Leinster to cover for MacGinty, but the attacking verve continued to come from the hosts. Cinti sprinted over after being fed by Ivan van Zyl, capping another fluent move.
Bristol’s Kalaveti Ravouvou made an immediate impact off the bench – fine work by Steven Luatua teed up Randall for a quick tap penalty to create the Fijian’s try – before a powerful chase by Willis terrorised the Bristol full-back Rich Lane at the other end.
Harry Thacker’s try made it a nine-point game before a disciplined spell of defending by McCall’s team set up Burke’s second try – and there was still time for Jake Heenan to steal a try bonus point for the Bears. Still, it was the reaction McCall and Saracens wanted.
