FIRST TEAM
SARACENS 54 NEWCASTLE RED BULLS 19
Newcastle Red Bulls endured a difficult afternoon in North London as Saracens dominated Saturday’s PREM Rugby Cup encounter at StoneX Stadium.
The visitors trailed 40- at half-time and were behind after just ten minutes – scrum-half Tom James darting from the base of a scrum 30 metres out to dot down, Luke Davidson adding the simple conversion.
Davidson turned creator two minutes later when he broke down the right and fed a well-weighted grubber kick to the right corner, where the onrushing Fraser Rawlins collected the bobbling ball for an unconverted try.
A maul in the right corner delivered a third try on 15 minutes, and the four-try bonus point followed before the quarter mark when Eoghan Clarke scored from a close-range kick in behind.
The points kept on coming from the Londoners, with Nathan Michelow the next in line when the skipper scored from the base of a five-metre scrum.
There was time for one more before the break when Andy Onyeama-Christie picked and went from another five-metre scrum, with Davidson’s conversion putting his side 40 up at the break.
After a tortuous first 40 the Red Bulls at least displayed some front-foot attacking ball after the break – Oli Spencer and Obi Ene among the carriers as they probed in search of points.
Their pressure was rewarded when Jake Dalziel got them off the mark, the teenage fly-half reaching out of a tackle between the posts to ground the ball after repeated attacks around the left corner.
Dalziel added the simple conversion, and despite his side being much more competitive throughout the second half they were back under their own posts on 65 minutes when replacement flanker Toby Knight won a 40-metre foot-race after collecting a bouncing ball in midfield.
Fellow replacement Charlie Bracken quickly followed up with another as simple hands along the line freed him for a converted try in the left corner.
Newcastle at least had the last say when a ruck near the home line saw George Bolam ploughing over.
And that was followed with another score from the very last play, scrum-half Kaleem Barreto marking his debut with a try down the left in support of a line-break from Spencer.
But it was mere consolation on a day when Saracens were emphatic and worthy winners.
Saracens: 15 Max Malins, 14 Fraser Rawlins, 13 Angus Hall, 12 Sione Va’enuku, 11 Jack Bracken (Finn Keylock, 59), 10 Luke Davidson, 9 Tom James (Charlie Bracken, 53); 1 Phil Brantingham (Owen Gillett, 64), 2 Eoghan Clarke (James Isaacs, 51), 3 Corné Weilbach (Alec Clarey, 50), 4 Kennedy Sylvester, 5 Mathis Dehauteur (Hugh Tizard, 50), 6 Max Eke (Tayo Adegbemile, 64), 7 Andy Onyeama-Christie (Toby Knight, 50), 8 Nathan Michelow (captain).
Scorers - Tries: Tom James, Fraser Rawlins, Eoghan Clarke 2, Nathan Michelow, Andy Onyeama-Christie, Toby Knight, Charlie Bracken. Conversions: Luke Davidson 7.
Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Harrison Obatoyinbo (Nathan Greenwood, 22), 14 Obi Ene, 13 Oli Spencer, 12 Rhys Beeckmans, 11 Brandon Jackson (Ethan Grayson, 57), 10 Jake Dalziel, 9 James Elliott (captain, Kaleen Barreto, 53); 1 Adam Brocklebank (Tom West, 53), 2 Samson Adejimi (Ollie Fletcher, 53), 3 James Harper (Murray McCallum, 26-67), 4 Rob Carmichael (Cam Jordan, 59), 5 Finn Baker, 6 Ollie Leatherbarrow (Euan Oakes, 50), 7 George Bolam, 8 Mason Flesch.
Scorers - Tries: Jake Dalziel, George Bolam, Kaleem Barreto Conversions: Jake Dalziel 2.
Referee: Joe James.
