Sarries make the trip to Sandy Park on Saturday

Ham & High: Mark Flanagan of Saracens celebrates scoring a try during the Anglo-Welsh Cup tie against Dragons (pic: Ian Walton/PA)Mark Flanagan of Saracens celebrates scoring a try during the Anglo-Welsh Cup tie against Dragons (pic: Ian Walton/PA) (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Matt Gallagher is keen for Saracens to build on their opening win in this year’s Anglo-Welsh Cup when they round out the group stage at Exeter Chiefs on Saturday.

The north Londoners cruised to a 40-21 success at home to Dragons at the weekend, with Gallagher one of six try scorers on the day.

Sarries head to Sandy Park looking to end the group stage on a high, and Gallagher says there are plenty of positives for the young team to work with in training this week.

“I’m really happy that we managed to put the performance in for the boys,” he told the club website.

“The last two games in this competition didn’t go how we wanted, but we showed real grit and passion in the last 30 minutes, which we didn’t show in the other two games.

“We’re happy that we got the result we wanted and we can push on to next week against Exeter.”

Three tries in 10 first-half minutes turned the match in Saracens favour at the weekend as they overcome a bright start from Dragons.

Mark Flanagan, Nick Tompkins and Rotimi Segun all crossed for the Allianz Park outfit in an action-packed first half.

Tries followed from Gallagher, Sean Refell and Tom Whiteley in the second period to cap a successful afternoon for the young side.

And skipper Ben Earl was pleased with what he saw from Sarries as they picked up their first win in this year’s competition.

“We took a lot from those first two games and learnt from that,” he told the club website.

“It was much more of an 80-minute performance against Dragons and we were scoring late on, which is a big thing for us.

“We felt we like we were in the same boat as we were against Harlequins in the opening match having quite a good lead in the first half, but we’re happy to hold on and we’re looking to next week.”

There is still a chance for Saracens to progress in the cup this weekend, though the north Londoners would need other results to go their way.

All permutations of course rest on Sarries having to pick up their first away in the competition so far this season.

But having finally picked up their first Anglo-Welsh Cup win anywhere this term with the crushing of Dragons at Allianz Park last Saturday, confidence will be high in the Sarries camp ahead of their Exeter trip.