Saracens 40 Dragons 21: Six-try Sarries comfortably put out Dragons’ fire
Nick Tompkins of Saracens is tackled by Max Williams of Dragons during the Anglo-Welsh Cup clash (pic: Ian Walton/PA) - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
Anglo-Welsh Cup Pool Three: Saracens 40 Dragons 21
Three tries in 10 first-half minutes helped Saracens to an impressive 40-21 Anglo-Welsh Cup victory over the Dragons at Allianz Park.
The hosts scored six tries in a comfortable win, their first in the competition this season, with the speedy Nick Tompkins leading the charge before the break.
They secured a bonus point in the second half, although the Dragons hit back through two tries from prop Lloyd Fairbrother.
With the majority of the senior players away for Six Nations duty, the game was a great chance for the up and comers on both sides to stake their claims for regular spots.
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The first points of the day came after less than two minutes of play, Saracens’ Max Malins slotting over a penalty.
After a lot of pressure from the visiting side, including two surging runs from Connor Edwards, Dragons finally got their reward when captain Harrison Keddie piled over from a yard out.
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Then on the half hour mark, the floodgates opened for the hosts. First Mark Flanagan collected an offload to put the hosts back in front after excellent play between fly-half Malins and winger Rotimi Segun.
Then almost straight away centre Tompkins picked up a loose ball and sprinted from just inside his own half to finish.
With half-time approaching, Saracens put their foot down as Segun got himself on the scoresheet when he picked up the ball from a ruck following a Dragons scrum and sprinted for the line.
Within one minute of the restart, the bonus point was confirmed as Matt Gallagher finished off after a run from Vailanu, with Malins adding the extras to extend the lead to 20 points.
The Dragons fought back and soon got on the scoresheet after a rolling maul in the corner, before the ball was bundled over by Fairbrother, after which Kirchner added the conversion to cut the lead to 16.
Despite a comfortable lead, Saracens continued to play aggressively and extended it further with tries from Sean Refell and scrum-half Tom Whiteley.
Fairbrother got his second late on but it was mere consolation on a tough afternoon.
