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Maro Itoje stars as Saracens heap more misery on Bristol Bears
Saracens inflicted a fifth successive Gallagher Premiership defeat on Bristol but they were forced to dig deep for their 39-31 victory at StoneX Stadium.
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At one point it looked as though the champions would be punished for Owen Farrell’s wayward kicking after the England captain failed to covert his side’s first three tries and slot a penalty.
Farrell’s inability to land the points contrasted with Callum Sheedy’s pinpoint accuracy from the tee and the difference between the fly-halves’ successive rate was magnified until Jamie George crossed in the 54th minute.
Tom Willis then went over and George added a second late on to ease the tension created by Bristol’s refusal to roll over in their pursuit of a first-ever victory in north London.
Once again Maro Itoje was at the heart of Saracens’ resistance as the England second row continued his resurgence in form with a blockbuster display that was recognised with the man of the match award.
Match Summary 
0
Penalty Goals
1
7
Tries
4
2
Conversions
4
0
Drop Goals
0
118
Carries
113
10
Line Breaks
5
12
Turnovers Lost
21
9
Turnovers Won
4
The afternoon’s most effective scoring weapon was the maul and at this Mark McCall’s men excelled, using it as the platform to claim their opening try with Farrell wrestling his way over from close range.
Bristol had started full of intent but by the 12th minute they had conceded a second try as Alex Lewington rounded off an accurate passage of play full of hard lines and sharp handling.
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By building pressure through keeping the ball alive the Bears hit back when unmarked lock Joe Batley rounded off a lively attack by going on the charge before touching down with an outstretched arm.
Itoje showing his worth at Saracens with a man of the match performance against Bristol today ? #Saracensrugby #SARvBRI #Rugby pic.twitter.com/beIUJoOmZK
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 25, 2023
Saracens returned to their maul for their response with Billy Vunipola dummying and slipping over but Bristol continued to show their teeth, with Max Malins growing more influential against his former club.
It became the visitors’ turn to cross through a line-out maul finished by Ellis Genge and when they added a second through the power of their pack – Gabriel Oghre went over this time – they had snatched the lead.
Due to Farrell’s wayward kicking Saracens trailed 21-15 entering the break and his troubles continued into the second half when he sent a long-range penalty wide.
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He delivered a pinpoint cross-field kick for Lewington to touch down again, however, and this time the conversion went over via a bounce off the left post.
Sheedy slotted a penalty but Saracens built up a head of steam and after successive line-outs in the left corner they struck through George.
Bristol’s play became panicky and they were breached with 12 minutes left when Theo McFarland’s strong run was continued by Gareth Simpson until the strength of Willis finished the move.
But they refused to roll over and when Kieran Marmion rounded off a deadly break by Gabriel Ibitoye the game was blow wide open once again.
Saracens dominated the closing stages, however, and were rewarded with George’s second try which swept them out of reach.
Comments on RugbyPass
Danny don't care. He pretends to care but he don't. He says all this stuff to justify his reasoning but no one can claim that legitimately. He knew exactly what he was doing and wondered if his old team mate would overlook it, which he did. Ref has got to be sidelined or properly trained. It's one thing for refs to move up the ranks but if it was me I would require refs to either have played in different clubs or not at all having the temptation to bias in high stakes games like this. This has got to be stamped out. But then again World Rugby is so destroying the game of rugby in an attempt to be more “safe” and “concussion free”. What they are doing is making it more infuriating for the fans and more difficult for the refs to officiate evenly and consistently. It's fast become Australian Rules football. If guys don't want concussions, they should have played chess. Stop complaining you oldies of the game. When they played the game was vastly heavier hitting than it is now but of course they can't see that.
2 Go to commentsJa, why do Bulls get flack for not bringing their best but Leinster never bring their best and it goes “unnoticed”?
3 Go to commentsIt’ll be very interesting to see how Razor’s AB’s handle the new England rush D. It’s basically the Bok recipe they copied, so if England goes well then we know most likely the Boks will go well too. If England cops a hiding then we’ll have to study and adapt.
6 Go to commentsTypical trait of an australian is to moan. Goes well with there lack of humbleness as evident by the Reds bench on the weekend.
2 Go to commentsSBW’s bro’town commentary and lazy default to hyperbole should be ignored, a technical analyst he is not. Sotutu is a good player when games get goosey loosey, high skill set that fans of Zinzan recall with starry eyes. But you need power and mongrel at no8 in the Test arena and Sotutu gets found wanting there, much like Akira Ioane. No8’s like Zinzan and Ardie have bucketloads of mongrel and power and tenacity which allow the skill sets to flourish.
11 Go to commentsAn inside pass to attacker on the angle can make a drift defence look lead footed. Relies on fleet footed forward/s to get across from the breakdown. An argument for the smaller faster 7 perhaps?
6 Go to commentsSensational tackle. The reds one was late and rightly penalised. The other two were simultaneous with the pass. If nitpicking TMOs can’t find fault there clearly isn’t any.
2 Go to commentsBrumbies fully deserved their win on the back of their physicality and desire to control the ball. Xavier Numia, Asafo Aumua and Tyrel Lomax should be the ABs starting front row when we start our test schedule. They have “come of age” and have bested all they have faced as well as been dominant with ball in hand in making the gainline. With De Groot, Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell backed up by Taukei'aho and Cody Taylor there's not an international front row that can trouble us. Can't wait to face the Boks over there, won't be no one point game this time.
7 Go to commentsKinda strange that he wasn’t with a premiership team or a higher level of rugby? Start playing late or something? With that kind of size and athleticism you’d think someone would have picked him up?
2 Go to commentsShows how much attitude matters. Last week the Brumbies got done, this week they dominated the tournament leaders, who were likely thinking they could cruise to victory.
7 Go to commentsA Turtle has more pace and leg drive than Owen Franks, so it’s a good thing he only had to run 90 metres for that try.
2 Go to commentsOh Tamati Tua was in the vastly over-rated Leon MacDonalds Blues system? Well, no wonder he was wasted, much like Emoni Narawa and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens under MacDonald. now look at them. Good thing Tua isn’t eligible, the Aussies latch on to any player who isn’t tied down.
7 Go to commentsMark Telea is a lot of things, but a defensive juggernaut has never been one of them. There will be far bigger tests in that regard for the youngster.
11 Go to commentsLove and respect to Fiji but not a chance outside of 7s
4 Go to commentsGood summation Ned. Agree the Canes were out-muscled for once (except at the scrum!) by a focused Brumbies outfit. Tua deserves consideration for higher honors after the way he humbled Jordie and the Canes defense. Thankfully, his lack of eligibility for Oz keeps him from Joe’s plans. While I also agree the injuries affected the Canes performance, some players seemed to lack focus and intensity for this match. Perhaps after the Blues demolished the Brumbies, they thought it was going to be easy? A good reminder that any slip up in preparation can have a big affect on the result. Brumbies deserved that win.
7 Go to commentsKarl Dixon should never have been appointed this fixture, absolute disgrace, He’s not much of a referee anyway, didn't have the balls to send his mate care off
5 Go to commentsBrilliant article! Harry of 8/9
6 Go to comments‘UK athletes' have been in the NFL from the start.
2 Go to commentsIt’s going to be Scott Barrett. He’s the coaches mate and captain of a previously elite team. Ardie a great option but scooter has worked with the coach and Ardie still as big a leader as needed.
23 Go to commentsI commend Colin Scotts bio All Balls. He was the first Aussie to make it to NFL. But he was poached and did a full apprenticeship at the University of Hawaii. He was 130kgs surfed played 1st grade cricket etc. big guy by normal but not NFL standards and a top athlete. Even then the nfl were picking up Tongans and Samoans for their natural size and explosive power. They want explosive power not cardio from the big boys so a guy like Taniela Tupou would have been good if picked up young enough. He has fast twitch and they’d bulk the little lad up and give him something to do. soccer teams set up academies and look for Over Sara’s talent eg Messi was at Barcelona since a teenager and harry kewell went to Leeds as a teenager like 16 or something.
11 Go to comments