Eleven-try Saracens thump Newcastle Red Bulls

The Prem

Saracens (28) 73

Tries: Penalty Try, Segun, Caluori 4, Onyeama-Christie, Hadfield 2, Mawi, Tompkins Cons: Farrell 8

Newcastle Red Bulls (7) 14

Tries: Usher, Parsons Cons: Connon 2

Noah Caluori scored four tries to help Saracens thump Newcastle Red Bulls 73-14 at a blustery StoneX Stadium.

Sarries ran in eleven tries in their first match since it was announced long-standing director of rugby Mark McCall is to step down at the end of the season.

The home side put aside a difficult opening 15 minutes against The Prem's bottom club to secure the biggest margin of victory in the competition so far this season.

Newcastle, who had two men sin-binned during a chastening afternoon, were totally outclassed as they were unable to build on their first league win of the season last time out.

Following Leicester's big win at Harlequins, Saracens stay sixth while Newcastle remain rooted to the foot of the table.

Saracens were forced into making two alterations from their original starting XV just minutes before the match after Marco Riccioni and Theo McFarland picked up injuries in the warm-up. They were replaced by Tietie Tuimauga - making his Saracens debut - and experienced Argentina international Juan Martin Gonzalez.

And those late changes seemed to unsettle the hosts as Newcastle grabbed an early advantage when Alex Hearle's break helped set up 21-year-old lock Oscar Usher to crash over for the visitors.

Newcastle made a blistering start to the match and should have extended their lead but, inexplicably, Tom Christie failed to dot the ball down after going behind the in-goal area, with Sarries scrum-half Charlie Bracken forcing him out of touch.

That moment woke Saracens up and they levelled through a penalty try when Newcastle scrum-half Simon Benitez Cruz was adjudged to have deliberately knocked-on in front of his own line, meaning he also spent 10 minutes in the bin.

Saracens wing Rotimi Segun then put his side's untidy first 15 minutes to bed when his wonderful chip and run took him past the Newcastle defence and dot down in the left corner.

Caluori – who was left out of England's 36-man squad for this year's Six Nations yesterday – then got on the end of a deft kick from full-back Elliot Daly to open up a two-score lead.

After Andy Onyeama-Christie had a try disallowed because of a knock-on in the build-up, Caluori got his second when he ran a beautiful line to meet a Daly pass before scoring in what is quickly becoming trademark fashion.

With Newcastle wing Elliott Obatoyinbo in the sin-bin after being shown a yellow card for offside a minute before half-time, Onyeama-Christie did eventually get his name on the scoresheet a minute after the interval when he juggled a short pass before dotting down under the sticks.

Caluori then completed his hat-trick inside 43 minutes when Sarries moved the ball smartly from left to right to force an overload which resulted in a simple finish for the teenager.

At that stage, the hosts were turning on the style and, off the bench, James Hadfield dotted down after a successful Saracens maul.

Fijian Eroni Mawi then got the half-century up for Saracens when he crashed over from a metre out, before Hadfield claimed his second with a pick-and-drive from close range under the sticks.

A Nick Tompkins kick downfield was then beautifully collected one-handed by Caluori who raced clear to dot down in the right corner for his fourth.

Tompkins grabbed Saracens' eleventh and final try before Newcastle's Reuben Parsons, making his Prem debut, had the last word when he touched down with the final act of the day.

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall told BBC Radio London:

"I liked the intensity that we played with the whole game. Sometimes, when you get well ahead, it's easy to have that intensity drop.

"[It was] a magnificent effort from Charlie Bracken [to deny Tom Christie from scoring], otherwise we would have been 14-0 down, but the team reacted really well and then we got on top pretty quickly.

"Today was an important day because those five points keep us close enough to the mix. There's eight games left so there's everything left to play for."

[On announcing he is to step down at the end of the season] "It's a big weight off my shoulders because I've been sitting on it for a while and now that everybody knows, I feel a bit lighter."

Newcastle Red Bulls coach Alan Dickens told BBC Radio Newcastle:

"A real disappointment for us and the team. We started off pretty well and it was a big moment when our second try [Tom Christie's disallowed try] was chalked off. It allowed Saracens to come back into it.

"They were physical, we made mistakes, and they were very clinical in the way they scored. It was very similar to last season when we came here.

"I was disappointed in all areas of our game. I thought the line-out didn't function brilliantly, and in attack and defence we were slightly off it today."

[On Tom Christie's disallowed try] "It's one that went against us. Hopefully, down the line, we'll get one that goes in our favour."

Saracens: Daly; Caluori, Lozowski, Tompkins, Segun; Farrell (capt), C. Bracken; Carre, George, Tuimauga, Isiekwe, Tizard, Gonzalez, Onyeama-Christie, Willis.

Replacements: Hadfield, Mawi, Beaton, Wilson, Michelow, van Zyl, Burke, Malins.

Newcastle Red Bulls: Grayson; Wade, Hearle, Arnold, E. Obatoyinbo; Connon, Benitez Cruz; McCallum, McGuigan (capt), Palframan, Usher, Hodgson, Gordon, Christie, Lockwood.

Replacements: Fletcher, Brocklebank, De Bruin, Baker, Parsons, Elliott, Hutchison, Spencer.

Sin-bin: Benitez Cruz (8 mins), E. Obatoyinbo (39 mins).

Referee: Joe James.