Newcastle (15) 15
Pens: Gopperth 5
Saracens (17) 22
Tries: Haughton, Hougaard, Wyles Cons: Hougaard 2 Pen: Hougaard

Saracens hooker Schalk Brits was a late addition to the starting line-up

Saracens returned to the top of the Premiership table with a three-try win over Newcastle at Kingston Park.

The visitors went ahead with a Richard Haughton try after just four minutes but Newcastle took a 15-10 lead thanks to five Jimmy Gopperth penalties.

But with the Saracens defence holding firm, the Falcons could not add to their tally and Derick Hougaard's try on 35 minutes put Sarries in front.

And victory was sealed when winger Chris Wyles scored late on.

Newcastle, who are still looking for their first win of the season, had the worst possible start when scrum-half Micky Young's pass was picked off by Haughton who strolled home from 30m to touch down under the posts.

The Falcons were determined to keep the ball in hand and with Saracens giving away a host of penalties, Gopperth was able to kick his side into the lead.

606: DEBATE Give your reaction to another Saracens victory

Saracens had to wait until the 33rd minutes to put together a string of attacking phases and they should have regained the lead but Wyles dropped the ball with the line at his mercy.

But from the resulting scrum, Newcastle could not clear and Hougaard dummied his way over for a concerted try that made the score 15-17 at the break.

Newcastle started the second half well but could not take advantage of their spell of pressure and Sarries started to take control with some fine tactical kicking from Neil de Kock and Hougaard.

Hougaard missed two drop-goal attempts and his replacement Glen Jackson also wasted one drop-goal as well as a penalty but with Saracens enjoying territorial dominance, they did not look like surrendering their lead.

And they put the result beyond doubt four minutes from time when Fijian centre Kameli Ratuvou got his hands out of an attempted tackle to allow Wyles to atone for his previous error.

Newcastle director of rugby Steve Bates:
"I am disappointed but I thought the better side won the game. They squeezed us very well, they have a lot of experience in their side.

"We played really well in the first half but we were working really, really hard and they were more successful at putting us under pressure than we were putting them under pressure.

"We were territorially pinned in our half of the field and we did fantastically well to keep them out."

Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter:
"Newcastle played really well today, they attacked with shape and got a lot of quick ball. I thought three tries to nil was not a fair reflection of the game.

"We didn't play well as individuals but we played well as a team. That is what bailed us out today. Some of our real stars were not on fire and there were little mistakes with the ball going down.

"For me as a coach, the most rewarding thing was we can go out there and do that when we are not playing well."

Newcastle: A Tait; Amesbury, Vickerman, Tu'ipulotu, Biggs; Gopperth, Young; Golding, Thompson, Ward, Hudson, Swinson, Williamson, Wilson, Levi.
Replacements: Bobo for Amesbury (57), Charlton for Young (60), Brooks for Golding (72), Vickers for Thompson (52), Ovens for Ward (52), Browne for Williamson (60).
Not Used: Sorenson, Miller.

Saracens: Goode; Haughton, Ratuvou, Barritt, Wyles; Hougaard, de Kock; Aguero, Brits, Nieto, Vyvyan, Ryder, van Heerden, Melck, Joubert.
Replacements: Jackson for Hougaard (65), Gill for Aguero (53), Skuse for Nieto (53), Botha for Ryder (61), Owen for Melck (64).
Not Used: Reynecke, Barrett, Horak.

Att: 5,453

Ref: Sean Davey (RFU).

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