Saracens begin Champions Cup title defence with 13-57 triumph over Northampton

Northampton Saints 13-57 Saracens, Franklin's Gardens
Scorecard

Saracens began their European Champions Cup title defence with a comfortable 13-57 bonus point victory over their Aviva Premiership rivals Northampton Saints at Franklin's Gardens on Sunday.

Fly-half Stephen Myler got Northampton Saints off the mark with an eighth minute penalty but a double from Liam Williams (11 and 28) and a touchdown from Brad Barritt (20') along with a penalty and a double conversion from Owen Farrell helped the visitors claim a 3-22 lead.

Even though Myler pulled back things a bit with a second penalty in the 33rd minute, the Saints suffered a setback when David Ribbans was sin-binned in the 39th minute which saw Calum Clark going past the line as the Sarries attained the bonus point and ended the first half with a 6-29 lead.

Any chance of a Northampton Saints fightback was put to rest as Mark McCall's side continued their dominance with tries from Vincent Koch (41'), Mako Vunipola (64'), Alex Lozowski (67') and Ben Spencer (77') with Farrell being spot on with all the four conversions to take their tally to 57 points.

Even though Northampton Saints managed to get their first try in the 75th minute through Mikey Haywood, they could not compete with the pace of the Saracens, succumbing to a 44 point defeat. Saracens now top Pool 2 while the Saints are positioned last.