Still 10 tries is a welcome fill-up after recent difficulties crossing the whitewash; certainly the team looked professional and with a cutting edge and direction missing in the last few outings. The return of stalwarts Kevin Sorrell and Matt Cairns gave a welcome tightness in the scrum and midfield, with a different looking back 3 giving the Gaffer all sorts of selection worries for the Ospreys. 

So a 3pm Sunday kick-off in bright sunshine. Your intrepid reporter almost missed it after a nightmare morning u15 match against Bury in which about half of the home side forgot to put their clocks forward and which did not finish until 1:20. Still the roads were clear and I jogged into the stadium as Glen was about to make his drop kick.  

Sarries started impressively, moving the ball around with purpose finally sending Ratty over in the corner. I could not see the incident but it seemed from the big screen he was over – the ref a bit late on the scene. Never mind, from the scrum Sarries had a penalty; with 5 points clearly the afternoons objective, Glen kicked for the corner and after a clinical catch and drive Nick Lloyd came up with the ball. Glen added the extras; 7-0.  

Leeds then came back with a silly penalty – a kick in midfield from Leeds not dealt with adequately and Hugh’s knock-on was collected by Ches in an offside position. Hinton, who had a terrible afternoon with the boot, did not give it enough and hit the crossbar; deKock clearing up. Leeds did have probably their best spell of the afternoon for the next 5 minutes; running the ball around, but without much purpose and although there were enough half-breaks for another side to trouble the Sarries defence, a knock-on or forward pass was inevitable.  

Then a ten minute spell from Sarries that wrapped up the bonus point; running the ball at will with Glen Jackson back to his best. A show and go through a big hole and a simple run in for Leonelli. Then a classy dummy from Adam Powell – keen to show just who should be starting against the Ospreys – left him with an easy run in under the posts. Finally a surging run in the centre by --- Matt Cairns --- leaving the defence for dead before slipping to Sprout3. He drew all the remaining cover before un-selfishly giving Leonelli another simple run in for his second try and Sarries 5 points. Glen slotted 2 out of 3 to make the score 26-0 after 28 minutes.  

During that period Chesney slipped off the field to be replaced by Tom Ryder. I had assumed for just a blood incident, but Ches returned only to the dugout in civvies for the second half; I hear it was asthma related. Cencus too was struggling and after a couple of physio sessions during conversions, sense ruled and he spent the rest of the game on the bike keeping warm. An overheard conversation confirmed that it was indeed safety first, but he kept warm in case of another prop problem.

Soon after this it was 33-0; as a fine passage of play culminated in Leonelli going in for his hat-trick. This one was by no means a run-in as he slipped about 10 yards out and had to use all his power to make the line. Leeds had the ball for the last 5 minutes of the half, but were unable to make anything of it, coughing up the ball whenever they made any inroads. Still we were able to go into half-time with the game dead and buried.   

I was unsure about what the second-half would bring, but it was more of the same; Sarries intent about winning without throwing the ball about we have been doing of late. Leeds (and hopefully a blitz defence) stood no chance as the ball was worked wide quickly and efficiently.  

Kameli  was the recipient in the second half, taking over from Leonelli; all in all a good day to be sitting in the East stand as nearly all the tries were on our side of the pitch. Firstly some slick handling put Ratty clear, but well covered – a cross kick infield found a roving Hugh Vyvyan who touched down for an unconverted try; Glens second and final miss. Two minutes later, Ratty pushed outside again, this time passing to Sprout3, who got to the line but was held up.  

Sarries were not to be denied though and after a few collapsed scrums, young Ryder crashed over under the posts. I do hope he is being kept on for next year, as his aggression is excellent. Then Leeds managed to get into the Sarries 22 for a few minutes of pressure. Winning a penalty for a silly Ryder in from the wrong side (he does need to sort this bit of his game out though) Leeds pushed for the corner. Their first attempt collapsed, with a gentle warning for Hugh & Cobus. Brooks then made the criminal mistake of kicking into the dead ball area. 

Fabio, Moses and Faz came on, and then the comedy moment, again involving poor Ryder. In a ruck just in front of us a Leeds player tried to get up, as Tom lunged his left leg at a potential lose ball. There were plenty of loose balls then, as Tom connected his with the Leeds players elbow. He was in some pain, but it was difficult to keep the smile off the trainers face.  

Ratty was in the play shortly afterwards from a ball on halfway passed from Sprout; with two players to beat from the 10 yard line he put on the afterburners, doing them both on the outside before jogging in under the posts.  

Two minutes later, Sarries were on the score-sheet again as Glen took a wrap-around pass from Faz and walked in untouched. Stylish stuff and another sort of move that would foil a blitz defence. Glen added the extras to take himself to the top of the Premiership points scorers.     

Then the mistake – Glen and Faz tried to do the same again and passed straight to an ex-Sarrie. Hooper thanked them for the gift and galloped under the posts for a converted try. Still a silver lining as it was worth 2 points for me in the Prediction league  

Scabs and Seymour came on and the match went a bit flat before Kevin Sorrell finished off a great return with a burst off a Faz pass. As the defence were closing in, he kicked ahead for Ratty, who in turn hacked on for Sprout to touch down.  

Lots of records, well league ones; Sarries highest score and most tries, Leeds worst defeat; the 7^th best premiership victory. All in all a great fill-up, but realistically a romp against Leeds 2^nd team is poor preparation for the Ospreys. I have a half full glass for next Sunday.         

Saracens: Russell, Leonelli, Sorrell, Powell, Ratuvou, Jackson, de Kock, Lloyd, Cairns, Johnson, Vyvyan, Chesney, Gustard, Barrell, Skirving.
Replacements: Scarbrough for Leonelli (69), Farrell for Powell (61), Rauluni for de Kock (57), Ongaro for Cairns (61), Visagie for Johnson (33), Ryder for Chesney (22), Seymour for Barrell (69).

Leeds Carnegie: Hinton, Satala, Vickerman, Holtby, Biggs, Brooks, Bedford, MacDonald, Rawlinson, Hopcroft, Hooper, Lund, Myall, Fourie, Oakley.
Replacements: Goodridge for Hinton (52), Burrell for Satala (40), Edwards for Bedford (52), Parkes for Rawlinson (45), Bouza for Lund (52), Lock for Fourie (45).
Not Used: Pala'amo.

Att: 5,896 – low but not unexpected given next weeks sell-out

Referee: Rob Debney (Leicestershire)

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