By TheSaracens.com
September 13 2026

What a delightful afternoon. This was my first visit to Dillingham Park in Ampthill and hopefully not my last. Little DG and I took the shortish drive along the A507. Car parking was close by and free (as long as you minded the rabbit holes) and we met Mark McCall ! (Would have thought he was entitled to priority parking but there you go). A 5 minute walk through the park past the cricket pitch (with a vertiginous drop just feet from the boundary – wouldn’t want to be trying to stop a pull to square leg) and over the road led us through some beautiful sandy heathland (looked like excellent adder habitat although no self-respecting snake would have been within 100 yards of all those people). Entry was simple (and tickets just £10) and we found ourselves at one of the loveliest grounds I have ever been to. The pitch is cut into a hillside making it look like a natural amphitheatre with gently rising sandy banks on 2 sides allowing spectators to sit or stand and watch the game. Even more of a surprise was the dogs! You could bring your dog to the game and lots of people did: Dalmations, Labradors, Spaniels, Cockerpoos, Jack Russells – they were all there (what a shame I’d have brought my own if I have known!) The sun shone as we watched the last of the warm up. The PA was inaudible unless you were standing underneath it, which was how we picked up a change to the line up (more shortly) that Carre was being replaced by O’Driscoll.

The line up. I have to say when I saw Sarries’ plans, I felt sorry for Ampthill (although doubtless their supporters were delighted by the number of big names they would get to see in the flesh). However I also thought this was going to be a reporter’s nightmare and I was not wrong. Sarries had 2 separate teams, 1 for each half, plus 6 “roving” subs. The team for the first half were (mostly) appropriately numbered but the 2^nd half team  were largely numberless – oh and there were at least 2 players wearing 21. Fortunately little DG’s eyesight is sharper than mine and she’s pretty hot on the boots so somehow between us I hope we got most things right with the help of the twitter feed (also interesting as the Sarries’ twitter had no idea who the Ampthill players were and the Ampthill twitter struggled with some of the lesser-known Sarries)

Sarries kicked off and it soon became clear Ampthill (The Mob) were up for this (why wouldn’t they be?) scoring first through Dakin. Jack Bracken made the most of a lovely pass from Hartley to score his first, followed shortly by Toby Knight. Sarries’ upped the pressure and Ampthill made a few errors allowing Sarries to score a 3^rd – a classic scrum half try from Charlie Bracken (who had snuck onto the field at some point in place of James). The Mob managed a 2^nd try through Oscar Bennett which was converted again by Luke Davidson (one of the Ampthill Sarries) bringing the home team to within 5 points of their visitors. Jack B scored a second wriggling through the Ampthill defence and then his hat-trick just before half time feeding off a gorgeous Farrell pass. Ampthill had lost Ollie Mullarkey to the bin for what was described as a “tackle-related incident” – no mean feat in a friendly. So at half time it was 14 – 31. Sarries had looked rusty at the start but as the game went on they seemed to find their feet. Jack Bracken, no doubt aware that competition on the wings is pretty hot, did everything he could to keep himself in the spot-light. The line-out was a bit ropey but hopefully that will gel.

And so to part 2. Sarrie were now attacking the far end in their numberless shirts which didn’t make life very easy. We also discovered a couple of team changes including Juan-martin Gonzales in the starting line up instead of Isiekwe! Brand new scrum half Tomas Williams immediately made an impact and he and Burke quickly developed an understanding, with both of them having an excellent half. Burke scored the first try of the 2^nd half which he converted before Elliott got one of his own then a perfect crossfield kick from Williams put Tobias Elliott through for a 3^rd . Gonzales made his mark with a try following a good break by Malins (who looked solid under the high ball in a swirling wind). Seva Kava (a new name to me) ran pretty much the length of the pitch on the left wing to score the next one before Va’enuku scored with Burke’s help, under the posts. Va’enuku once again made a big difference as a powerful running centre, something we’ve been lacking recently and Burke was on fire! With 10 minutes left, Keylock scored to make it 14-80. Could the ton be on again this week? Sarries were scoring tries for fun by this stage and Va’enuku got a 2^nd following a lovely combination between Burke and Williams from the restart. Then The Mob decided to be party-poopers spending long enough in the Sarries 22 to wind the clock most of the way down and score their 3^rd as well through Gulley. With just over a minute to go, Elliott completed his hat trick from the restart to make it 21-94. Could we make 3 figures this week. There was just time for the restart but Ampthill managed to turn the ball over and finish the game. A word for Fergus Burke, his kicking was exceptional. With Hall on the pitch we wondered who would take the kicks but Burke converted every 2^nd half try with at least a couple of them from wide out with a swirling cross-wind to deal with. After the match lots of local children ran onto the pitch to great their local heroes and get a few autograph from their eminent opposition. It was lovely to see., as was a cameo from our old friend Baz Barrington.

The second half team looked much more cohesive, but they were playing against a tiring Ampthill side. Williams and Va’enuku look like great acquisitions. Barbeary is starting to find his feet and it was great to see Gonzalez back after a nasty injury. Competition on the wings is going to be fierce: Jack Bracken, Elliott and Kava all looked useful with Caluori still to come back and Segun on fire last week if was refreshing to see some real pace in the team.

Next week sees another friendly, this time in Llanelli, and more opportunity for Brendan Venter to work out his starting XV for the real thing: the start of the Premiership campaign away to Leicester Tigers  on 27^th September.

TEAMS:

Saracens (1^st half) O’Driscoll, Dan. Clarey, Itoje, Tizard, Adogbemile, Knight, Michelow, James, Farrell, J Bracken,Hartley, Tompkins, Rawlins, Daly

(2^nd half) Tu,manga Clarke, Weilbach, Sodeke, Auvaa, Gonzalez, Christie, Barbeary, Williams, Burke, Kava, Va’enuku, Hall, Elliott. Malins

Subs: Hadfield, C Bracken, Dehauteur, Keylock

Ampthill Courtney, Dakin, Warren. Nugent, Mataele, Mullarkey, Merritt, Mapapalangi, Jones, Davidson, Browning, Baker, Bennett, Heslop, Gourlay.

Subs: Fallon, Barrington, Gulley, Richardson-Farr, Cheffin, Harris, Weston, Devine, Isaacs, Bokole, Wiggett, Thompson, Marmion, Kruger, West, Hammock, Murphy

Scorers:

SARACENS: Tries: J Bracken (3), C Bracken, Knight; Burke, Elliott (3), Gonzales, Kava, Va’enuku(2) Keylock,  Conv: Farrell (3), Burke (9)

AMPTHILL: Tries: Dakin, Bennett, Gulley  Conv (3) Davidson

Referee: Jonathon Cook

Attendance 2,517