Saracens 31 Chiefs 11

 

Saracens 31

Exeter Chiefs 11

Mark Stevens at Allianz Park

When the 'Fat Lady' or should that be 'Fat Bloke' sang with a minute to go, that - I suppose - summed up the 'Saracens Show'.

Often the pioneers of all things new in the Aviva Premiership, Mark McCall's side gave their new 4G surface at Allianz Park the perfect opening night as they condemned visiting Exeter Chiefs to more away-day misery.

In a powerful performance from the former champions, England prop Mako Vunipola returned to club duty to cross twice for the Londoners, whilst fellow front-rower Matt Stevens and fly-half Charlie Hodgson also found their way over the line on the costly new synthetic surface.

The impressive Hodgson weighed in with all four conversions and a penalty to finish not only with a healthy 16-point haul, but also the man-of-the-match bubbly following a sparkling showing.

The Chiefs, who only trailed 7-3 at the break, countered with two penalties from fly-half Gareth Steenson and a late Richard Baxter try. However, it hardly dented the hosts, who clearly were in party mood.

Ahead of kick-off, Sarries duly pulled out all the stops as they welcomed the world to their 'new home'. The pre-match party began with a mini rugby festival for youngsters; was followed by a Calling to Arms speech from CEO Edward Griffiths; and ended with a cringe-worthy rendition of a Les Miserables classic aimed at stoking up the atmosphere.

Although unmoved by all the razzmatazz on show around them, the Chiefs did start slowly as they survived two early scares inside the opening five minutes.

Hodgson's charge down of an intended Steenson clearance sounded the first alarm bell, before the former England international then pulled a penalty wide of the mark after Chiefs prop Hoani Tui had been pulled up by referee Martin Fox at a scrum deep inside his own 22.

The Chiefs, however, were soon back on track and could themselves had taken the lead when they won a penalty on 12 minutes after Luke Arscott's clever grubber kick was followed up by team-mate Ian Whitten, who wrestled home full-back Ben Ransom to the floor before winning the turnover.

Sadly, the normally deadly Steenson was unable to capitalise on the indiscretion as he pulled his kick from the left touchline wide of the mark.

The kicking curse was turning into somewhat of an epidemic as twice more Hodgson fired wide of the mark after Sarries twice won kickable penalty chances, the latter of which saw Chiefs full-back Arscott dispatched to the sin-bin for a professional foul.

With little to choose between either side in a frenetic tussle, it was the Devonians who finally broke the deadlock when Steenson atoned for his earlier miss when he slotted between the uprights following good approach working involving Jack Nowell and Damian Welch.

Exeter's advantage would prove short-lived as just before the break Saracens struck with deadly intent for their opening try just past the half-hour mark. Vunipola and experienced South African hooker John Smit made the initial inroads with some charging runs, before Neil De Kock fed the ball out to Hodgson, who sliced through the Chiefs defence like a knife through butter.

The Chiefs looked to respond almost immediately, but twice they were denied one way or the other. First, Nowell's burst was pulled back for a forward pass from James Scaysbrook, and then Steenson saw an ambitious penalty from halfway fall short of the mark.

Then, with the very last action of the half, more good attacking from the Chiefs won them another decent penalty shot. On this occasion, marksman Steenson fired wide from just outside the home 22.

HALF TIME    SARACENS 7    EXETER CHIEFS 3

The second period was just minutes old when Chiefs prop Ben Moon was deemed the guilty culprit at a ruck that allowed Hodgson to stretch the home lead to seven points.

Although it was a somewhat slender buffer, Saracens were beginning to crank up the gears. The pace of their game not only intensified, but their offloading was impressive and their power game was on another level again.

Initially the Chiefs did well to hold the threat, but eventually their defensive wall began to crumble and with it came a flurry of points for the home side.

First Stevens was the beneficiary of some sustained pressure as he barged his way over from close range for converted try number two; quickly followed by Vunipola who collected a simple pop pass before bulldozing his way past at least two Exeter defenders to score.

In between the two tries Steenson did add to his tally with a second penalty, but that was merely scant reward for the Devonians who were struggling to match their rivals in pretty much every facet of play.

As Saracens continued to surge forward in search of the all-important bonus point, the Chiefs rallied valiantly in defence to thwart their advances. Again they held firm for a sustained period, but the Sarries attacking waves had soon become a tsunami.

With the Chiefs seemingly hanging onto the ropes as a flurry of blows rained down on them, the knockout punch was duly delivered late on when Saracens created the opening for Vunipola to drive over in the left-hand corner for his second score, which Hodgson converted with aplomb.

To their credit, Rob Baxter's side showed their own fighting spirit in the dying embers, picking themselves up off the floor to claim a consolation score of their own through long-serving forward Richard Baxter, who burrowed over from a close-range ruck to score his 126th try in Exeter colours.

It at least gave the travelling Tribe something to shout about, that was until the home side unveiled their own drag act for an unnecessary rendition of 'Nessum Dorma' with just two minutes remaining.

Although it was well received with a standing ovation from much of the near 10,000 crowd, the disrespectful tone left a bitter taste in the mouths of those from the Westcountry, who must now ready themselves for a crunch date against league newcomers London Welsh a week from today.

Saracens: B Ransom (J Maddock 71); J Short, J Tomkins, A Powell (N Mordt 67), D Strettle; C Hodgson, N De Kock (R Wigglesworth  55); M Vunipola (N Auterac 71), J Smit (J George 59), M Stevens (P Du Plessis 71); S Borthwick (capt), M Botha (A Hargreaves 55); J  Wray (J Melck 67), W Fraser, E Joubert.

Tries - Hodgson, Stevens, Vunipola (2); Conversions - Hodgson (4); Penalty - Hodgson

Chiefs: L Arscott (P Dollman 67); J Nowell, I Whitten, J Shoemark, M Jess; G Steenson (I Mieres 57), W Chudley (H Thomas 50); B Moon (C Rimmer 57), N Clark (J Yeandle 62), H Tui (A Brown 67); D Mumm, D Welch (A Muldowney 67, T Hayes 75); R Baxter (capt), J  Scaysbrook, K Horstmann.

Try - Baxter; Penalties - Steenson (2)

Yellow Card: Arscott

Referee: M Fox

Touch Judges: R Goodliffe & S Terheege

4th Official: T Wigglesworth

Attendance: 9,999

UP NEXT FOR THE CHIEFS: v London Welsh (H), Aviva Premiership, Saturday, February 23 (3pm).