Saracens scored six tries to sweep aside Currie Cup champions Western Province with a 46-22 victory at Allianz Park on Sunday afternoon. Highlights from the match are below, featuring a brace of tries for Sarries wingers Chris Ashton and Dave Strettle.
Four first half tries laid the foundation for what turned out to be a convincing win over the newly crowned champions, who whether it's blamed on fatigue or not, were totally outplayed.
"I think their form is exceptional and they've carried that on from last season," said Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall when singling out Ashton and Strettle. "Week-in-week-out they deliver and they perform. Not only do they play well they score tries."
McCall said he was impressed with the way Province started the match
"It was a good performance against a very good Western Province team. They came out of the blocks pretty quickly and in the first 10 minutes we were under the pump in our own 22.
"We defended well in that period of time and we scored some really good tries and played some really good rugby."
Western Province coach Allister Coetzee said that the experience gained would hold them in good stead for next season's defence of their title.
"Nobody likes losing, but I really think this trip was a worthwhile experience for all of us, both on and off the field," Coetzee said. "It wasn't an ideal result, but it was a great occasion for the players to represent Western Province in London.
"We played well in patches, but we made a few mistakes at key stages of the match and Saracens punished those silly errors. I thought there were plenty of positives, like our scrum, but it just wasn't to be in the end."
View the post match reaction from some of the Saracens players on page two of this post
Credit: Sarries Rugby TV