Saracens 50 Braves 24

Saracens Storm 50

Exeter Braves 24

Mark Stevens at Allianz Park

Exeter Braves kicked off their Aviva Premiership A League campaign on a losing note as Saracens Storm powered to a 50-24 victory at Allianz Park.

On a tough night for the youthful Braves, they struggled to handle the power and pace of the impressive Londoners.

First half tries from Nick Tompkins, Matt Hankin and Jacques Burger (2) laid the foundations for Sarries, who added further scores after the break through Tompkins and Mike Ellery; whilst Ben Spencer slotted 13 points with the boot.

And whilst the Braves did their best to compete all night, especially up front where they held the upper hand in the scrums, it was sadly not enough.

Forwards Greg Bateman, Brett Sturgess and Sam Simmonds claimed Exeter’s tries on the night, whilst fly-half Laurence May slotted the remainder off their points with the boot

With options somewhat limited for coaches Rob Hunter and Ricky Pellow due to the current injury list at Sandy Park, the Braves line-up showed a healthy mix of youth and experience against a Storm side that included seasoned professionals such as Burger, Spencer, Ernst Joubert, Nils Mordt and Hayden Smith.

And it didn’t take the home side long to stamp their mark on proceedings as Spencer’s long box kick was gobbled up by Wilson on the left flank - and the winger offloaded inside to Tompkins who did the rest for the first converted score of the night.

Spencer extended the home side’s lead on 10 minutes with a penalty only for May to register Exeter’s first points with a successful kick of his own just moments later following a powerful scrum from the visitors.

Saracens, though, were looking impressive and two tries in the space of four minutes propelled them to a commanding 24-3 lead.

Flanker Matt Hankin was the first to prosper when he was driven over from a close-range line-out; then Burger followed suit as he was the beneficiary of a carbon copy move from the hosts.

The Braves needed to find a rapid response and that they did as they used their well-honed scrum to position themselves within touching distance of the home line. Although three initial attempts failed to bring reward, another charge led by young skipper Sam Skinner saw Bateman follow him in before driving over by the posts for May to convert.

Sadly the Braves could not build on their score and it was the home side who claimed the bonus point try just before the break through Burger. The Namibian international was able to fly over in the left corner after Sarries had capitalised on exposing Exeter’s George Wick as he looked to run out of defence.

HALF TIME SARACENS STORM 31  EXETER BRAVES 10

Although the Braves started the second half well enough, they could not turn their pressure into points and it was Saracens who eventually struck once again.

Working the ball cleverly across the field, it was Tompkins who claimed his second of the night when he rounded off a slick handling move to cross by the posts. Again Spencer added the extras with his last action of the game.

As both sides look to run their benches, it was Saracens who continued to push forward in numbers. Solid defence from the Braves twice thwarted their rivals as they looked to pounce, but in the end the pressure told as Ellery was able to touch down in the right corner.

To their credit, the Braves refused to lie down and with a string of defensive drills proving fruitful, they finally countered to good effect to position themselves deep inside the home 22.

With a five-mete line-out to work with, the Exeter eight came together superbly to drive Sturgess over from five metres out for the try, which May converted with aplomb from wide on the left touchline.

But no sooner had the Braves given themselves a lift, they failed to deal with the subsequent restart sufficiently and Saracens pounced to send winger Ellery over for his second try of the night.

Worse was to follow just moments later for the visitors when summer signing Adam Hughes was harshly dispatched to the sin-bin for a high tackle.

Despite being down a man for the final throws of the contest, the Braves rallied well to ensure they had the final say on the night when Simmonds was able to coast over for their third converted try.

Saracens Storm: B Ransom; M Ellery, T Streather, N Tompkins, J Wilson; N Mordt, B Spencer; B Moss, P Thiel, B Alo; M Itoje (capt), H Smith; M Hankin, J Burger, E Joubert

Tries - Tompkins (2), Hankin, Burger (2), Ellery (2); Conversions - Spencer (5), Mordt; Penalty - Spencer

Exeter Braves: G Wick (F Gabbitass 49); A Willcockson, M Bodilly, T Hendrickson (T Holdsworth 68), A Hughes; L May, P Phibbs (S Townsend 49); B Sturgess (K Davies 70), G Bateman (J Innard 65), A Brown (J Stanley 57); E Holmes, J Sexton; J Conlon (H Ledger h/t), S Simmonds, S Skinner (capt).

Tries - Bateman, Sturgess, Simmonds; Conversions - May (3); Penalty - May

Yellow Card: Hughes

Referee: I Tempest