It was more end-of-season leftovers than new campaign fare: a smorgasbord of fumbles, slips and misdirected passes before Saracens constricted their opponents into submission. If the champions were not at their best, they did not need to be against a side that spent most of the match on the back foot.
Worcester looked to make up for the difference between the sides on paper by rushing up in defence and denying Saracens space, a tactic that yielded early turnovers but so wasteful was their kicking out of hand that Alex Goode had far too much time to launch counterattacks. The Warriors were never able to relieve pressure, blocking off their own exit routes, but this will be another season when their destiny will be decided by how they get on against the sides in the bottom, rather than the top, half of the table.
Saracens’ headline England acts were not immune from the malaise that plagued the opening period. Billy Vunipola fumbled a kick ahead, fortunate that Ben Te’o ran out of space on the right wing after scooping up the ball; Maro Itoje knocked-on and George Kruis struggled to control the ball as he reached out for the line. Even Schalk Burger, the South African debutant, lost the ball in contact, although there was no stopping him from 10 metres in the second half as the Warriors wilted.
Worcester were level for the most of the opening period, after Ryan Lamb equalised Alex Lozowski’s 16th-minute penalty. Their defensive effort was epitomised by the way Te’o felled the burly Jamie George, but almost constant defence exerted a physical toll and either side of the interval the Warriors conceded penalties for trying to relieve the onslaught by doing whatever it took to slow down the ball at the ruck.
Lozowski, making his debut after joining from Wasps where he made seven appearances as a substitute last season for a total of 104 minutes on the field, missed two penalties almost in front of the posts from medium range before ending the first half by nailing a kick from the touchline. He extended his side’s lead three minutes after the restart with his third successful kick.
Worcester’s offences betrayed their weakening tacklers; flopping off their feet at the breakdown, coming in from the side and kicking the ball out of the scrum-half’s feet.
Saracens were some way short of their fluent best but as Billy Vunipola started to break tackles and Burger settled into the game they kept it simple and direct, eventually forcing their way over the line.
George scored their first try on 45 minutes, at the heart of a driving maul after Brad Barritt had instructed that a penalty be kicked to touch. By now Worcester’s early advantage up front had faded and after Goode had hit the post with a penalty Lozowski scored the second try after Jackson Wray’s lineout catch was taken over the gainline by Billy Vunipola and Burger.
When Burger took three defenders over the line with him 23 minutes from the end, Saracens looked on course not just for a bonus point victory but a points total greater than the 48 they amassed here against Worcester in November.
The Warriors went down to 14 men, with James Johnston in the sin-bin for tackling Lozowski around the neck, but as both sides brought on replacements the match was finishing as untidily as it started before Ben Spencer stepped out of three tackles on a 35-metre run to the line with two minutes to go.
Worcester barely mounted an attack and the decision to play Lamb at outside‑half rather than Tom Heathcote looked questionable from the moment he tamely kicked the ball to Sean Maitland in the opening minute, then dropped the return. Mistakes have to be kept to a minimum against Saracens and at the point defiance dissipated they had nothing to offer in possession and did well to keep Sarries close to the 30-point winning margin of 10 months ago.
Lozowski finished with 20 points – six more than he accumulated for Wasps last season. With Owen Farrell missing the start of the season with a back injury – he will also be away for three months with England in the international windows – the new fly-half will be a pivotal figure for a club where ambition burns as fiercely as ever.
