Premiership: Newcastle Falcons 14-34 Saracens – Sarries win despite Mako Vunipola red card

Saracens maintained their 100% start to the Premiership campaign as they ran in five tries to regain top spot with an away victory over Newcastle Falcons.

Sarries prop Mako Vunipola was sent off for use of the shoulder in a ruck.

But Malins added his second before Jamie Blamire and Mateo Carreras grabbed consolations for the Falcons.

Both were converted by Tian Schoeman as Dave Walder’ side finally made their numerical advantage count and avoided the prospect of being blanked at home.

They remain 11th in the table, with leaders Saracens one point clear of Sale, who also have a 4-0 record following Saturday’s 26-16 victory at reigning champions Leicester.

Newcastle went into the game on the back of a 30-15 home win over Bristol eight days earlier, which ended a seven-match run of losses stretching to the back-end of last season.

But they had not beaten Saracens in 20 games since 2009, and having named an unchanged XV, were forced to make a late change when prop Trevor Davison pulled out, to be replaced by Richard Palframan.

Sarries went in front in virtually their first attack as Elliot Daly’s well-judged grubber to the corner gave Lewington the opener, and although Owen Farrell’s touchline kick was just wide of the posts, the pattern had been set.

Hooker Pifeleti broke two tackles following a maul to force his way over but it was Sarries’ ability to create space on the flanks that resulted in Lozowski and Malins securing the bonus point before the interval – all three converted by skipper Farrell.

And it could have been even worse for the Falcons at the interval, had Adam Radwan not produced a last-ditch tackle to deny Lozowski his second following a superb break by scrum-half Ivan van Zyl.

Daly had a try chalked off for a forward pass following the restart and was then forced into a couple of errors in defence, spilling a high kick under pressure and slicing a clearance into touch, but neither cost his side.

The visitors were reduced in numbers when Vunipola’s clear-out was ruled a dismissable offence by the Television Match Official, but Malins gave them extra breathing space following an excellent handling move.

Falcons responded when Blamire capitalised on a Schoeman break and Carreras – who scored twice against Bristol – burst over from 30 metres following a line-out.

He thought he had a second following a 70 metre dash to the line inside the final two minutes, but it was disallowed for going into touch as he chased his own chip.

Falcons head coach Dave Walder told BBC Radio Newcastle:

“They’re a very well-drilled, well-coached team with a lot of superstars, but we’re really disappointed with how easy we’ve made it for them.

“Giving them a 14-0 start after six or seven minutes leaves an uphill battle and they showed why they’re the top team in the league because they’re ruthless and clinical in what they do.

“They are very hard to stop and this wasn’t a representation of what we’re about.

“We were flat, we were sluggish and have to look at why that was the case – as coaches, did we give them enough information or too much information? They’re the things we’ll review and hopefully won’t make the same mistake again.”

Saracens head coach Joe Shaw:

“The first thing about Mako is that he is not a dirty player. That’s his first red card which, considering the amount of games he’s played, says something.

“We had the conditions with us in that first half and that gave us a strong position. I’m pleased with how we were able to manage the game and how we went about our business on both sides of the ball.

“It’s never easy to come here, and to go 14 points up inside the first 10 minutes certainly made things a bit easier for us against a well-coached side and players with a lot of grit.

“It’s easy to look at our attack, but I thought our defence, especially in that first 40 minutes, was terrific. It was the most impressive part of the game.”

Newcastle: Penny; Radwan, Moroni, Orlando, Carreras; Schoeman, Stuart; Brocklebank, McGuigan, Palframan, Peterson, Robinson, Welch (capt), Collett, Chick.

Replacements: Blamire, Mulipola, Tampin, De Chaves, Lockwood, Young, Lucock, Stevenson.

Saracens: Daly; Malins, Lozowski, Tompkins, Lewington; Farrell (capt), Van Zyl; M. Vunipola, Pifeleti, Riccioni, Hunter-Hill, McFarland, Wray, Earl, B. Vunipola

Replacements: Dan, Mawi, Clarey, Tizard, Christie, De Haas, Goode, Hallett

Sent off: M. Vunipola (53)

Referee: Wayne Barnes