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Noah Caluori tried to get the goal back Saracens as Bristol saw them get off to a flying start as Gallagher Prem hit the buffers in a comprehensive 30-7 away defeat.
First appearance of the season after wrist surgery, England winger Caluori produced the opening touch down to continue the scintillating run of form that has catapulted him to the Hall of Fame in 2025-26.
Alex O’Driscoll and Jack Bracken also scored from penalty tries as Saracens responded to their disappointing defeat to Sale last Saturday by tearing Bristol apart in the second half, with Ben Earl and Maro Itoje particularly influential.
Two penalties and a conversion from Owen Farrell, also making his season debut, helped the Bears still seek their first win at StoneX Stadium in eight visits.
The only disappointment for Saracens was the large number of empty seats in just the club’s second home game of the campaign.
Bristol were missing Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Kalaveti Ravouvou and Ellis Genge as part of a long list of absentees, and their steady performance took a step back after opening against back-to-back bonus-point wins.
It didn’t take long for Caluori to make his mark on Pat Lam’s side, but it was an excellent long pass from Farrell that set up a try from Sione Va’enuku that created doubt in the defence.
Caluori sprinted onto the ball and moments later was finished with an outstretched arm, and when Farrell kicked the penalty, Saracens were 8-0 up.
Bristol thought they had been offered a comeback when Olamide Sodeke was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on George Taylor, but instead the home side tightened their grip on the forward battle.
There was an impressive break from Caluori and Va’enuku’s physicality caused problems, but it was the forwards who made the difference and Farrell’s second penalty rewarded their work.
A game lacking a competitive edge due to Bristol’s failure to fire a shot in the first half was revived when the visitors created a try from nothing when Harry Randall and Aidan Boshoff combined beautifully down the touchline for Randall to cross.
The result brought Saracens back into action and with Earl carrying hard and Farrell losing passes, they hit back with substitute prop O’Driscoll going over.
Bristol started to screech and they were then overpowered on the touchline with the home pack forcing a penalty which resulted in Lovejoy Chawatama being sent to the sin bin.
Saracens were now in full flight and when their scrum went forward again, Bracken was sent charging down the left touchline before finishing in the corner to complete the rout.
