Saracens beat Exeter to reclaim Premiership top spot

Saracens' highly rated winger Tobias Elliott has scored in all three Premiership games this season - his only three top-flight starts

Gallagher Premiership

Saracens (24) 29

Tries: George, Elliott, Earl 2, Burke Cons: Lozowski 2

Exeter (7) 14

Tries: Hodge 2 Cons: Hodge 2

Saracens went back to the top of the Premiership with a win over Exeter, who have made their worst start to a top-flight season.

After an even first 16 minutes, Saracens' Jamie George, Tobias Elliott, Ben Earl and Fergus Burke all scored in a 20-minute spell to earn a bonus point before half-time.

Earl got a second try soon after the break, before Josh Hodge got his second try of the day for Exeter to cut the gap to 15 points.

But Exeter struggled to create much offensively as Saracens controlled the second half.

Exeter's defeat means they have lost their opening three matches for the first time in their 15 seasons in the Premiership.

It leaves them second from bottom of the table, while Saracens are already three points clear as the only side with three wins from three games - all with try-scoring bonus points.

Ben Earl had scored just one try in a Premiership match for Saracens since November 2022 before his double against Exeter

Exeter made seven changes from the side that lost at Northampton last week, and they held off Saracens until Burke's tremendous kick to the corner set up a 17th-minute 5m line-out that George was mauled over from.

Having struggled to create chances, Exeter should have levelled three minutes later when Will Haydon-Wood pounced on a Saracens mistake under the high ball, but he was held up just short of the line as the hosts defended superbly.

Soon afterwards Saracens were further ahead as Elliott again impressed - the young winger danced around three defenders as he raced in from inside his own half for his third try of the season - before Earl went over in similar fashion to George eight minutes before the break.

Three minutes later, Exeter's Hodge forced his way through after his charged-down kick was gathered by Olly Woodburn, who fed the full-back to go in under the posts. But Sarries had the bonus point sealed within two minutes when Burke ended a flowing six-pass move for his first-ever Premiership try.

It got worse for Exeter less than a minute after half-time when Ben Hammersley was sin-binned for a head clash with Andy Onyeama-Christie and Earl galloped in down the right wing seconds later for Saracens' fifth try, after Hodge had fumbled a high kick.

Exeter's problems were summed up 12 minutes into the second period when Hodge's excellent 50-22 kick set up the Chiefs from close range, but they conspired to knock the ball on from the subsequent line-out and ended up back in their own half.

Exeter's best move of the match got them to the Saracens line on the hour and a lovely piece of play by Hammersley allowed Hodge to canter in for his second try.

But it was too little too late for Rob Baxter's side, with the loss adding to a late opening weekend reverse at home to Leicester and defeat at Northampton last week.

Saracens, defeated semi-finalists last season, already look like the team to beat this term as they appear to being adapting to life without Owen Farrell and the Vunipola brothers seamlessly.

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall told BBC Radio 5 Live:

"A lot of the big component parts were good today - our set piece was good, our scrum, our maul, our defensive lineout was very a strong.

"I thought we defended well the whole game and were good enough to score five tries against a good side.

"The players have been incredible. It's really important when it's a new developing group which is going to progress that everyone's singing off the hymn sheet.

"It feels that way at the moment. There will be some bigger challenges along the way when we lose a couple, which inevitably will happen, and we've got to make sure we react to those kind of things in a really balanced, measured way."

Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter told BBC Radio Devon:

"We've got to learn to just stick at things for a little bit longer with a little bit more accuracy.

"When you look at all the stats and all the output we're putting together, we're putting together physically, territorially, opportunities-wise probably more than we've created at many other times, but we're just not quite seeing things off.

"A lot of that is for positive reasons - and I know people will laugh and say 'How can that be?'. It's because the guys are desperate to win games of rugby.

"They're probably taking a little bit on individually that's collectively not having a positive outcome for us.

"We've just got to stick at the process of us learning as a team and learning as individuals and hopefully that'll take us in the right direction."

Saracens: Daly; Elliott, Lozowski, Tompkins, Segun; Burke, van Zyl (capt); Carre, George, Riccioni, Isiekwe, Tizard, McFarland, Earl, Willis.

Replacements: Dan, Maw, Hoskins, Onyeama-Christie, Gonzalez Samso, Knight, Bracken, Goode.

Exeter: Hodge; Feyi-Waboso, Woodburn, Hawkins, Hammersley; Haydon-Wood, Maunder; Goodrick-Clarke, Yeandle (capt), Street, Dunne, Tshiunza, Roots, Capstick, Fisilau.

Replacements: Innard, Blose, Iosefa-Scott, Tuima, Moloney, Cairns, Skinner, Rigg.

Yellow card: Hammersley (41)

Referee: Karl Dickson