Saracens secure first ‘new’ home win in LV Cup

Saracens recovered from a slow start to secure their first victory at their new Allianz Park home when they beat Cardiff Blues 19-11 in the Anglo Welsh LV Cup on Sunday.

The match was historic as it was not only played at Saracens new Allianz Park in Barnet but also because it was played on a new synthetic pitch.

Saracens pivot Nils Mordt and his boot helped Saracens to the narrow victory
through a series of kicks at goal.

The Blues led 8-6 at the interval, thanks to a try by number eight Robin Copeland
and a Ceri Sweeney penalty, with Mordt providing all the points for Saracens.

In the second half, Mordt made the most of his opportunity whilst Owen Farrell
is on England duty by booting the hosts in front with less ten minutes of the
match remaining.

Saracens wing James Short then crossed the whitewash for a late five-pointer
that was dualy converted by Mordt to seal the deal.

Final Score Saracens 19 Cardiff Blues 11

Scorers

Saracens
Tries : Short
Conversions : Mordt
Penalties : Mordt 4

Cardiff Blues
Tries : Copeland
Penalties : Sweeney, Davies

Match Officials
Referee: Rhys Thomas (Wales)
Assistant referees: Roy Maybank (England), Paul Dix (England)
Timekeeper: Roy Marfleet (England)
Assessor: Paul Bridgman (England)

Teams

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Joe Maddock, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Adam Powell, 11 James Short, 10 Nils Mordt (c), 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Tom Jubb, 7 Nick Fenton-Wells, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 Eoin Sheriff, 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Jamie George, 1 Nick Auterac.

Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Darren Fearn, 18 Petrus du Plessis, 19 Alistair Hargreaves, 20 Justin Melck, 21 Ali Price, 22 Sam Stanley, 23 Jack Wilson.

Cardiff Blues: 15 Jason Tovey, 14 Owen Williams, 13 Gavin Evans (c), 12 Dafydd Hewitt, 11 Harry Robinson, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Lewis Jones, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Rory Watts-Jones, 6 Luke Hamilton, 5 Macauley Cook, 4 Michael Paterson, 3 Beniot Bourrust, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Sam Hobbs.

Replacements: 16 Rhys Williams, 17 Nathan Trevett, 18 Taufa’ao Filise, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Alex Walker, 22 Gareth Davies, 23 Tom Williams.