| Brive (5) 5 |
| Try: Tuicuvu |
| Saracens (22) 55 |
| Tries: Christie, Mawi, Isiekwe, Van Zyl, Earl, Segun, George, Harris Pens: Farrell Cons: Farrell 6 |
Scintillating Saracens dismantled Brive to advance to the knockout phase of the European Challenge Cup.
Tries from Andy Christie, Eroni Mawi and Nick Isiekwe gave the London side a commanding 22-5 lead at half-time.
Setariki Tuicuvu’s first-half try proved to be the only high point for the French club, as Ivan van Zyl, Ben Earl, Rotimi Segun, Jamie George and Ben Harris added to the Saracens total.
The win sets up a home draw for the north London club in the next round.
Saracens took control of the match from the off and Tedo Abzhandadze’s attempted clearance kick was charged down by Christie, who ran through to retrieve the ball and claim the try.
Brive hit straight back through centre Tuicuvu, who found space inside Alec Clarey on the right channel to run through, but Abzhandadze’s conversion attempt went horribly wrong when the ball fell off the tee as he began his run-up.
Prop Mawi drove forward for Saracens, with the ball finding its way back to him to ground for a second try before Isiekwe extended the lead further before half-time.
Saracens carved Brive open again at the start of the second half, with Elliot Daly finding Van Zyl on the inside, who crossed under the posts for his side’s fourth try and a bonus point.
Substitute Earl quickly added to his two tries against Sale Sharks last week when he went over between the posts, with Farrell converting another simple kick.
Segun easily crossed on the left wing for a sixth as the away side began to really stretch the pitch, looking likely to score at every opportunity.
With a couple of Brive players down requiring treatment, George ran through unchallenged to add a seventh try.
Brive’s night went from bad to worse when replays showed Axel Muller’s shoulder made contact with Harris’ head in the tackle in the lead-up to the try, with the full-back shown a red card.
Harris, a half-time substitute for Alex Lewington, barrelled his way through a string of challenges to take his team past a half-century of points as they delivered a statement victory.
Saracens can look forward to an all-British home draw at the StoneX Stadium against either Wasps or Cardiff in the last 16 and will find out their opponents on Saturday.
Brive: Muller; Tournebize, Tuicuvu, Lee, Tirefort; Abzhandadze, Sanga; Thompson-Stringer, Narisia, Bekoshvili; Lebas, Cerqueira; Neighbor (capt.), Gue, Lam
Replacements: Dufour, Thomas, Bruges, Bedou, Bost, Lacoste, Danovaro, Tapeuleulu
Sent off: Muller (70)
Saracens: Goode; Segun, Daly, Taylor, Lewington; Farrell (capt.), Van Zyl; Mawi, Woolstencroft; Clarey; Isiekwe, McFarland; Christe, Wray, Vunipola
Replacements: George, Barrington, Wainwright, Hunter-Hill, Earl, De Haas, Morris, Harris
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
