Wayne Shelford made a dream start to his Saracens coaching reign as Bristol
suffered an emphatic home defeat in the Memorial Stadium sunshine.
Shelford outwitted his fellow New Zealander - Bristol chief Peter Thornburn -
with Saracens posting five tries and also collecting a bonus point.
Debutant fly-half Andy Goode, signed during the summer from Leicester,
contributed 20 points through a try, drop goal, two penalties and three
conversions as Saracens got off to a Zurich Premiership flyer.
French star Thomas Castaignede, making a first Premiership start in almost two
years following serious injury, took only seven minutes to announce his re-entry
with an impressively-worked try, and Bristol were always on the back foot after
that.
Irish wing Darragh O'Mahony added two second-half touchdowns - the latter
following a slashing Tim Horan break - while centre Tom Shanklin also breached
Bristol's defensive cover after Goode ghosted clear.
Castaignede slotted a late conversion and penalty when he took over kicking
duties from Goode, and although Bristol grabbed consolation tries by David Rees
and Felipe Contepomi, they finished comfortably second best.
Fly-half Shane Drahm kicked seventeen 17 and Contepomi also dropped a goal,
yet Saracens prevailed despite seeing wing Ben Johnston and lock Craig Yandell
sin-binned at the end of each half.
They also saw flanker Tony Roques stretchered off five minutes before the
break, nursing a badly gashed thigh, but Saracens were dominant throughout and
could hardly have wished for a better start.
Not even the announcement to Bristol's supporters that the club had signed New
Zealand All Black Daryl Gibson from Canterbury could cheer the disappointed and
frustrated home supporters.
Saracens took just four minutes to open their account, Goode slotting a
38-metre penalty, and then from their first attack, Castaignede rounded off a
flowing move that had its origins from a missed tackle by Bristol full-back Lee
Best.
Although Drahm kicked a penalty on 10 minutes, Saracens quickly extended their
lead when Goode rounded off a 70-metre move and added the conversion.
Goode kicked a 19th-minute penalty, followed by a drop goal eight minutes
before half-time, and although Drahm landed three further penalties and
Contepomi dropped his goal, Saracens were still in charge with a 21-15 interval
lead.
Just 46 seconds after the restart, Saracens made the game safe as Goode eased
clear of Bristol defenders to send Shanklin sprinting over unopposed.
The scoring action continued in fast and furious fashion, Drahm kicking
another penalty and O'Mahony registering his try double, and Bristol could only
produce their best rugby during the closing stages when it was a case of too
little, too late.
Leading 42-18, Saracens knew they had done the hard work, but Bristol still
finished with a flourish as Rees and Contepomi touched down either side of a
Castaignede penalty.
Saracens will be quietly confident of extending their winning start to two
games when Bath visit Vicarage Road next Sunday. Bristol though, face a tricky
trip to Wasps and the Londoners' new Wycombe home.
Teams
Bristol: Best, Daniel, Rees, Shaw, Christophers, Drahm, Pichot,
Crompton, Nelson, White, Archer, A. Brown, Sturnham, Lipman,
Beattie.
Not Used: Sheridan, E. Bergamaschi, Roland, Contepomi,
Richards, Salter, Carrington.
Tries: Rees, Contepomi.
Cons: Drahm.
Pens: Drahm 5.
Drop Goals: Contepomi.
Saracens: Castaignede, Johnson, Shanklin, Sorrell, O'Mahony,
Goode, Bracken, Flatman, Cairns, Marsters, Hooper, Yandell,
Roques, Hill, Chesney.
Not Used: Ross, Parkes, Quinnell, Russel, Williams, Horan,
Winnan.
Sin Bin: Johnson (40).
Tries: Castaignede, Goode, Shanklin, O'Mahony, Horan.
Cons: Goode 3, Castaignede.
Pens: Goode 2, Castaignede.
Drop Goals: Goode.
Att: 4,761
Ref: N Whitehouse (Welsh RFU).
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