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Ben Earl crosses the line to score one of his two tries - PRiME Media Images/Richard Washbrooke
Saracens 75 Newcastle Falcons 28
Ben Earl enjoyed another 20 minutes at centre as Saracens sauntered past Newcastle Falcons, their three British and Irish Lions helping them pile up 70 points and stay in the play-off race.
Mark McCall kept his Lions trio of Earl, Elliot Daly and captain Maro Itoje on the pitch for the entirety of a breezy win, with Earl moving to the midfield for the final quarter as Tom Willis replaced Alex Goode.
There, having surged off the base of a scrum to score in the first half, he promptly added a second try. Such flexibility is particularly useful if teams deploy six forwards on the bench. “You’re dealing with a player who has an incredible skill-set,” said Joe Shaw, the Saracens head coach, of Earl.
“He has unbelievable physicality and understanding of the game. Today, he came out from seven, where he plays in the back line a lot anyway. It wasn’t a big deal for us or a big deal for Ben. We’ve got great centres at this club, some of whom are injured at the moment, and you need players who are versatile.”
Despite the Lions homecoming and a hat-trick for Juan Martín González, another man was the hero of the day. Goode, who turned 37 in the week, was celebrating his 400th Saracens appearance.
He has been a pillar of dependable excellence since his first-team debut 17 years ago. Few figures at Saracens are as popular as the full-back, and no wonder. His career has sparkled with trophies and moments of consummate class.
Richard Hill was among the luminaries at StoneX Stadium for the occasion. The World Cup-winning back-rower made his last Saracens appearance in the game that a 20-year-old Goode was blooded. “It’s amazing the number of ex-players who have said that Goodey is the greatest ever Saracen,” Shaw added. “I think they’re probably right. I don’t think 400 games will ever be done again.”
There's only one @Alex_goode0!
pic.twitter.com/r4Sa2rhe4O
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) May 10, 2025
Falcons bagged four tries to take away a bonus point, clinched by a surging run from wing Ben Stevenson, yet the hosts were vastly superior. Steve Diamond, the Newcastle director of rugby, admitted that the result was “embarrassing” in spite of his players’ endeavour, stating also that it emphasised the need for investment.
Red Bull’s apparent interest in Falcons, in that regard, is timely. Diamond is confident that Newcastle will not follow Wasps, Worcester Warriors and London Irish into financial oblivion, and has been enthused by the news of fresh backing.
“Semore Kurdi [the current Newcastle owner] is an honourable businessman, but he’s fed up with it,” Diamond said. “I think, geographically, the union and the league need Newcastle, because we encapsulate the whole of the north. And it’s difficult to run a league with nine teams.
“If they promote somebody, would Ealing put out a better team than we’ve got? I don’t think so, with their infrastructure. It’s very difficult to do it. That is why the rumours are really encouraging, to get an organisation like [Red Bull] into rugby; not just for Newcastle.
“Look at all the Premier League football clubs. They’re not owned by individuals these days. They’re owned by organisations and conglomerates.”
Saracens are level on points with Sale Sharks but need two more victories to crack the top four. Ironically, their loss to Newcastle at the end of November, one of two wins that Falcons have registered all season, could cost them. A trip to Northampton Saints, who will be preparing for the Champions Cup decider, is up next.
“All we can control is what we can control,” said Shaw. “We’ve got what we wanted from today. Now we’ll go back to the drawing board and get up to Franklin’s Gardens to give a good account of ourselves.”
Match details
Scoring sequence 5-0 González try, 7-0 Burke con, 12-0 Dan try, 14-0 Burke con, 14-5 Stuart try, 14-7 Connon con, 19-7 Earl try, 24-7 Van Zyl try, 26-7 Burke con, 31-7 Itoje try, 33-7 Burke con, 33-12 Lockwood try, 33-14 Connon con, 38-14 González try, 40-14 Burke con, 45-14 González try, 47-14 Burke con, 47-19 Stuart try, 47-21 Connon con, 52-21 George try, 54-21 Burke con, 54-26 Stevenson try, 54-28 Connon con, 59-28 Bracken try, 61-28 Johnson con, 66-28 Earl try, 68-28 Johnson con, 73-28 Willis try, 75-28 Johnson con.
Saracens A Goode (T Willis 59); T Elliott, E Daly, N Tompkins, R Segun (A Hall 36); F Burke (L Johnson 64), I van Zyl (C Bracken 61); E Mawi (S Crean 57), T Dan (J George 50), A Clarey (H Beaton 57), M Itoje, N Isiekwe, T McFarland, J Martín González (A Onyeama-Christie 50), B Earl.
Newcastle Falcons E Obatoyinbo; A Hearle, M Clark (O Spencer 24), S Arnold (M Pepper 66), B Stevenson; B Connon, S Stuart (J Davis 56) A Brocklebank (M Rewcastle 40-44), J Blamire (O Fletcher 61), M McCallum (L de Bruin), J Hawkins (O Usher 54), S de Chaves, F Lockwood, C Neild, F Lockwood (T Gordon 55), C Chick.
Referee Jack Makepeace.
Attendance 9,204.
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