Noah Caluori shows his speed to help Saracens thrash depleted Clermont

This was never in doubt. On a grey, sodden day in north London, Clermont Auvergne initially defended with spirit before reverting to a more stereotypically French model for playing away from home and fell to a heavy 47-10 defeat.

A depleted, callow squad always looked likely to struggle against a Saracens side crammed with international quality, even despite the absence of England’s Maro Itoje, Ben Earl and Jamie George. The visitors were ultimately overwhelmed with Noah Caluori, the 19-year-old wing, proving a constant menace in a remarkably assured individual display.

Saracens scored seven tries: the Argentina international wing Lucio Cinti got two, with Max Malins, James Hadfield, Caluori, Hugh Tizard and Theo Dan all chipping in. Mark McCall’s side are up and running in the Champions Cup: next Saturday’s meeting with the Sharks in Durban will be different, and more difficult, in every conceivable way.

If there were positives for the French club, restricting a highly-motivated opponent to a single try for half an hour was a considerable feat. But in less than 10 minutes before the break, gaps opened up. They were ruthlessly capitalised on: by half-time it was 26-0, try bonus secured, game over. Overall Clermont Auvergne spent 3% of the match in the Saracens 22. Enough said.

The first score, after 11 minutes, was a textbook affair. Tom Willis made metres with a muscular carry in midfield. The fly-half Owen Farrell launched a high kick, where Caluori employed his undefendable aerial skills to bat the ball back for Elliot Daly. The full-back dabbed a delicate kick down the line, collected by try-scorer Cinti, after the Clermont defenders appeared to assume the ball was bouncing out into touch. Willis nearly burrowed over but was driven back, and Anthime Hemery, the visiting openside, was sent to the sin-bin by the referee Hollie Davidson for playing the ball illegally on the floor. Clermont paid a fleeting visit to the Sarries’ 22 after a quarter of an hour but Saracens counterattacked swiftly. Caluori was soon stopped just short.

Past the half-hour mark and a dominant Saracens had only mustered seven points. Cinti remedied the situation when Harry Plummer, the All Blacks fly-half, fell off a tackle. More nifty with the boot by Saracens soon led to a third. Farrell kicked left, where a flying Max Malins half-volleyed ahead. Bautista Delguy was in position but missed the ball entirely, allowing Malins to dot down. When the hooker James Hadfield capitalised on more indifferent defending, 26-0 was a fair reflection at half-time.

Axel Guillaud, who had produced an impressive tackle on the Sarries lock Hugh Tizard in the first half, capitalised on some rare clean lineout ball for the visitors to get them on the board. A comeback for the ages? Not quite.

Saracens immediately nailed a lineout of their own, giving Caluori a chance to show his pace. A phenomenal arcing run from halfway – acceleration, perfect balance, lightning pace – left Clermont Auvergne with no answer.

Credit to the French side, they didn’t fold. Plummer, who made one appearance for New Zealand against Australia last September, darted over in the corner to reduce the deficit to a mere 23. Saracens immediately struck back, Daly chucking a dummy and sending Tizard cantering over. It was perceptive by Daly but a soft score, to say the least, and the replacement Theo Dan promptly added a late seventh. Saracens pack their bags for South Africa with a heartening performance under their belts.