Rugby Union: Saracens 34 - 16 Leeds

Saracens' fans still await their first competitive glimpse of Andy Farrell but a convincing demolition of Leeds yesterday offered substantial consolation. Better sides than the Tykes will find Watford an unforgiving place to visit this season and Steve Diamond's team look set to be a force to be reckoned with in the months ahead.

Even worse for Leeds, now bottom of the table after two blank rounds, was the identity of their chief tormentor. Before the game disintegrated as a spectacle amid a welter of late substitutes, there was no more dangerous runner on the field than Dan Scarbrough, the former Tykes favourite, who scored one eye-catching try and comfortably outshone his opposite number and possible England rival Iain Balshaw.

In front of Scarbrough there is also far more collective purpose about Saracens these days after a depressing sequence of moribund seasons. "No egos, no excuses" is the director of rugby Diamond's mantra and an injection of northern commonsense has visibly made Saracens a tougher team to beat. At a pinch yesterday this could have qualified as a north-country derby, with eight of the home squad having previously represented either Leeds, Sale or Newcastle. With Diamond and the coach Mike Ford offering flat-vowelled advice from the touchline, the place is more Coronation Street than EastEnders this autumn.

Yesterday's plot contained relatively few twists once Saracens, with Leeds's former scrum-half Alan Dickens dictating the play, had opened up a 27-3 half-time lead and the home side's bonus point was in the bag by the 52nd minute. Momentum was established as early as the fifth minute, Ben Skirving catching a long restart and instigating a sweeping raid which ended with Thomas Castaign¿de showing good speed to outpace three Leeds pursuers.

A couple of Glen Jackson penalties kept the scoreboard ticking over as Leeds conspicuously failed to make the most of some promising build-up work, too many hopeful passes going astray. Yet another turnover led to a well-taken try by Kevin Sorrell, resplendent in natty orange mitts, but the most popular score was Scarbrough's 38th- minute effort which left Balshaw clutching a handful of thin air. Scarbrough is a Yorkshire lad to his core but, after shoulder and hamstring injuries last season, was in no mood to worry about upsetting his old mates. The watching England attack coach Joe Lydon will have taken due note.

Saracens' strength in depth was further illustrated when their hooker Matt Cairns scored their fourth try from a rolling maul and was immediately replaced by the more hirsute Irish Lion Shane Byrne. In his brief time on the field Byrne added further solidity to what is a distinctly powerful Saracens pack; size still matters, both in rugby and newspapers.

Leeds, by comparison, were lacklustre, their only try coming when Chris Murphy charged down an attempted clearance by Jackson nine minutes from the end. It is a long season but slow starters can swiftly get sucked into a morass of self-doubt from which it can be difficult to escape. Their new All Black signing Justin Marshall, watched from the stands by his old team-mate Andrew Mehrtens, did his best to spark some life into proceedings but too often disappeared up blind alleys. As well as bad light at The Oval yesterday, there will be increasing gloom at Headingley.

Meanwhile, Farrell will have to wait a further two to three weeks for his Saracens debut as he continues to recover from a broken toe. The former Great Britain rugby league captain, picked up the injury in an internal trial match and has already been out for a month.

Saracens: Scarbrough; Haughton, Castaign¿de (Harris, 60), Sorrell, Vaikona (Russell, 48); Jackson, Dickens (Bracken, 60); Yates, Cairns (Byrne, 53), Visagie, Chesney (Raiwalui, 32), Vyvyan(capt), Sanderson (Randell, 60), Seymour, Skirving.
Tries: Castaign¿de, Sorrell, Scarbrough, Cairns. Cons: Jackson 4. Pens: Jackson 2.

Leeds: Balshaw; Snyman, Jones, De Marigny, Doherty (Stimpson, 72); Ross (Biggs, h-t), Marshall (Care, h-t); Isaacson (Cusack, h-t), Rawlinson (Bulloch, h-t), Kerr, Hooper (capt; Murphy, 60), Palmer, Morgan, Thomas (Parks, h-t), Dunbar.
Try: Murphy. Con: De Marigny. Pens: Ross, De Marigny. Drop-goal: Balshaw.

Referee: T Spreadbury (Somerset).

Attendance: 6,190.