Saints move back into top four with bonus-point success against 14-man Saracens

In front of a sell-out crowd at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens, Saracens scored early on through former Saints wing Rotimi Segun.

But Taylor was sent off for head-on-head contact with Fin Smith before a Manu Vunipola penalty made it 10-0 to the Gallagher Premiership leaders.

Saints finally got up and running, and they would go in 19-10 up at the break thanks to tries from Alex Moon, Lewis Ludlam and Tommy Freeman.

Phil Dowson's men bagged their bonus-point effort when Rory Hutchinson finished off a fine move early in the second half.

Saracens were down to 13 men when Segun was sin-binned but they kept coming and Saints had little control right up until referee Wayne Barnes blew the final whistle.

The win pushed the black, green and gold back up to fourth in the standings ahead of the trip to Newcastle Falcons on Friday night.

Saints will know that they must win at Kingston Park to put real pressure on London Irish, who will have two games in hand after Dowson's side conclude their regular-season campaign next weekend.

Saints, who had lost at London Irish on March 25, had gone into the game against a heavily-rotated Saracens team knowing that only a victory would do.

But after conceding a scrum penalty in the Saracens half, the hosts were hit with a sucker punch.

An expertly-executed Alex Lewington crossfield kick found Segun, and the speedy wing finished in fine fashion in the corner.

Vunipola converted superbly from the touchline, and Saracens were 7-0 up inside the opening five minutes.

Saints thought they had responded almost immediately but David Ribbans dropped the ball while diving over the line and there was no score.

Saracens were soon hit with a big blow though as experienced centre Taylor was sent off for head-on-head contact with Fin Smith.

Saints had another chance to score soon after but another knock-on cost them as Sam Matavesi saw the ball squirm from his grasp out wide.

Saracens extended their lead when Vunipola slotted a penalty as the frustration started to grow at the Gardens.

Hugh Tizard was fortunate to escape a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, but Saints finally punished Saracens when Moon powered over.

Smith surprisingly missed the conversion to leave the gap at five points but Saints were ahead when they pieced together a stunning score.

James Ramm flew down the right, beating one man, chipping ahead, gathering and laying the platform for his team to move the ball left for Ludlam to score.

Smith made no mistake with the conversion this time and Saints were looking for more, but their handling was letting them down at key moments.

But there was no mistake when Ramm bounced his man and released Freeman, who turned on the turbos and gave Ruben de Haas no chance of stopping him.

Smith slotted the conversion superbly from the touchline to stretch the gap to nine points.

Saints made that 16 points soon after the restart, producing a slick move that ended with Fraser Dingwall offloading to Hutchinson for the bonus-point score.

Smith converted but Saints lost Ramm to injury after his contribution to the try.

Saints refused to be deterred though and after staying patient they scored again as Alex Mitchell sent the ball right for Smith to score his first try for the club.

The fly-half sent the conversion wide, just after Courtney Lawes, who was making his first Saints appearance since January, had departed to a hero's ovation from the home fans.

Matavesi soon had to do some fine defensive work as he made a huge try-saving tackle on Olly Hartley out wide, bundling the Saracens centre into touch.

But the away side did score soon after as they delivered a tidy try, finished by fly-half Vunipola.

The conversion was made, cutting the gap to 14 points, and it was clear that the league leaders would not go quietly.

But Saracens lost Segun to a yellow card when he took George Furbank out in the air, reducing them to 13 men for 10 of the final 20 minutes.

Saints made the away side pay as Dingwall forced his way over, allowing Smith to make it 38-17 with 15 minutes to play.

But Saracens still kept coming and Theo Dan flew over the line, with Vunipola converting to reduce the deficit to 14 points with 11 minutes to go.

Segun returned from the sin bin after that score and Saracens held Saints up to prevent what would surely have been the try that sealed it once and for all.

As it was, Saracens were threatening to set up a nervy finale, putting pressure on in the home half in the final five minutes.

There were tired bodies on both sides and Saints had to stand tall in defence to stop an attack, eventually forcing a knock on.

But Segun still had time to score his second, bagging Saracens a try bonus point.

However, Vunipola sent his conversion wide to stop his side also adding a losing bonus point to their tally.

Saints: Furbank; Ramm (Collins 45), Dingwall, Hutchinson, Freeman; F Smith, Mitchell (James 67); A Waller (E Waller 61), S Matavesi (Cruse 67), Davison (Hill 50); Ribbans (Coles 64), Moon; Lawes (Salakaia-Loto 50), Ludlam (c), Augustus (Graham 56).

Saracens: Goode (c); Segun, Taylor, Hartley (Michelow 72), Lewington (Harris 50); M Vunipola, de Haas (van Zyl 50); Mawi, Woolstencroft (Dan 53), Judge (Riccioni 53); Hunter-Hill, Tizard (Earl 50); Isiekwe, Knight (Hallett 53), Wray.

Referee: Wayne Barnes