'It still feels like home' - Owen Farrell on Saracens return after thumping win over Bristol Bears in Gallagher PREM

Owen Farrell said "it feels like home" after playing his first match back at the StoneX Stadium following his return to Saracens in the summer. The London side stormed to a 50-17 victory over an injury-stricken Bristol Bears, to go top of the Gallagher PREM with two bonus-point wins from two. Pat Lam admitted afterwards that his Bristol side "were blown away" by Saracens, who "were on fire".

Highlights: Seven-try Saracens rout Bears despite Marmion hat-trick

Video credit: TNT Sports

Owen Farrell said it "feels like home" to be back at Saracens after his side thumped Bristol Bears 50-17 in the Gallagher PREM.

Saturday night’s clash saw the return of Farrell to the StoneX Stadium, with the Englishman having rejoined Saracens in the summer after a year at Racing 92.

The 34-year-old, playing at inside centre, scored 15 points as his side went top of the table after claiming their second bonus-point win from their opening two fixtures of the season.

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Asked about what it was like to be back, Farrell told TNT Sports: "It’s brilliant, especially on days like today. It’s been good and fairly easy to slot back in.

"But with a freshness to it, a lot of young lads, a lot of new faces, a lot of relationships to make up, and it’s been a good couple of weeks, and we’re looking forward to building on it.

"There are a lot of things that are probably different, but at the same time, it still feels like home."

Malins runs in 'glorious' Saracens try after 'gorgeous' behind-the-back offload

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After featuring in his fourth British and Irish Lions tour in the summer and having now returned to the PREM, there has been increased speculation over a potential England return for Farrell.

But Farrell, who stepped away from the international game following the 2023 Rugby World Cup, played down talk of this, given the early stage of the season.

"It’s been two games", Farrell said. "I want to make sure I'm enjoying my rugby as much as I possibly can, and we'll see where it takes us."

It was a ruthless first half from Saracens, storming into a 31-0 lead by the interval thanks to tries from Theo Dan, Nick Isiekwe, Max Malins and Nick Tompkins.

The visitors improved after the break and got off the mark just three minutes into the second half as Kieran Marmion finished off a superb move that started with an electric run from Louis Rees-Zammit.

But a quickfire pair of tries from Saracens youngster Jack Bracken killed any hopes of a Bristol comeback, even with Marmion going on to complete a second-half hat-trick.

Bears score 'try of the season' contender as Marmion finishes off flowing move

Video credit: TNT Sports

Lam praise for Sarries

Despite Bristol being hampered by injuries, even before losing Rees-Zammit, Tom Jordan and Joe Jenkins in this contest, Bristol’s director of rugby Pat Lam gave credit to Saracens for their performance.

"Not ideal," the Bristol boss told TNT Sports as he reflected on the match. "Not a great night, but well done to Sarries, they were on fire.

"They fed off the penalties that we gave, mistakes that we made and their first 20 minutes, we were blown away, and we're not proud about that.

"When we are good, it’s when we do all the little things really well, and unfortunately, we didn’t do a lot of that.

"We’ve just got to dump all that. It’s been an interesting week, we should have a few more numbers back for next week."

The result sees Bristol remain on five points from their opening two games, having beaten Leicester Tigers in their first match last weekend.

As for Saracens, they have gone to the top of the table having taken maximum points from their first two fixtures of the season, with a victory over Newcastle Red Bulls last weekend.

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