Premiership: Newcastle 12-50 Saracens: Theo Dan scores twice in comfortable Sarries win

England hooker Theo Dan scored two tries in his first start since the World Cup as Saracens swept Newcastle aside for their third straight win.

Dan, a try-scorer in England’s third-place victory over Argentina last monthwent over twice to help secure a bonus point before half-time.

Sarries go sixth in the table after chalking up a half-century of points.

The Premiership strugglers were quick out of the blocks, building pressure deep inside Saracens territory before lock De Chaves scrambled over from close range, with Brett Connon adding the extras.

But the visitors found their feet after Newcastle’s Elliott Obatoyinbo was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on and Dan burst through from the maul to roll across the line for his first try.

From there it was one-way traffic, with Saracens winning a line-out and moving the ball infield for Elliot Daly to dive across before Dan and Nick Tompkins combined to set up Alex Lewington for their third in the corner.

With the Falcons conceding a string of penalties, the champions safely pocketed their bonus point just before the turnaround as Andy Christie rose highest in the line-out again and Dan forced his way over for a carbon copy of his opening score.

Alex Lozowski’s penalty extended Sarries’ advantage to 24 points just after the restart, but Newcastle hooker Bryan Byrne reduced that slightly, going over from the back of a maul for his first try since joining the club from Bristol.

Any faint hopes of a Falcons revival, however, were quickly snuffed out as Sarries added three further tries, the first of them by Tom Willis, who spun neatly to go over in the corner.

Although Lozowski, whose kicking was otherwise perfect, struck a post with his conversion attempt, it made little difference – and neither did a yellow card for Ollie Stonham following his high tackle on Ben Stevenson.

Sarries were still short-handed when scrum-half Gareth Simpson’s deft pass set up Argentina international Juan Martin Gonzalez to waltz through Newcastle’s defence for a debut try.

Manu Vunipola added the final flourish as he wriggled free and burst across the line for the visitors’ seventh score of the contest.

Newcastle: Obatoyinbo; Radwan, Orlando, Jennings, Stephens; Connon, O’Sullivan; Brocklebank, Blamire, Bello, Rubiolo, de Chaves, Lockwood, Cross, Chick (capt).

Replacements: Byrne, Brantingham, McCallum, Hawkins, van der Walt, Stuart, Hutchison, Stevenson.

Saracens: Daly; Maitland, Lozowski, Tompkins, Lewington; Goode (Capt), of Zyl; Beautiful, Dan, Clarey, Stoneham, Tizard, Gonzalez, Christie, Willis.

Replacements: Hadfield, West, Judge, Knight, B Vunipola, Simpson, M Vunipola, Cinti.

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe