Saracens head coach Mark McCall is confident Sunday’s 54-13 victory over Bedford Blues is a sign of things to come from his side in the Greene King IPA Championship.  

England stars Maro Itoje and Billy Vunipola both crossed twice for Sarries in the eight-try victory at StoneX Stadium, to lift them up into third in the table - ten points behind leaders Ealing Trailfinders.  

Aled Davies, Janco Venter and Andy Christie also got themselves on the scoresheet in a routine win for the home side, which also saw returns for international players Mako Vunipola, Elliot Daly and Sean Maitland.  

And after romping to victory over the Blues, McCall is confident his side will continue to build momentum after a number of players have returned from representing their countries.  

“It definitely wasn’t perfect, far from it,” McCall said.  

“We’d like to be better but this team hasn’t been together for a long time. The aim is for us to improve week on week. When you score 50 points you shouldn’t grumble too much.

“Across the board they’ve been good since they’ve come back, they’ve been in for the last couple of weeks, rolled their sleeves up and been really positive around the place. They were all good today and it’s good to have them back.”

Sarries wasted little time in getting themselves ahead in Sunday’s affair, as Daly broke from a scrum on the visitors’ 22 to get within inches of the try line, before Itoje’s quick-thinking saw him bundle over for the first score of the game with six minutes on the clock.   

Billy Vunipola added another soon after as a result of neat interplay with Maitland, before Itoje got his second of the game midway through the first half after charging down a Blues kick.  

Vunipola then got his second and secured the bonus-point five minutes before the break after a gargantuan effort from a 5m scrum saw Sarries overpower their opponents - with the No.8 the grateful recipient of the score.  

Elliott Obatoyinbo’s break from full-back then set up Davies to score after the break, before Pat Tapley got a consolation for the visitors just before the hour mark.  

Venter and Christie touched down late in the game to bolster Sarries’ points difference - which could be crucial in the race for promotion back to the Gallagher Premiership this season - before a late penalty try rounded off the scoring.  

Sarries were almost unstoppable in their pursuit of points against the lowly Blues, who find themselves eighth in the table with just one victory from their four matches this season.  

But things won’t be so straight forward in Saracens’ next two fixtures, as they face second-placed Doncaster Knights and league leaders Ealing in successive weekends in what promises to be a crucial seven days in the Championship season.  

Neither side have tasted defeat this year, and McCall knows his side will have to be on top of their game if they are to come away from both fixtures with maximum points.  

“We need to win the next game,” he said. “Doncaster are unbeaten in the competition – so it’s a game we have to win.  

“Then the next week [against Ealing] is exactly the same against a team who are absolutely flying in the league and have been together all season.  

“We need to get better quickly but I’m sure we will.”