Withycombe made it seven from seven and secured the bonus point to stay top, but all eyes will be on this Saturday's crunch visit to deepest Cornwall. Pirates Amateurs are the only other unbeaten side in the league, and will surely have designs on taking the Green & Black down a notch, whilst Withycombe will be looking to put daylight between themselves and the chasing pack.

This was no victory parade though; Saracens came to play and made life difficult for the home side early on. Indeed, it was twenty minutes before the first score when Jack Pugsley seized the initiative on a kick chase to touch down before converting his own try. Saracens then suffered the twin blows of missing a penalty shot at goal and being hit with the immediate counterpunch of a Withycombe breakaway try. With the home pack in trouble, Leo Hood worked some space before a nice one-two between Joe Parkin and Danny Sansom ended with the former putting the finishing touches on an eighty metre score. Withycombe lost Aaron Conway to the sin bin just before the break but headed in 14 points to the good.

Starting the half with only 14 men, Withycombe showed their intent by their penalty decisions: there would be no running down of the clock. Twice they kicked to the corner, the second ultimately ending in a powerful try for Dave Wellbeloved, but their set drive looked beleaguered. Overall, niggling injuries to veteran lock pairing Dave Sims and Jon Axon remain a worry, though Tim Wils and Max Cooke acquitted themselves well as the pack held steady against a resilient Saracens front eight.

The hosts wrapped up the bonus point on the quarter hour when Kevin Rodwell ran in the simplest of finishes from a set piece move as Withycombe's dynamism in the back division continued to prove the difference between the sides. Withycombe then scored three more tries in a frantic last twelve minutes as first a chip through by Eugene Badenhorst saw Adam Morris keep up his impressive scoring record, before the supersub turned provider for Aaron Conway to run under the posts unchallenged. Kevin Rodwell added the cherry in the best fashion possible by scoring in clubhouse corner; a quick tap after skipper John Parkin was taken out off the ball caught Saracens napping and Withycombe put the ball through the hands until the visitors ran out of defenders. Withycombe wil be looking to run Pirates ragged in a similar fashion next week, while the second XV look to bounce back from a disappointing 7-3 defeat at Brixham as the Exmouth Nomads make the long trip up Marine Way to Raleigh Park.

Withycombe: Danny Sansom, Leo Hood, Aaron Conway (1T, YC), Joe Parkin (1T), Kevin Rodwell (2T), Jack Pugsley (1T, 6C), John Parkin, Dave Wellbeloved (1T), Liam Cullen, Max Cooke, Tim Wills, Mike Richards, Richard Hodges, Ben Clarke, Simon Tozer. Reps: Eugene Badenhorst, Danny Parry, Adam Morris (1T).