Saracens kept their hopes of progressing to the EDF Cup semi-finals alive after a 33-19 win over Northampton Saints this afternoon.

The Men in Black earned their victory after first-half tries from in-form Noah Cato and Moses Rauluni which keeps them in the hunt next weekend in their final Pool D game at Bristol.

Sarries fielded a stronger side than the one which was beaten in their previous EDF Cup match against the Scarlets. Steve Borthwick started his final match before departing for international duty with England while Andy Farrell lined up alongside the returning Adam Powell at centre.

The Saints visited Vicarage Road off the back three successive wins which included more than 100 points on the board. But they were beaten by the Men in Black last month in a tight Guinness Premiership contest.

The hosts opened the scoring after 11 minutes with another explosive exhibition from Cato. The lightening-quick wing was released down the left by Powell and he barged his way through three players to convert the first try of the match. Gordon Ross sent the conversion wide of the posts. But Northampton responded with Stephen Myler kicking over the first penalty to reduce the deficit. Within minutes, Ross restored the five-point advantage with a penalty for Sarries.

Myler added their second penalty of the game after 20 minutes to keep the Saints within striking distance. Cato turned from hero to villain shortly afterwards when he was sin-binned for a high challenge on an opponent. It did not stop Eddie Jones’ side from extending their lead after a skilful individual effort from Rauluni. The scrum half collected the ball and he danced his way through a gap to score under the posts for the converted try.

But the visitors responded superbly as they grabbed their first try almost immediately. A brilliant one-two down the right between Ben Foden and Chris Ashton resulted in the full-back easily running clear for the score. But Myler surprisingly miscued an easy conversion attempt under the posts. Sarries made it 18-11 when Ross calmly kicked another penalty over.

Northampton pulled themselves back within touching distance of the home side after 31 minutes when they scored their second try. Myler cleverly kicked the ball to the right and Roger Wilson managed to evade Andy Saull’s tackle and run unopposed to the right edge of the tryline. But Myler missed the chance to pull his side level after a missed conversion. And Ross managed to give Sarries more breathing space with a drop goal on the stroke of half-time to given them a 21-16 lead.

Ross wasted another opportunity from a penalty at the start of the second half when he fired an effort off-target. The fly half made no mistake after 49 minutes with his next attempt as the Men in Black moved seven eight points clear. Dave Seymour made his return from injury, his first appearance since the defeat to Harlequins on the opening day of the season, after 50 minutes when he replaced Ben Skirving. Cobus Visagie was given a standing ovation when he left the pitch, replaced by Tom Mercey, on 54 minutes after his 100th appearance for Saracens.

The Saints knew a bonus point would keep their destiny in their own hands and they kept up the pressure with a penalty from Myler. Saracens responded via the boot of Ross as he kicked over a challenging penalty from the left touchline which made it 27-19.

Dylan Hartley was lucky to escape with just a warning, to the anger of the home crowd, after a dangerous high challenge on Rauluni on 64 minutes. After Sarries were awarded another penalty, it was a slight surprise to see Ross kick over for three points rather than push for another try. The last action of the game saw Ross kick over a penalty to seal a comfortable home win.

Saracens: Goode, Leonelli, Powell, Farrell, Cato, Ross; Lloyd, Cairns, Visagie (Mercey, 54), Borthwick, Chesney (Ryder, 69), Barrell, Saull, Skirving (Seymour, 50).

Northampton Saints: Foden, Ashton, Mayor (Ansbro, 69), Mordt (Spencer, 64), Diggin, Myler, Dickson (Dickens, 73); Tonga’uiha, Shields (Hartley, 63), Stewart (Murray, 54), Lord, Day, Lawes, Lewitt, Wilson.

Scoring: 5-0, 5-3, 8-3, 8-6, 13-6, 15-6, 15-11, 18-11, 18-16, 21-16 HT 24-16, 24-19, 27-19, 30-19, 33-19 Referee: Martin Fox