Saracens are living up to their unwanted reputation as the perennial underachievers of English rugby. Thanks to their owner, Nigel Wray, the club rarely lacks for enterprise yet on the field their opponents - in this case Leeds - tend to dictate terms to a hot-and-cold team that shows a worrying lack of tenacity.
Sure, Saracens are missing talented players due to injury, but that is hardly sufficient excuse for such a supine home performance. In contrast, Leeds showed exactly the kind of blood and guts they needed to end a six-game losing streak and push themselves into ninth position.
"The key to winning was the way we generated momentum in the first half and regained control in the second," said their coach Phil Davies. "We won good ball off the set-piece and showed a lot of self-belief."
Leeds were excellent value for a 19-7 half-time lead due mainly to the pinpoint goal-kicking of Gordon Ross. The Leeds fly-half bears a strong stylistic resemblance - hands clasped, semi-crouching position - to Jonny Wilkinson and, like Wilko, he sends confidence surging through his team with the positive impetus of his all-round play.
Saracens, who often struggled to get out of their own half, began to feel the heat in a 10-minute spell before half-time when Ross landed three penalties.
Those penalties were fair reward for the grinding pressure exerted by the Leeds tight forwards who invariably tore the ball away in the close-quarter battle.
Tom Palmer, Leeds' big bustling second row, proved an uncompromising leader, presenting the kind of quality ball that enabled his team-mates to retain possession with impressive composure.
Saracens found it hard to capitalise on the undoubted skills of their back-row forwards, Richard Hill and Taine Randell, whose good work was frequently neutralised by Leeds' effective foraging in the second phase. Dan Scarbrough, the Saracens full-back, was also kept on the back foot by his former team-mates, notably the wing Tom Biggs who left him standing with a brisk sidestep en route to a 13th minute try in the corner.
Sarries stayed in touch thanks to a slickly worked score three minutes later by Paul Bailey who rounded off a crisp cross-field transfer at the left flag. Nicky Little cut Saracens' 12-point deficit shortly after the break with a couple of timely penalties and, for a period, Leeds appeared to have lost the initiative.
However, the solid Ross calmed their nerves on the hour with a splendid 50-metre penalty, his fifth of the day, to extend his team's lead to 22-13.
In the closing stages Sara cens huffed and puffed to little avail and seven minutes from time Andre Snyman made victory safe with a brilliant solo try after twisting out of Little's tackle.
Mystifyingly, though, the referee found seven minutes of added time which allowed Little to grab a short-range try and earn Saracens an undeserved bonus point for narrow-margin defeat.
Saracens: Scarbrough; Haughton, Johnston, Sorrell, Bailey; Little, Williams (Rauluni, 61); Yates (Lloyd, 57), Ibanez (Cairns, 57), Broster, Chesney (Skiving, 70), Vyvyan (capt), Hill, Seymour, Randell.
Tries: Bailey, Little. Cons: Little 2. Pens: Little 3.
Leeds: Albanese; Rees (Stimpson, 57), Bell, Snyman, Biggs; Ross, Dickens; Shelley, Regan, Kerr, Hooper, Palmer (capt), Dunbar (Parks, 57), Rigney, Popham.
Tries: Biggs, Snyman. Cons: Ross 2. Pens: Ross 5.
Referee: S Davey (Sussex). Attendance: 5,325.
