BEN RUSSELL felt Saracens were good value for their hard-earned victory over Leeds Tykes on Friday night.

The England Under-21 grand slam winner was Sarries' stand-out performer in the 14-5 success, marking his first Zurich Premiership start of the season with a tenacious display of tackling and playing his part in a bristling pack that squeezed the life out of the Tykes.

"It wasn't pretty but I think we dominated in the forwards and ground out the win," said the loose forward. "We hardly touched the ball for the first 30 minutes but from then on we controlled the game and took the game to them.

"The defence was good and held up well, although it was a bit of a shame we let one in at the end with the last play of the game."

Russell, elevated to the starting line-up after Dave Seymour had been called up to the England Under-21 side, admitted last week's hugely disappointing result at home to London Irish served as a source of motivation on Friday night.

"It was very disappointing last week. We felt we had a point to prove this week and I felt we did that," he said before reflecting on Sarries' third straight away win. "I can't remember the last time we did that. We are doing really away from home and the challenge now is to make Vicarage Road a fortress. If we get that right then I think it will bode well for the rest of the season and we can have a strong finish."

For a more detailed interview with Russell plus all the reaction to Kris Chesney's new deal, don't miss Friday's edition of the Watford Observer.