SARACENS homed in on securing a Premiership play-off spot with a bonus point 33-19 victory over plucky Harlequins at Vicarage Road on Sunday, April 15.

Kris Chesney, Thomas Castaignede, Dan Scarbrough and Glen Jackson crossed the line for the Men in Black while Jackson also kicked 13 points.

Mel Deane, replacement Tom Williams and Mike Brown replied for the visitors, their All Black legend Andrew Mehrtens converting all three.

But Sarries, who climbed once place to third in the table, made hard work of the win for long periods under the glare of the baking sun.

After a whirlwind start, they struggled to find any fluency and allowed Quins back into contention before the break.

Quins adopted an aggressive approach - sometimes too aggressive as punches went unpunished - in a bid to rattle Sarries and it got the desired effect at times.

As disjointed as their performance was, Sarries cut loose once Castaignede had scored his fourth try in the last five matches and really turned it on thereafter to floor Dean Richards' stunned troops.

Sarries started at a frenetic pace and almost scored with less than two minutes on the board. Rodd Penney burst through before feeding Cencus Johnston, only for referee Chris White to award the hosts a penalty after Quins were caught offside.

Jackson made no mistake with the kick before his opposite number Mehrtens fluffed his lines from a similar range moments later.

Tosh Masson, the Quins academy starlet deputising at inside-centre for Stuart Abbott, then made a great break before being stopped in his tracks.

Richard Hill then went close before having a say in his side's first try of the afternoon. After collecting Tani Fuga's overshot line-out throw, the experienced flanker sold a dummy to storm through the middle before offloading for Jackson to gain a few metres. The pass was then flicked out for man-of-the-match Chesney to crash over on the left. Jackson's kick sailed wide but he made amends with an easy penalty to give his side an 11-0 lead after Quins pulled down in a line-out.

Simon Keogh then went close down the left for Quins but held on to the ball in the tackle to let Sarries off the hook.

The visitors then enjoyed their best spell of pressure but it came at a price as England wing David Strettle was carried off with an injured left ankle.

No sooner had Strettle entered the tunnel his teammates scored, Mel Deane barging over on the left after spotting a gap in midfield. Mehrtens added the extras to bring Quins right back into it.

Dan Scarbrough, sporting a bizarre bleached blonde look, was then guilty of a forward pass which would have put Castaignede in the clear, although television replays showed the decision was marginal.

Another Jackson penalty put Sarries 14-7 ahead with two minutes of the first half left but Quins silenced the crowd with a try a minute later when Strettle's replacement, Tom Williams grounded his kick forward after a clever chip to the right corner by Mehrtens. The All Black missed the conversion but Quins entered the dressing room with their tails up.

An unchanged Sarries side started the second half brightly and Castaignede had the line in sight before being pulled into touch just 10 metres short.

The Frenchman, however, then got his reward at the second time of asking seven minutes into the restart.

After an initial burst through the middle from Neil de Kock, Jackson's missed pass was left by Simon Raiwalui for Castaignede to dart straight under the posts with ease. Jackson landed his first conversion of the day to put the hosts back in control at 21-12.

Neil de Kock then produced the tackle of the game, pummeling winger Keogh into the deck as the game threatened to burst free of its shackles once again.

After both sides made a rash of changes, Quins pressed only to see Deane held up on the line.

With 11 minutes of the match left, de Kock broke free once again before offloading to Andy Farrell, who showed fantastic awareness when he lofted a weighted pass out for Scarbrough to cross on the right.

With Jackson adding the extras, Sarries needed another try to seal the bonus point, which are so crucial at the business end of the season.

And it soon came thanks to the tenacity of replacement scrum-half Mosese Rauluni, who seized on a loose ball before passing to Jackson to waltz over unopposed.

The Kiwi failed to convert his own score before Sarries switched off to allow Mike Brown a last minute consolation score for Quins.

Saracens: Castaignede (de Vedia, 78), Scarbrough, Sorrell, Farrell, Penney, Jackson, de Kock (Railuni, 74); Yates, Cairns (Ongaro, 69), C Johnston (Mercey, 59; Johnston, 67), Vyvyan, Raiwalui (cpt) (Gustard, 63), Chesney, Hill (Seymour, 55), Skirving.

Harlequins: Brown, Strettle (Williams, 30), Deane, Masson, Keogh, Mehrtens, Gormasall (So'oialo, 64); Jones, Fuga (Hayter, 59), Ross, Kohn (Miall, 59), Evans, Vos (Skinner,67), Volley (cpt), Hala'Ufia.

Attendance: 12,153.