SARACENS started their European Challenge Cup campaign in emphatic fashion with a comfortable 53-3 win against Mont de Marsan.

The French club were never in the contest as Sarries ran in seven tries in a refreshingly open game.

Eddie Jones decision to stick with young winger Noah Cato and hand fullback Chris Wyles his first start was vindicated, with the pair both getting on the scoresheet and putting in outstanding performances.

Twenty-year-old Cato justified his manager's faith when he scored in the opening minutes.

After the young winger impressively took the high ball from Glen Jackson's kick, Saracens went through the phases and Kameli Ratuvou was put in down the left wing, he passed to the England Under-20 Six Nations Grand Slam winning winger, who after some jinking steps scored.

It seemed as though that may start what would become a rout but after a spell in the home side's half, Mont de Marsan's Frederic Urrutuy kicked a penalty after Sarries were penalised for offside.

However the five point lead was restored soon after as Jackson scored his first points of the game, after missing the conversion, when the French side were punished for diving in.

The players on Marsan's team sheet will be relatively unknown to English rugby fans but one nearly all rugby lovers are sure to remember Trevor Leota.

The former Wasps hooker was warmly cheered by the home fans when he first touched the ball.

The Samoan is well known for his tough tackling but it was Andy Farrell, returning after being out for six weeks with a fracture-dislocation in his thumb, who was making the crunching tackles early on.

The rugby league convert watched his son Owen become the youngest player to play top flight English rugby last week but it will be some time until he his replaced by his son if today's performance is anything to go by.

The attitude of both teams was welcomed by the fans, with both willing to run the ball from deep.

Sarries handed a full-debut to USA international Chris Wyles, and the fullback was outstanding taking countless high balls and also looking dangerous with the ball in hand.

After a high scoring start, the points dried up a bit, except for another Jackson penalty, but Saracens' scrum was dominating their opposition and when they had a set piece on the five metre line, they took advantage.

The ever-impressive Michael Owen picked the ball up at the base of the scrum and fed the ball to scrum-half Neil de Kock, who ducked a challenge to score a converted try in the corner.

The lead could have been more had Cato taken advantage of a few one-on-ones but he almost repaid the favour to Ratuvou. The youngster rolled a tackler to burst through, but his Fijian team mate was stopped just short of the line.

Saracens found out this week that fullback-cum-wing Richard Haughton will be out for longer than expected with a broken metatarsal and he will struggle to regain his place if Wyles and Cato continue to perform as they did today.

Sarries' backs were running the ball from all over the place but their next score was completely down to the power of their pack.

After Roland Bernard was sin-binned for Marsan, the home side went for the scrum and after continued infringements, referee Tim Hayes awarded a penalty try, which Jackson duly converted to make it 25-3 at half time.

After the break any hopes the French side may have had of a comeback were dashed from the off.

The restart was short and Sarries pushed them back into their own 22 and when Urrutuy tried to clear his lines, his kick was charged down by Wyles, who scored the try he deserved under the posts.

Marsan nearly scored in the corner soon after but that was as good as it got for the visitors.

The embarrassment continued for the struggling French side when Andy Saull went over after a break from Ratuvou to take the score to 39-3.

Steve Borthwick was brought off not long after to allow the skipper to finish celebrating a memorable 29th birthday.

Nicolas Leroux had the chance to reduce the deficit with a penalty but he missed and it was again the home side who scored next.

Wyles twice charged down opposition kickers in their 22 to force a lineout and when sub Cyriel Blanchard overthrew, fellow replacement Ben Skirving was left with a simple try.

Marsan could not deal with Wyles running and in the end Guillaume Leleu resorted to shoulder barging the American fullback and rightfully earned a yellow card.

Despite going down to 14 men, Marsan did have a spell camped in Sarries' half but their defence was too strong, even though Eddie Jones had used all his replacements.

Skirving almost got a second try when he run almost 40 yards for the corner but he couldn't quite make it. But from the resulting lineout Saracens won a scrum and from that another penalty try.