Saracens No.8 Ben Earl is urging his side to put in 80 minutes of quality rugby as they prepare to face Bath Rugby at Vicarage Road tonight.

Earl’s side made a fantastic start in a convincing 36-17 win over Northampton Saints last week, as Sean Maitland’s double added to tries from Nick Tompkins and David Strettle to ensure Saracens went into the break 29-3.

But despite an excellent opening hour in which his side crossed the 30-point mark, Earl said he and his teammates were disappointed not to build on their start as Saints scored two late tries to reduce the deficit.

“I enjoyed the first 60 minutes of it – the last 20 was a bit hard work,” he said.

“Fair play to Saints. They kept at it and made us work hard in the final stage of the game. There’s some stuff to work on that’s for sure.

“We’ve spoken about not just being a ‘pick and choose’ team, where we can put 60 minutes of good rugby together and then the last 20, we tail off because at the end of the day, we’ll get caught out in those really big games.”

The win saw Saracens’ unbeaten streak stretch to five matches in all competitions – and perhaps more impressively, continued a record of losing just once at home since February 2010.

The architects of that defeat were upcoming visitors Bath, who have lost four in a row on the road.

Earl, however, is confident that his side will continue to remain tightly knit as the business end of the season approaches.

“It’s great to play with this group,” he said.

“Everyone picks each other up after mistakes and it doesn’t seem like they’re the end of the world. In fact, it makes it seem like a positive with something to build on and that’s credit to the group and the energy we’re building around us.”

While Saracens will look to put further pressure on league leaders Exeter Chiefs with a win, Bath are still in the hunt for a top-four spot, which would secure a place in the Premiership Rugby semi-final.

They will have to do it without five key players on international duty as Liam Williams, Maro Itoje, Jamie George, George Kruis and Billy Vunipola are all in Six Nations action.