Saracens v Gloucester: Five takeaways as England stars ‘show class’ to vindicate Mark McCall’s controversial decision
Elliot Daly and Tom Willis among Saracens celebrations against Gloucester and star lock Nick Isiekwe.
Following a 36-14 victory for Saracens over Gloucester, here are our five takeaways from the Premiership clash at the StoneX Stadium on Saturday.
The top line
In a battle between two Premiership play-off hopefuls, Saracens got the better of their rivals to move into fourth position with a victory over Gloucester.
It has been a bit of a struggle for the Londoners this season, but there are signs that they are hitting form at just the right time as a dominant second-half performance saw them dismantle the visitors. It all started at the lineout where Nick Isiekwe destroyed the Cherry and Whites and it enabled them to overturn a 14-12 half-time deficit.
Gloucester had very much been in the game at the interval thanks to Chris Harris’ and Santiago Carreras’ tries, but the visitors would come undone when their set-piece was picked apart. Rotimi Segun and Nick Tompkins had gone over in the opening 40 minutes for the hosts before a quick-fire Theo Dan brace sealed the bonus-point.
After that blitz, the Cherry and Whites struggled to get back into the contest, and further scores via Juan Martin Gonzalez and Jamie George sealed the win for the Londoners.
Rested England stars
Mark McCall made the controversial decision not to play his England stars in the Investec Champions Cup knockout stages. He and Sarries received much criticism in prioritising the Premiership over Europe, and it potentially cost them a shot at Toulouse, given their lack of depth was exposed in the second half of that Toulon tie.
However, how the Londoners fare during the rest of the season will ultimately determine whether McCall was correct in making that big call, and Saturday’s win has given them a good start in the crucial run-in.
The worry for the director of rugby would have been whether his England internationals were underdone, with it being three weeks since their last game and, after a mixed first half, the hosts certainly found their stride.
Maro Itoje had already made his presence felt in the lineout, while Elliot Daly produced some lovely touches, but it was after the break where the Test players really showed their class. George was outstanding off the bench, Ben Earl began to make more ground in the carry and Tom Willis was typically effective on both sides of the ball.
Lineout and breakdown
When he was a player, Skivington was one of the best exponents of the lineout in the Premiership, so the head coach will be wondering quite what went on in London. Arthur Clark and Freddie Thomas are good operators, while flanker Lewis Ludlow is usually exceptional in the set-piece, but they were dismantled by England duo Itoje and Isiekwe, and Samoan star Theo McFarland.
Gloucester played some magnificent rugby in the first half, scoring two tries and setting up good positions on several other occasions, but the set-piece let them down constantly. The loss of Ludlow just before the interval hindered them even more, and even the half-time break did not rectify matters.
In fact, a lost lineout at the start of the second period allowed Sarries to instigate an attack, which eventually led to Dan touching down. That was the beginning of the end for the Cherry and Whites, whose set-piece woes led to errors in other parts of the game as frustration set in.
It undid their good work at the breakdown in the opening period, which both relieved pressure and gave them chances to attack. Of course, those efforts proved to be in vain as every time they got the ball, Gloucester promptly lost it due to their lineout errors.
Test hopefuls
There is not too much Andy Farrell would have learned from this encounter, ultimately knowing that those with the biggest Lions chances – Earl and potential tour captain Itoje – remain in fine shape. A game like this will not necessarily do much for the likes of Daly and Willis, despite their excellence, but George showed some excellent punch off the bench and that is something Farrell will take into consideration.
England boss Steve Borthwick was therefore perhaps the keenest observer in North London, with a number of Test hopefuls looking to put their hands up for the mid-year series. Should George head to Australia, it could open the door for Dan, who touched down twice, while fellow front-five forward Isiekwe was exceptional. The lock made his debut in Argentina back in 2017 as a teenager and he could well head back there eight years later.
He may be joined by Sarries centre Olly Hartley, who very much got the better of opposite number Seb Atkinson. After Atkinson’s hat-trick against Bristol Bears a few weeks ago, everyone was quite rightly singing his praises, but he struggled on Saturday. As did prop Afo Fasogbon – the highly talented tighthead – who failed to make much of an impact against the hosts.
Where the Premiership stands
Following Sale Sharks’ victory earlier in the day, allied by this result at the StoneX, there are suggestions that the true contenders are starting to emerge. Gloucester are still in a good position, while Harlequins, who succumbed to Sale, could conceivably make a late surge, but on the evidence of Saturday’s games, Sarries and the Sharks just seem to have a bit of extra class looking towards the final four rounds.
It duly makes the game between Sale and Saracens next weekend all the more intriguing. As for Quins and the Cherry and Whites, the former heads to another play-off challenger in Leicester Tigers and the latter host strugglers Exeter Chiefs. Skivington’s men are therefore not out of the equation and they have a favourable run-in, but they need to be much better in the semi-finals if they are to sneak into the top-four.
At the moment, every match counts, and there is another crucial one on Sunday when Bristol Bears take on the Tigers at Ashton Gate, but Sarries and Sale looked mightily good on Saturday and have the most firepower outside of league leaders Bath.