Saracens reach Premiership final after dominant win

Colin Newboult
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Saracens moved a step closer to retaining their Premiership title, qualifying for the showpiece event following a dominant 44-19 triumph over Gloucester at Allianz Park on Saturday.

The Cherry and Whites began well, touching down through Ben Morgan, but Sarries hit back with three ties of their own as Sean Maitland, Ben Spencer and Liam Williams all crossed for a 23-7 lead at the break.

It was an excellent half from the Londoners but it got even better in the second period when Nick Tompkins scored a second half hat-trick to seal the victory, despite late consolations efforts via Ruan Dreyer and Lewis Ludlow.

Gloucester have enjoyed an excellent season under the guidance of Johan Ackermann and they started impressively at Allianz, going 7-0 ahead, but Sarries soon took command.

The hosts were caught cold by a fast-paced opening by the visitors, who created an outstanding try as Mark Atkinson, Jason Woodward and Tom Marshall combined to send Morgan over, but order was soon restored.

They responded immediately, winning the restart via a brilliant Liam Williams tap back and going on the attack. The ball was then shifted wide and a deft Farrell grubber was collected and finished by Maitland.

Although Saracens’ fly-half failed to convert, he was on target from the tee minutes later before the defending champions touched down for the second time.

Mark McCall’s men were playing some brilliant rugby but it was all coming from the pressure exerted through the kicking game. The half-backs were accurate out of hand and it gave them the territory to put Gloucester under significant duress. With the visiting defence in disarray, Sarries benefited and went through the heart of the opposition rearguard when Maro Itoje’s wonderful run and audacious dummy sent Spencer across the whitewash.

The vibrancy, which had been a hallmark of the Cherry and Whites early on duly dissipated, and after Farrell had added another three-pointer, Sarries struck once again. This time, Alex Lozowski was the instigator, collecting his pivot’s well-judged ‘up and under’ and off-loading for Williams to score.

Akin to last season’s semi-final, where they put over 50 points on Wasps, the home side were well on the way to another half-century and that became likelier in the early stages of the final 40 minutes.

Ackermann needed a spark from his charges but any hopes were immediately extinguished as a simple move down the left resulted in Tompkins finishing.

At that point, with the Londoners’ defence in command, the game was over. It was about saving face but even that did not go well with Saracens’ replacement centre going over two more times to complete his hat-trick.

To the Cherry and Whites’ credit, they did get a couple back through Dreyer and Ludlow but it was a chastening afternoon for Gloucester.

The scorers:

For Saracens:
Tries: Maitland, Spencer, Williams, Tompkins 3
Cons: Farrell 4
Pens: Farrell 2

For Gloucester:
Tries: Morgan, Dreyer, Ludlow
Cons: Twelvetrees 2

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jackson Wray, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 George Kruis, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Richard Barrington
Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Ralph Adams-Hale, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Mike Rhodes, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Nick Tompkins, 23 David Strettle

Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Tom Marshall, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Willi Heinz (c), 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Jaco Kriel, 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Ed Slater, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Val Rapava Ruskin, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Tom Savage, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Jake Polledri, 22 Ben Vellacott, 23 Henry Purdy

Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson, Paul Dix
TMO: David Grashoff

Gloucester