The match had been billed as the battle of the fly-halves but in truth it was never really a contest. Owen Farrell comfortably outshone Danny Cipriani in their personal duel but, thanks to the performance of his dominant forwards – led by the relentless Maro Itoje – he had considerable help. Eddie Jones was not just being complimentary when he described Cipriani as “superman” last week but even the caped crusader could not hold back a tide as strong as this.
As Cipriani did not play particularly badly, so Farrell was not flawless, his goalkicking aside. There were a couple of uncharacteristically loose passes but anyone in attendance eager to see Cipriani make a mockery of his England snub by upstaging the Saracens fly-half left disappointed.
“Danny has had setbacks in his life before, otherwise he would be constantly in the England squad,” the Gloucester head coach, Johan Ackermann, said. “The good thing is he is an experienced player; he has experienced the disappointment before.”
Jones claimed Cipriani was a player best suited to a highlights reel last week but, save for a line break early in the second half and an assist for Mark Atkinson’s consolation try, there was little of note on show. Farrell’s would be more worth a watch, provided it included the lambasting he gave David Strettle for showing a moment’s hesitation when chasing his grubber. It remains to be seen if Jones intends to move him from inside-centre to fly-half for England but Mark McCall is in no doubt as to his quality when wearing No 10.
“He was incredibly influential,” the Saracens director of rugby said. “It wasn’t just his skill set, his passing and kicking. The physical tone that he set was incredible. Vocally he’s off the charts as well. He’s just this incredible player who adds in every way.”
Jones, with an England camp to prepare, was not in attendance but missed little he did not already know. Nine Saracens players were due in Bristol on Sunday night and on this evidence one could make the case for one or two more. This was a reminder of Saracens’ forward power against a Gloucester side who, while upwardly mobile, were given a harsh dose of reality.
Itoje was deployed at blindside flanker – McCall’s take on which row he plays in was a pithy “it doesn’t matter” – and, while there was the occasional lapse in discipline, he was colossal. “He’s a guy in a hurry to be better,” McCall said. “He’s been good all season and today he was great again.”
Along with Itoje, Mako Vunipola impressed, as did George Kruis and Michael Rhodes in the No 7 jersey and together they laid the platform for Saracens’ fourth consecutive bonus-point victory this season. It puts them top and, including the back end of last season, it is the 10th match in a row they have managed four or more tries – a Premiership record on the same day Richard Wigglesworth set his own for 266 appearances in the competition.
With the wind at their backs, Saracens raced into a 24-3 lead at half-time – Itoje scoring two tries, Strettle the other – while Sean Maitland and Alex Lozowski added two more after the break. Saracens have been a little slow to move through the gears this season but here their forwards were in overdrive against Gloucester, unbeaten in their first three matches.
Richard Wigglesworth: ‘We should be pretty proud of the Premiership now’
A Farrell penalty was quickly followed by Maitland’s line break which freed Strettle outside him to score his first try back at Allianz Park since his return from Clermont. Gloucester had plenty of ball for the ensuing 10 minutes but struggled to make much headway, the odd wriggle from Jason Woodward aside, but too often the ball was coughed up in the face of Saracens’ relentless defence.
Saracens’ second try came when Farrell, with the benefit of advantage, kicked high and caught Woodward on the hop behind the posts. The ball bounced up off the crossbar and into Itoje’s hands for a simple finish. His second was more difficult, albeit also from close in, and came after Billy Twelvetrees had put Gloucester on the board with a penalty. To compound matters the visitors had lost Lewis Ludlow (head) and Ruan Ackermann (knee) to injury.
Maitland’s score early in the second half brought up the bonus point – Farrell floating a delicious pass just out of Twelvetrees’ reach for Alex Goode, who shipped on to the Scotland international. Lozowski came off the bench to add the fifth after a dart down the right by Liam Williams before Atkinson, another replacement, dummied over for the visitors’ first try. Charlie Sharples added the second but by that stage Gloucester’s goose was cooked.
Tuilagi out of England training squad
Exeter’s Ben Moon has been called into the England squad for Joe Marler, while Jordan Olowofela, of Leicester, has been called up for his clubmate Manu Tuilagi. Nick Schonert (Worcester) and Ben Youngs (Leicester) are also out with injury.