Saracens sauntered to the play-offs after yet another second-half siege laid Gloucester to waste. They have now not conceded a second-half point in four matches – it was 40 unanswered here – and are hell-bent on returning to Twickenham later this month. Wasps will be the visitors in the semi-finals but after another nine-try showing, Mark McCall’s side are coming to the boil perfectly.
Their day in the sun was tempered by concerning injuries to Liam Williams (shoulder) and Schalk Burger (hamstring) but they demonstrated an ability to race through the gears in the second half. “The lesson we got at Leinster [in the Champions Cup] was that against really top teams in semi- and quarter-finals there are no second chances,” said the Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall.
Gloucester’s bright points were restricted to an excellent opening 40 minutes from their New Zealand-born, England-qualified full-back, Jason Woodward, in front of the watching Paul Gustard, and a blistering start to first-team rugby from Tom Seabrook.
Gustard will surely have noted Alex Goode’s excellence, too. Both he and Woodward are the form full-backs in the Premiership this season yet neither have registered recently on England’s radar. While those wearing the No15 jerseys shone, it was the wingers making their mark on the scoreboard and that all four scored tries within the opening 17 minutes revealed everything about the laissez-faire attitude of both sides. It was hardly surprising as Saracens were already guaranteed to finish second and, while Gloucester had the chance to cement a top-six spot, 11 changes were evidence that Friday’s Challenge Cup final is the priority. Nonetheless they were first on the scoreboard through their 19-year-old Seabrook, who dotted down less than a minute into his first-team debut after a fine break from Woodward.
Saracens responded after a bit of magic from Schalk Brits led to Sean Maitland over in the left corner but Gloucester were ahead again with Woodward once more the architect, breaking free of two tackles down the left before feeding David Halaifonua inside. Two minutes later Williams stepped inside and plunged through a pile of bodies for 12-12. An Owen Farrell penalty gave Saracens a three-point lead and, when the England playmaker cruised under the posts on the stroke of half-time,, after Alex Lozowski’s break, Gloucester’s goose seemed cooked.
Juan Figallo barrelled over within seconds of the restart before Maro Itoje and Chris Wyles went over in quick succession towards the right. This led to a raft of substitutions – Saracens were caused such disruption that Ben Spencer and Ben Earl ended up on the wings and Goode at fly-half – but a penalty try ended the mini-drought in points before Ben Spencer’s late double.
Gloucester finish the season in seventh but already assured of a place in next season’s Champions Cup and they can end a promising campaign with silverware in Friday’s showdown with Cardiff Blues in Bilbao. “We must come in with a positive frame of mind on Monday,” said the Gloucester head coach, Johan Ackermann. “It’s a massive challenge but it’s a must that we perform for 80 minutes.”
Premiership roundup: Banahan treble helps Bath run riot
Matt Banahan scored three of Bath’s nine tries on his farewell appearance as the home side sneaked into next season’s European Champions Cup after a 63-19 win over London Irish at the Rec. Since Sale and Gloucester lost without a losing bonus point, Bath leapfrogged both to clinch sixth place in the table having been all but written off only a couple of weeks ago.
It took them three minutes to open the scoring through Taulupe Faletau, who signed a new contract last week. Banahan combined on the right with Cooper Vuna, who found the Wales No 8 with an inside pass.
No one would have begrudged the visitors a try and it came just short of the hour as their flanker Josh McNally stretched over the line. Greig Tonks hit the post with his conversion attempt to leave the score at 49-5 before Bath ran up the score.
Northampton finished a difficult season with a rousing bonus point victory over Worcester at Franklin’s Gardens. Tries from No 8 Mitch Eadie, centre Nafi Tuitavake, full-back Ben Foden and wing Tom Collins ensured a 32-24 victory that means Saints end the campaign ninth.
Their fly-half, James Grayson, kicked three conversions and a penalty and Stephen Myler added another penalty. The Worcester centres Will Butler (2) and Ben Te’o grabbed their side’s tries, with fly-half Dorian Jones converting all three and adding a second-half penalty.