Owen Farrell had praise ringing in his ears as he brought welcome cheer to an injury-hit England squad last night.
Farrell chose the perfect moment to hit top form on a day in which a fistful of stars failed to show for Eddie Jones’ first major training camp of the season.
The playmaker’s much-hyped fly-half clash with discarded Red Rose rival Danny Cipriani was always going to be heavily influenced by what happened in the forward battle between Saracens and Gloucester.
But even allowing for the monstering Sarries gave the visitors at the breakdown in a comprehensive 38-15 win, Farrell was imperious.
“Owen was incredibly influential, I thought he was brilliant,” said boss Mark McCall. “It wasn’t just his skillset; his passing, his kicking. It was the physical tone that he set.
“If you listen to the ref mic, vocally he was off the charts. He’s just this incredible player who adds in every way. He threw himself into every contact.”
Farrell nailed everything off the tee, as well as providing the expert assist for the first of Maro Itoje’s two tries with a pinpoint kick.
In stark contrast England team mates Manu Tuilagi and Ben Youngs each picked up knocks playing for Leicester Tigers and withdrew from the Red Rose camp in Bristol.
Nick Schonert, part of the Worcester side which added insult to those injuries by inflicting a shock home defeat on Tigers, also pulled out.
And he was joined in doing so by fellow prop Joe Marler, though the Harlequins’ ace cited personal reasons.
Back at Allianz Park, Gloucester’s gamble of playing first into the wind backfired as Sarries ruthlessly turned them over eight times to lead 24-3 at half-time.
So dominant were they that it was easy to forget Johan Ackermann’s side had brought an unbeaten record to the game.
Itoje put paid to that, following Dave Strettle’s early try with two decisive contributions to kill the contest before the break.
“He’s probably been the one shining light all the way through,” McCall said. “He’s a guy in a hurry to be better. Every day in training we see it. He sets an incredible example.”
Cipriani’s frustration was obvious, three days on from his England snub. This was not the 62-12 gubbing Gloucester took here in May, but it was the next best thing.
The 68th minute summed it up. Cipriani introduced the Cherry and Whites to the home 22, only for his flat pass to be picked off. Seconds later Liam Williams put Alex Lozowski over at the other end.
“Tough day at the office,” admitted captain Ed Slater, who admitted the game was long gone by the time two late tries brought some respect to the scoreline.
“We are constantly learning lessons from Saracens,” added coach Johan Ackermann, whose side have shipped 14 tries in their last two meetings.
“We’re still way off. Even our kicking game was not very good. We could not create pressure through that.”
The humbling capped a miserable week for Cipriani but Ackermann insisted: “It is not all about Danny and what he did do or didn’t do.
“As far as England is concerned, he has had setbacks in his life before and he is taking it on the chin.”
SARACENS – Tries: Strettle, Itoje 2, Maitland, Lozowski. Cons: Farrell 5. Pen: Farrell.
GLOUCESTER – Tries: Atkinson, Sharples. Con: Twelvetrees. Pen: Twelvetrees.
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