Saracens vs Gloucester result: Mark McCall hopes ‘frustrated’ side will be even better in Premiership final

Mark McCall warned that Saracens will feed of their “frustration” despite an emphatic 44-19 victory over Gloucester to ensure they do not come unstuck in next weekend’s Premiership final.

The reigning English and European champions booked their place in the Twickenham showcase against Exeter Chiefs with a six-try demolition of Gloucester. McCall paid tribute to the visitors afterwards and believed that the scoreboard reflected poorly on how they performed, but in truth the gap could and should have been bigger, with two late consolation tries easing the pain for the Cherry and Whites.

The difference between the two sides was demonstrated fully by Saracens’ ability to bring Nick Tompkins off the bench to score a 28-minute hat-trick, but it came at a cost as his 28th-minute introduction was a result of Brad Barritt’s hamstring injury that McCall admitted is likely to rule him out of next weekend’s season finale.

Tompkins’ three second-half scores meant that even though Saracens failed to register a single point in the final 24 minutes they were home and dry, but McCall believes it is the perfect scenario to ensure there is plenty to work on this week rather than an 80-minute shutout victory.

“I feel quite funny today because the scoreline does them a disservice,” said McCall, who will look to win a record fifth Premiership final as director of rugby. “We need to be better against whoever we play at Twickenham next weekend

“It's almost perfect because we've won comfortably and scored some good tries, but still have a frustrated changing room.

“If we want to get the result that we want, then we need to be better. The players understand that.”

Saracens were at least made to fight for it early on as Gloucester took the lead through a Ben Morgan try inside three minute, but it only served to poke the bear as they returned to the level that helped them conquer Europe this season. Sean Maitland and Ben Spencer were the beneficiaries of Owen Farrell and Maro Itoje’s individual moments of brilliance to score, but it was the Liam Williams try just before half-time that really sucked the life out of Gloucester.

“Ten minutes before half-time and 10 minutes after, we took advantage of some crucial turnovers,” added McCall. “Our ability to recover the ball from kicks was outstanding

“There were other parts of the game we too weren't happy with. The first 30 minutes were ok, the last 30 minutes wasn't good at all.

“We didn't get past three phases in attack and we weren't good enough at the break down, so there are enough things for us to fix.”

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But Saracens will likely have to attempt to retain their title without captain Barritt, meaning hat-trick hero Tompkins is set to start at Twickenham and Farrell take on the captaincy.

“It's devastating to lose Brad and it's very unlikely he'll be able to play in the final,” McCall said. “Given what he's given the team this year, it feels very sad.

“Nick had a phenomenal game. He's been involved in every Premiership and European game this season. He's been one of the players who has risen this year.”

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Gloucester counterpart conceded that his side had came off second best in the contest, but took a pragmatic approach afterwards in noting where Saracens have come from to reach this level, and laying out what he hopes the future holds for the West Country side.

“Nothing will take away how proud we are of the team and the growth,” Ackermann said. “It took Saracens years to get where they are today and that’s where we want to be.”