Owen Farrell helped Saracens get back into the winning habit with a masterly display from fly-half which was a persuasive argument to give him the keys to No 10 with England.
Farrell, more often than not a 12 at Test level, ran the game with his boot and range of passing to make a statement to England’s new head coach, Steve Borthwick, about where he is most effective.
The 31-year-old sealed the bonus point on 72 minutes when he set wing Alex Lewington up for a try that highlighted the freedom he is able to play with at club level. Farrell found Lewington on the right with a reverse miss-pass that even had the usually stony-faced fly-half grinning. It was a score which summed up the dominance enjoyed by the five-times champions as they recorded their biggest win over Exeter.
“If you know anything about rugby you realise what an unbelievable, special talent we have had for this generation,” said the Saracens head coach, Joe Shaw. “He has just turned 31, he has 100 caps, been on three British Lions tours, won everything domestically and captained his country. He is absolutely fantastic.
“Trying to lead a team in those conditions and the management of where you are is tough and that is where you see the ultimate game managers and leaders and he is still at the very forefront of that.”
With Borthwick set to announce his first squad for the Six Nations on 16 January, there were further encouraging displays from Farrell teammates. Jamie George, back from a heel injury, threw in at the lineout as if was playing darts down the road at Alexandra Palace and Maro Itoje, returning from concussion, was a constant menace around the pitch. The only disappointment for Saracens’ potential England candidates was Elliot Daly’s early departure after a failed HIA.
Johann van Graan praised Ben Spencer’s “absolutely brilliant” display in Bath's 24-16 win over Newcastle that lifted the hosts from last place to eighth in the Premiership. The head of rugby emphasised the win was a “team effort” after his side had trailed 10-7 at the break, but he had special praise for the scrum-half Spencer, who was among the try scorers after signing a new contract during the week.
Van Graan said: “Ben was really good tonight. It was his best performance of the season. We’ve seen glimpses but his confidence is back. He’s really assured, firstly in his own play and in the team behind him. His future is sorted and he was absolutely brilliant tonight with Orlando Bailey. Nine and 10 were key tonight.”
The game was played amid a Met Office yellow weather warning and Van Graan added: “It was always going to be a game of inches. The weather was a real leveller and we knew on Tuesday night that it was going to be really wet.
“For the second half the message was discipline, field position and use our opportunities. And I thought we did that. It was a real team effort. Even with the last play of the game, we were looking for the bonus point.”
The Gloucester head coach, George Skivington, confirmed that Louis Rees-Zammit was a serious doubt for Wales’ opening match of the Six Nations. The flying wing was injured in Gloucester’s defeat at Leicester last week and faces a huge task to be ready to play against Ireland in Cardiff on 4 February.
Skivington said after Gloucester’s 8-6 defeat of London Irish: “He is unlikely to need an operation but his ankle is in a boot with the prognosis not forthcoming because we haven’t been able to receive the scans this week because of hospital delays.
“He will certainly be out for a spell, it could range from two weeks to six months, and on that basis he could be joining the Six Nations late."
Skivington looked set for more misery when his side trailed 6-5 going into the final minute at a sold-out Kingsholm but the Argentina fly-half Santiago Carreras kicked a 45-metre penalty.
The hosts deserved to win a dour match played in miserable conditions. Their pack dominated proceedings, although Skivington will be concerned that the forwards Santiago Socino (knee) and Alex Craig (wrist) leaving the field injured before the interval. PA Media
Jack Nowell fought the good fight for Exeter from the wing for 62 minutes, dealing with Farrell’s high balls, but he was a lone beacon as the Chiefs slipped to their first defeat in six games in all competitions. Their lineout went to pot, every 50-50 went Saracens’ way and their scrum struggled.
Exeter were hamstrung due to the fact they arrived in north London minus half a dozen squad members who had been laid low by a virus and missing hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, who is shaking off a neck problem, and No 8 Sam Simmonds, who has tweaked a knee.
Playing with a stiff wind at their backs in the first half Saracens turned at the break 19-3 up with three tries made in different ways.
The first came when they went away from the Premiership playbook of kicking for a lineout from a penalty and instead let Mako Vunipola take the tap. He passed to brother Billy and Scotland flanker Andy Christie went route one to crash over close to the posts.
The hosts lost Daly on 10 minutes and fly-half Joe Simmonds clawed three points back for Exeter before Farrell’s exquisite chip manufactured a score for wing Sean Maitland on 22 minutes.
Prop Marco Riccioni then scored the second try of his career, and first for his latest club, thanks to a smart lineout move engineered by Itoje.
But with the wind behind them in the second half Exeter could not make the elements tell as Farrell popped over two penalties to hand them a lesson in using the conditions and make it 25-3 after 50 minutes.
The cast changed as both sides emptied their benches but the direction of traffic did not as Saracens continued their dominance with Lewington’s score and a fifth for Nick Tompkins.
Exeter head coach, Ali Hepher, said: “We have been here in the past against Saracens where we have lost heavily but we have learned lessons and we need to do that [again]. There have been a few guys off all week and we haven’t been able to field the side named on a Friday for the last few weeks.”
