Gloucester 21-30 Saracens: Theo McFarland brace secures spoils for visitors at Kingsholm

It was a glorious start for Saracens when hooker Theo Dan carried over from short range to open the scoring in the eighth minute. An offside penalty by Gloucester gave Sarries excellent field position and a string of forward carries gave Dan an easy scoop and score. Owen Farrell was successful with his first conversion attempt of the afternoon.

The momentum shifted around the 20th minute mark when Gloucester started to switch into gear. Some expansive play down the wing by Charlie Atkinson and Josh Hathaway set up great field position and Freddie Thomas drove through for the score under the sticks. Ross Byrne got the extras to level up the scoring.

This momentum shift didn’t last long however as Saracens retook the lead in the 23rd minute through Theo McFarland. The flanker carried strong and overpowered the Gloucester defence. Farrell once more got the extras.

Farrell extended the lead for Saracens with a penalty in the 33rd minute after a tantalising Gloucester break was called back for a knock on during the rip tackle.

Gloucester got one back just before half time after a bit of Tomos Williams magic provided an untouched score for Arthur Clark. Williams peeled off the blindside of a maul and isolated Max Malins on the left wing. A basketball throw to Clark gave the second row maybe the easiest try of his career. Byrne got the extras to reduce the deficit to three points at the break.

The second half scoring was opened by Saracens in the 46th minute when a pin point cross kick by Farrell found McFarland for his second try of the match. Farrell’s conversion attempt was not so pinpoint as it went wide of the far post.

Sarries got their bonus point try in the 52nd minute when Jamie George’s superb offload set up Ivan Van Zyl. Farrell missed the extras.

Farrell extended Sarries lead once more with a penalty kick in the 68th minute.

Gloucester got a consolidation try right on the final whistle through Will Knight but it wasn’t enough to prevent defeat as the hosts leave with 0 points. Byrne got the extras.

ATTENDANCE: 16,115

Tries: 3 (Thomas 20’, Clark 40’, W. Knight 80’)

Conversions: 3 (Byrne 20’ 40’ 80’)

Penalties: 0

Yellow cards: 0

Red cards: 0

15. Charlie Atkinson 14. Ben Loader 13. Will Butler 12. Seb Atkinson 11. Ollie Thorley 10. Ross Byrne 9. Tomos Williams (captain) 1. Val Rapava Ruskin 2. Jack Innard 3. Afo Fasogbon 4. Freddie Thomas 5. Arthur Clark 6. James Venter 7. Lewis Ludlow 8. Jack Clement

Replacements: 16. George Knowles 17. Ciaran Knight 18. Jamal Ford-Robinson 19. Cam Jordan 20. Harry Taylor 21. Mikey Austin 22. Will Knight 23. Josh Hathaway

Tries: 4 (Dan 8’, McFarland 23’ 46’, Van Zyl 52’)

Conversions: 2 (Farrell 8’ 24’)

Penalties: 2 (Farrell 33’ 68’)

Yellow cards: 0

Red cards: 0

15. Elliot Daly 14. Rotimi Segun 13. Lucio Cinti 12. Nick Tompkins 11. Max Malins 10. Owen Farrell 9. Ivan Van Zyl (captain) 1. Rhys Carre 2. Theo Dan 3. Marcus Street 4. Nick Isiekwe 5. Hugh Tizard 6. Theo McFarland 7. Andy Oneama-Christie 8. Tom Willis

Replacements: 16. Jamie George 17. Eroni Mawi 18. Tietie Tuimauga 19. Juan Martin Gonzalez 20. Ben Earl 21. Charlie Bracken 22. Fergus Burke 23. Olly Hartley

Seb Atkinson – Gloucester and England – Atkinson is regarded as the future of Gloucester Rugby by many of the clubs biggest and loyalist supporters. The centre is electric in attack splitting open defences and offloading even in the trickiest of situations.

He sets up play well and elevates the Gloucester side when he is playing. His ability to spread but also narrow a defence just from his presence frees up Ross Byrne at fly half to change tempo and shift the ball accordingly. He would certainly have been part of England’s autumn nations squad if not for an injury but his return to fitness has been seamless and he has settled back in easily. Steve Borthwick will be eager to give Atkinson a prolonged period of international play so the centre is set up for the future. He is an immense talent and proves it week in and week out at Kingsholm.

Nick Isiekwe – Saracens and England – Isiekwe has been in and around the England set up since making his test debut in the summer of 2017. Since then, he has only made 15 international caps due to the extreme level of talent around the second row position.

With George Martin currently out injured and Isiekwe on a good run of form it could be the prime time for the 27 year old to return to international duty. It has been three years since he has made an international appearance however, but his experience and defensive ability may be what England need to push past the French and the Irish in the six nations.

Freddie Thomas – Gloucester and Wales – Thomas has shone bright in a less than sparkling Gloucester side this season. The 24 year old has commanded the set piece well and has taken a big step up in his defensive effort. Thomas has made 85% of his tackles this season with 41% of these being dominant tackles.

His defensive work rate matched with his superb lineout play and his versatility being able to play second row and back row will certainly be to Wales boss Steve Tandy’s liking. He faces stiff competition with Adam Beard and Daf Jenkins but if he carries up the excellent run of form he had before Christmas I am sure he will be a prominent feature for Wales heading forward.

Owen Farrell – Saracens and England – England’s highest ever points scorer and former captain stepped down from international rugby at the end of the 2023/2024 season with a move to Racing 92. However, upon his return to North London, Farrell is back in the mix for an England call up and with a couple of appearances on the British and Irish Lions tour in the summer he is still in contention for the England 10 jersey.

Although there is some stiff competition ahead of him with the likes of Finn and Marcus Smith, as well as his long time England team mate George Ford, Farrell may be slightly further down the pecking order than expected. Steve Borthwick has a hard decision to make regarding Farrell’s England future but you can never write off Owen Farrell as he is arguably England’s greatest ever player.

Andy Onyeama-Christie – Saracens and Scotland- The Scotsman has made Eight test match appearances, which is a number that feels insanely low given the calibre of player he is. His career has been plagued with injuries, the worst of which being a serious ankle injury last season which saw him out of action for almost a year. The injuries haven’t stopped him yet though and his pure power from the back row as well as his ability to win possession through heroic jackaling will be keeping him on Gregor Townsend’s radar for the upcoming six nations. With an ageing Jamie Ritchie, Onyeama-Christie will be battling Rory Darge for the number seven shirt.

Saracens kick start their season – The win tonight was vital for the North London side who sat sixth in the Gallagher PREM before this weekend’s fixtures. The win this afternoon puts them back within a bonus point win of the playoff spots with ten rounds of the league left to play. The win at Kingsholm today was their first league win since the 18th of October and pushes Mark McCall’s men back into contention. The team seem to have become a well oiled machine and were too much for their opponents today.

Theo McFarland’s brace – It is not too often that a flanker leaves the field of play with two tries to his name but that’s exactly what happened to Theo McFarland today. The Samoan international was strong and powerful this afternoon throughout and his physicality set him apart from the opposing defence. The 30 year old’s experience showed today and his ability to be in the right position to drive through for a pair of scores was excellent.

A lacklustre Gloucester – As the teams went into the half it looked as if Gloucester were in the game, down only three points and with the majority of positive play, The Cherry and Whites seemed like a different side to that which has been poor for most of the season. The second half was a different story however; it took 40 minutes for them to get a consolidation try and even that took a lot more work than it should’ve. The exciting play they were so known for over the past couple years only seemed to appear in the last ten minutes and by that point Saracens already had a two try lead.

Tomos Williams faces future side – Saracens announced that last years Gallagher PREM player of the season will be moving to North London from Gloucester on Christmas day. The Welshman has excelled at Kingsholm over his past two seasons and his performance today showed flashes of why Mark McCall and Saracens were so keen to sign him. A beautiful basketball esc pass to Arthur Clark for Gloucester’s second try and some great tempo shifts showed why they were so keen to chase after him.

Gloucester’s season of what if’s – Gloucester was constantly one pass away from breaking free in the second half and it seemed to be that final decision that just didn’t click into place. Gloucester Director of Rugby, George Skivington spoke on the Gloucester attack this afternoon.

“Our attack is pretty intricate; there’s stuff that won’t be obvious to anyone in the stands unless you know the plan inside out but we’re just missing the beat in some really important moments and therefore teams like Sarries just capitalise on it.” Gloucester do seem to always just fall short of the final hurdle this season and should have more points than they currently do, there’s been a few swing games where pivotal moments just fall away from them.

Gloucester lock Freddie Thomas reiterated this “I think we were in it during the first half, second half we came out with some silly errors and silly penalties and it gave them an opportunity too get into our half and they’re clinical they’re a good team.”