McCall: We competed and scrapped for everything all the way

Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, hailed his side’s tenacity as they extended their lead at the summit of the Premiership.

“We competed and scrapped for everything all the way through the match against a good side at a difficult place to come, so I’m really happy with that,” he said.

“Our lineout was outstanding and we showed a lot of resilience at key times. There was some great bits of defence and important interventions by individuals and that’s what you need when you’re up against it.

“I thought Owen or Goodey would have stepped up slightly earlier to pull the trigger with the drop-goal – there were a couple of better opportunities in that phase of play. It’s great to get a win, but a draw would have been okay.”

McCall said he was yet to say the footage of Farrell‘s controversial challenge. “I’ve heard there was a potentially high tackle that I will have to have a look at,” he said.

Gloucester head coach George Skivington said: “It hurts, it was a good contest. Sometimes you just lose at the end and that’s how it goes. The boys did everything I asked them to do.”