Saracens notched up their first win of the season - but had the consistent
boot of new signing Luke Smith to thank for their scrappy triumph over
Gloucester.
The fly-half, who only joined the Vicarage Road club three weeks ago to cover
for the injured Jannie de Beer, did not crumble under pressure in the dying
minutes of the game when Gloucester came back into the match with all guns
blazing.
In fact Smith held his nerve to keep a 100kicking record by scoring nine
penalties.
Smith got the ball rolling when Gloucester were careless in defence and
conceded three penalties in the opening 10 minutes.
Aussie Tim Horan, appearing in his first game of the season, then added to
Saracens' nine points with a 13th minute try under the posts thanks to the pace
of Scott Murray and Tom Shanklin.
Gloucester's Ludovic Mercier hit back with three penalties before the break
but with Smith adding a further three penalties Gloucester trailed 25-9.
But the tables turned in the second half and the Kingsholm outfit clearly were
not going to take defeat lying down.
The West Country side dominated possession in the first 10 minutes with a
barrage of attacks on Saracens' line to unsettle the home side.
Finally Gloucester were rewarded for their hard work when Olivier Azam muscled
his way over the tryline for a converted score.
The sides exchanged penalties before Gloucester new-boy Daren O'Leary became
the next man on the scoreboard with a 69th minute try thanks to the help of
Mercier and fellow new recruit Diego Albanese.
Mercier surprisingly missed the conversion to leave Saracens a one-point
cushion with just 10 minutes remaining.
Smith however did not bow to the pressure and despite another Mercier score
kicked the final two penalties of the match to hand Saracens a 34-30 victory.
Teams:
Saracens: Harbut, Russell, Phillips, A.
Benazzi, Murray, Hill,
Roques, Cole, Bracken, Smith, O'Mahony, Sorrell, Horan,
Shanklin, Winnan, K. Benazzi.
Replacements: K. Benazzi for A. Benazzi (69),
K. Benazzi for Cole (80), Walshe for Bracken (41),
Sparg for Shanklin (80), A. Benazzi for K. Benazzi (74).
Not Used: Parkes, Cairns, Roche, Arasa.
Gloucester: Tries: Azam, O'Leary. Cons: Mercier.
Pens: Mercier 6. Gloucester: Collazo, Fortey, Pucciarello, Fidler, Eustace,
Boer, Hazell, Paramore, Yachvili, Mercier, Albanese, Stoica,
Ewens, O'Leary, Catling.
Replacements: Azam for Fortey (41),
Woodman for Pucciarello (42), Cornwell for Fidler (72),
Pearce for Paramore (77), Simpson-Daniel for Catling (80).
Not Used: Gomarsall, Mannix.
Att: 7,262
Ref: Ashley Rowden (RFU).
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