Van Zyl dives over as Saracens pulled away from Gloucester with early second-half tries
ASHLEY WESTERN/COLORSPORT/SHUTTERSTOCK

Match Summary

The ambition formed in my head years ago that it would be magnificent to see Gloucester win the Gallagher Prem title before retirement, and it now looks as if the vision is dying because they are nowhere near contending at the top.

But any sense of sadness can always be dispersed by the sheer unending joy of watching rugby at Kingsholm. It has been my favourite club ground since I watched rugby there as a schoolboy, and the magnificent atmosphere booms out, either in elation at Gloucester’s victories or as a consolation when things go wrong.

The Shed is one of the greatest gathering places that rugby has ever constructed. On the roof these days is an advertisement for a national plywood company; you hope that the grand enclosure is not constructed of that material but it was fit to burst on Saturday, and even though Gloucester were never going to win, even though we had to wait until the last thrust of the second half for them to add to their half-time score, the support of the team was sustained throughout.

And yet again, the team lost players to injury. They have lost so many this season that poor Seb Atkinson in midfield must be racking his brain to try to remember some of the names of the players around him. The massively talented centre Will Joseph has been missing for a long time, and although Ben Loader returned from a long injury absence on Saturday, he was soon taken off with what looked a nasty recurrence.

However, the wicked fortunes of Gloucester are not entirely down to injuries, however savage the injured list. For me, they need three more class forwards, and have for several years. Afolabi Fasogbon at tight-head is a jewel — he will become a fantastic prop and, for me, is at the head of the line among the emerging English front-row forwards. It was instructive on Saturday that he was cheered to the echo on being replaced, although Gloucester, by that stage, were clearly going to lose.

Gloucester need steady hands, they need some signings and, who knows, they could yet go all the way. But how stunning that they can rely on their wonderful following in sickness and health, and in victory and defeat. They are everything a proper rugby club should be, and Tottenham Hotspur could do with a few thousand from the Shed to show their supporters how it is done.

Saracens do not have the power they used to wield up front and in their development phase are probably missing a hard-nosed centre, a successor to the steely Brad Barritt. On Saturday they were not at their best but defended magnificently in the second half. Theo McFarland was again world class in the back row and Nick Isiekwe was again a magnificent all-purpose forward. You sense that they need a prop of the calibre of those in their great times, and they need their captain, Maro Itoje, to come back from injury. To be fair, to lose two mighty Vunipolas in close order is difficult.

Gloucester Rugby v Saracens - Gallagher PREM

Gloucester possess very talented players — such as the tight-head prop Fasogbon — but have struggled with injuries and need more class forwards

But they still bring on excellent youngsters, and Rotimi Segun on the wing is now beginning to look like a genuine force at Prem level. He had a real aggression and bite in his play.

The opening score was inspired — and finished off — by Theo Dan, whose driving was relentless. By half-time they had scored another try, this time from the impressive McFarland, but Gloucester were attacking boldly too, even though they suffered injuries. Having earlier scored through Freddie Thomas, they brought it back to 17-14 with a try from a lineout, when Tomos Williams attacked to the blind side, weaved his way among tacklers and Arthur Clark scored out wide.

But the match went away from Gloucester at the start of the second half. The outstanding McFarland scored his second try after a huge Saracens attack, and just after that Jamie George was conspicuous in another outstanding set of raids. As he was absorbed by a tackler near the line, he threw out an underarm pop pass, almost without looking, and found Ivan van Zyl for the try. It was a clever move by the powerhouse player.

At this stage the crowd found another item to amuse them — Owen Farrell missed both conversions of those Saracens tries after the break, and the Shed let him know it. It has to be said that Farrell was monumentally unaffected.

Gloucester v Saracens, Premiership Rugby, Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester, UK - 27 Dec 2025

There was a late penalty by Farrell — adding to one he converted in the first half — and although Ollie Thorley made a brilliant run towards the line for Gloucester at the end, it seemed they would not score in the second half. But their morale on and off the field is superb and Will Knight went steaming over, through tackles, to send the faithful home with a smile.

They will need a brilliant performance from their medical personnel and healing machines to end the season well. They have so much talent and spirit, but it is hard to assess them when they have so many absentees.

Saracens’ morale is unaffected by some relatively poor results. Their signing of George Martin, Leicester Tigers’ giant second row, for next season could fill some of the gaps. They are born contenders, and they are still contending this season in the Prem. And on Saturday they managed to negotiate the Shed and the finest supporters in the sport.

Gloucester: Tries Thomas (20min), Clark (40), W Knight (80+2). Cons Byrne 3. Saracens: Tries Dan (9), McFarland 2 (24, 46), Van Zyl (52). Cons Farrell 2. Pens Farrell 2 (32, 68).

Gloucester C Atkinson; B Loader (J Hathaway 16), W Butler (W Knight 4), S Atkinson, O Thorley; R Byrne, T Williams (M Austin 74); V Rapava Ruskin (C Knight 68), J Innard (G Knowles 77), A Fasogbon (J Ford-Robinson 55), F Thomas, A Clark, J Venter (H Taylor 55; C Jordan 59), L Ludlow, J Clement.

Saracens E Daly; R Segun, L Cinti, N Tompkins (F Burke 57), M Malins; O Farrell (O Hartley 68), I van Zyl (C Bracken 67); R Carre (E Mawi 50), T Dan (J George 50), M Street (T Tuimauga 68), N Isiekwe, H Tizard, T McFarland (JM Gonzalez 60), A Onyeama-Christie (B Earl 56), T Willis.

Referee Adam Leal (RFU).

Home

Untitled Page 1

Saracens nullify Gloucester (and finest fans in rugby) to end poor run