Gloucester 17 Saracens 19: McCall sets standards as Farrell gets Sarries out of jail

The champions were almost going home without even a losing bonus point as the game entered the final moments.

They were 17-9 down after Gloucester full-back Olly Morgan had scored a super try, and fly-half Freddie Burns and his replacement Tim Taylor contributed kicks.

But ex-England international Charlie Hodgson and centre Owen Farrell kept Saracens in touch before, at 17-12, Farrell’s grubber kick to the posts saw Brad Barritt just get in ahead of the covering Dave Lewis for a score-levelling try.

It still needed a touchline conversion from Farrell to grab the win, which he did to complete a great personal display.

However, McCall wants more from his team.

He said: “We were poor and I can understand why a lot of teams come down here and get beaten because of the intensity.

“The fact that we were able to stay tight and not lose the run of ourselves, that we showed the composure in the last 20 minutes said a lot about us.

“Owen goes from strength to strength. We moved him from the centre to No 10 and he took over the goal-kicking duties from Charlie and kicked well. But overall, as a team performance, we have to do a lot better.”

Otley-born England international Mike Tindall came on in the second half for his first game since the World Cup.

Gloucester coach Bryan Redpath added: “He is training and playing well and, if he doesn’t train and play well, he puts himself in danger of not being selected, the same as everybody else. The key thing is we have got him back playing and he can enjoy the game of rugby again.”

Sam Vesty’s late penalty gave Bath victory over London Irish.

Bath dominated the early exchanges and Vesty claimed a try after quick hands created a gap in the Irish line.

Bath led 5-0 at half-time but Irish started the second half strongly and Tom Homer landed two goals to edge them ahead 6-5.

Bath regained the lead when Dave Attwood went over in the corner for their second try which was viewed by the video referee before being awarded. Homer booted over his third and fourth goals to give Irish a 12-10 lead but Vesty had the final word.