Premiership: Saracens 41-39 Gloucester: Woolstencroft double & Farrell kick earns Sarries win

Max Malins' first-half try was his third in two games so far this season

Two Tom Woolstencroft tries in the final five minutes and Owen Farrell's stunning kick saw Saracens claim a thrilling win over Gloucester.

Sarries impressed early on, Max Malins and Ben Earl both crossing, but tries by Val Rapava-Ruskin and Albert Tuisue kept the visitors in touch.

Gloucester's powerful pack earned scores by Fraser Balmain, Rapava-Ruskin and Adam Hastings for a 16-point lead.

But Josh Hallett and Woolstencroft tied the scores and Farrell sealed the win.

• Latest Premiership table

• Rugby Union Weekly podcast - listen and subscribe

A second Sarries success from two Premiership games this season seemed highly unlikely despite a promising start which saw them play the more measured rugby, but two wonderful touchline conversions from Farrell backed up Woolstencroft's double to shatter Gloucester and settle a captivating game.

England fly-half Farrell played a key role in both their first-half tries, twice being involved as Malins crossed for the opener, then instigating a typical break for full-back Elliot Daly which led to Earl's simple score.

The visitors had kept in touch through prop Rapava-Ruskin's score and only trailed by three points at the break thanks to another close-range effort from Tuisue - his first for the club.

Sarries had no answer to the visitors' forward muscle, precision and direct gameplan after the break as three quickfire tries seemed to have put the Cherry & Whites on their way to a second consecutive league victory.

Gloucester's relentless driving maul stood out as Balmain crossed followed by similar scores for Rapava-Ruskin and Hastings.

But with Saracens struggling to find their rhythm, replacement Hallett managed to bundle over and the hosts then started to pile on the pressure.

A Hastings kick put Gloucester 12 points up at 39-27 but replacement hooker Woolstencroft danced through for a converted score to cut the lead to five points and then crossed following a maul with the last play of the game to give Farrell the chance to kick the winning points.

Mark McCall declared that Owen Farrell "lives for those moments" after watching Saracens' captain kick successive conversions in a dramatic 41-39 Gallagher Premiership victory over Gloucester.

Trailing by 12 points heading into the final 10 minutes, Saracens completed the second fightback of a rollercoaster clash at StoneX Stadium when replacement hooker Tom Woolstencroft finished two tries from line-out drives.

Farrell needed to land both conversions from similar positions five metres in from the touchline to secure the win and the England fly-half duly delivered, with the second dropping between the posts in the final act of the game.

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall:

"I'm not sure we'd rather have anyone else kicking. He's done it time and time again. He lives for those moments. Having that competitive spirit on the field at that stage of the match is exactly what you want.

"We had a horrible period either side of half-time when we conceded 26 points. The game was getting away from us.

"While we are really pleased with the result at the end and the impact of the bench, there's probably more bad than good in the match.

"The way we lost our way is something that we'll have to reflect on. We can't be happy with how we played in that first 50 minutes. Our rugby wasn't perfect in the last 20 minutes, far from it, but there was a different energy in the group. Overall we've got to be way better than that."

Gloucester head coach George Skivington:

"I'd packed my bags at that point [when Farrell was lining up for the final kick of the game].

"I'm massively disappointed. I'm gutted. There's no point pretending I don't feel sick about that one.

"The reality is we had a 12-point lead with 15 minutes to go and we didn't manage it well enough.

"There was a bit of desperation on their part, they had nothing to lose in the last 15 and they pushed their luck at the breakdown. That's the way the game goes."

Saracens: Daly; Malins, Lozowski, Taylor, Lewington; Farrell, Van Zyl; Mako Vunipola, George, Judge, McFarland, Tizard, Christie, Earl, Billy Vunipola.

Replacements: Woolstencroft, Mawi, Clarey, Hunter-Hill, Wray, De Haas, Manu Vunipola, Hallett.

Gloucester: Evans; Rees-Zammit, Harris, Atkinson, Thorley; Hastings, Meehan; Elrington, Singleton, Balmain, Clarke, Craig, Ackermann (capt), Taylor, Tuisue.

Replacements: Socino, Rapava-Ruskin, Ford-Robinson, Jordan, Reid, Chapman, Twelvetrees, Moyle.

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys.