Owen Farrell: Saracens captain says Premiership champions can 'raise ceiling higher'
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Farrell, along with Alex Goode and Jamie George, picked up a sixth Premiership winners medal
Saracens captain Owen Farrell believes the team can still "raise the ceiling" of their ambition after winning a sixth Premiership title.
Farrell kicked 13 points as his team beat Sale 35-25 at Twickenham for their first title in four years.
It was Saracens' seventh Premiership final in the last 10 years.
But the England fly-half said victory was not redemption for last year's final, where Sarries were beaten by Leicester in the last minute.
"I think what's more important is how we've been all season - the difference that we made at the start of the year, the difference in probably raising our ceiling of where we can go," he said.
"At this moment in time, regardless of how today went, it still feels like there's a lot for this young team now still to go.
"There's a feeling of wanting to get the best out of ourselves and that will carry on for a long time now."
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said Farrell is currently playing his "best rugby of his life".
Despite this being the 31-year-old's sixth Premiership title win, it was the first where he lifted the trophy as captain.
"If you spent the week at our training ground you wouldn't believe just how influential he is, how clear he is with the playing group, how emotive he is, what standards he sets, how supportive he is to team-mates young and old," McCall continued.
"He's played the best rugby of his life as well but his leadership is going to a whole new level.
"When the game is in the battles and it was 25-23 and we lacked a bit of energy, it wasn't just Owen but our senior players grasped the nettle really and saw us through very well in the last 15 or 20 minutes.
"We had a lot of control in that period of time and I think that's down to their experience in those situations. They've been there and done it before and they showed all that experience when we needed it most."
'Saracens only just starting'
Before the game, director of rugby Mark McCall spoke about how his side changed their mentality at the start of this campaign and committed to a "certain way of playing".
Despite dominating the regular season from start to finish and reasserting their position as the English game's dominant force following their return from the Championship, McCall still believes they can get better.
"Today feels really good and it's great to win but it feels like we're only just starting in lots of ways," McCall said.
"We knew if we wanted to play the way we wanted to play, we certainly needed to get fitter and we worked really hard at that.
"We looked a bit dead in the first 20 minutes of the second half and sometimes that's emotionally driven, but we found a way out of that and through that."
Sarries lost prop Mako Vunipola to injury before kick-off while hooker Jamie George departed with a head knock after just 10 minutes and wing Sean Maitland to a knee injury by the end of the first quarter.
Club legend Jackson Wray signed off his Saracens career in style
Theo Dan impressed off the bench after replacing George, one of a growing number of emerging younger players in the Sarries squad.
"We've been playing some of these younger players all year," McCall noted. "To lose Mako before the game and Jamie after 10 minutes is a significant blow, given who else was already missing from the pack.
"But these young lads stepped up - but guided around by unbelievable senior players."
Two of those - number eight Jackson Wray and replacement centre Duncan Taylor - were playing their final games for the club.
"Jackson Wray and Duncan Taylor will go down as probably two of the best players ever to put on the Saracens jersey," added George. "What incredible players and more importantly, what incredible men. They deserve this."
Sale 'need to be more clinical'
Sale were playing in their first Premiership final in 17 years since they won the title in 2006 and director of rugby Alex Sanderson said the result left him "unbelievably gutted" and "ripped apart".
Sanderson believes Sale will return to the Twickenham stage
While he had no complaints about the result, he hopes the experience of reaching the Twickenham final and coming up just short will help the Sharks squad grow stronger and more determined to take the final step.
"Saracens deserved to win as we needed to be a bit more clinical at times," Sanderson told BBC Radio 5 Live. "But you don't win finals by shipping 35 points. There are simple lessons there.
"But we're growing. This is the start. I'm hugely optimistic about where we can take this. We've built something here which we can build on again and move forward with.
"We've got a really young, really enthusiastic group and I hope they get a taste for it as we'll be back here again at some point in the future."