Saracens clinched a home play-off semi-final after brushing aside rivals Gloucester 35-12 at Vicarage Road this afternoon.

Sarries produced some sparkling rugby in the sunshine as they set a club record of nine consecutive Premiership wins.

Tries from Schalk Brits and Ernst Joubert gave them the initiative before the Cherry and Whites rallied. But Matt Stevens and David Strettle scored in the second half to give Saracens the momentum heading into a probable semi-final against the same opponents.

The Men in Black made two changes from the side which eased to victory at Exeter Chiefs last weekend. Captain Steve Borthwick recovered from his shoulder injury to take the place of Hayden Smith. Scrum-half Neil de Kock was also fit after a hamstring problem and he started ahead of Richard Wigglesworth.

Sarries made an encouraging start and were handed an early penalty but Alex Goode’s effort narrowly missed the target.

Both teams were trying to take advantage of the perfect playing conditions, due to the continued heat wave, but the final pass was missing in the first quarter of the game.

The Cherry and Whites were given their first penalty midway through the half and Freddie Burns was unlucky to see his effort strike the post.

Saracens opened the scoring with another moment of sheer brilliance from Brits. The South African hooker offloaded to James Short who raced into the Gloucester half. Short played the ball back to Brits and his exceptional pace took him clear of the defence for a classy try. Goode added the conversion for the hosts.

De Kock put the visitors under pressure with a kick which was chased by Short and pushed into touch by Gloucester in their own 22. The home side drove forward from the lineout and Joubert got the final touch for their second try. Goode’s conversion missed but Sarries led 12-0.

Gloucester brought themselves right back into the contest with a superb try seven minutes before the break. Tom Voyce released James Simpson-Daniel and the wing marked his comeback from injury by racing down the touchline to score the unconverted try.

Sarries almost added a third try just before half time but England wing David Strettle was held up just in front of the visitors’ line. But the hosts added a penalty through Goode with the last kick to take a ten-point lead into the break.

The Men in Black got off to an ideal start to the second half as they scored their third try to extend their lead over Gloucester. Replacement Richard Wigglesworth fed Stevens and the prop bulldozed his way over the line. Goode’s conversion made it 22-5 to Sarries.

Sarries were in complete control and Goode booted over another penalty to give them a comprehensive 20-point lead. The hosts were turning on the style, in front of their biggest crowd of the season at Vicarage Road, and Goode tucked away another penalty.

The visitors responded with their second try of the game as Henry Trinder showed a real turn of pace to run from his own half and score. Ryan Mills added the conversion for the Cherry and Whites.

The home supporters gave Rodd Penney a standing ovation after the experienced back came on for his 100th Saracens appearance towards the end of the match.

Gloucester's problems increased in the last ten minutes when Luke Narraway was sent to the sinbin by referee Dave Pearson.

Sarries pushed for the winning bonus-point and it finally arrived in the last minute when Strettle burst through to score the converted try. It was an excellent display by the Men in Black which made a real statement about their title credentials.

Saracens: Goode, Strettle, Wyles, Barritt, Short (Cato, 60), Farrell, De Kock (Wigglesworth, HT); Stevens (Gill, 51), Brits (George, 64), Nieto (du Plessis, 57), Borthwick, Botha (Vyvyan, 51, Penney, 66), Brown (Saull, HT), Burger, Joubert

Gloucester: Voyce, Sharples, Trinder, Fuimaono-Sapolu (Molenaar, 51), Simpson-Daniel, Burns (Mills, HT), Lewis; Dickinson (Wood, 51), Lawson, Harden, James, Hamilton, Strokosch, Hazell (Narraway, 46), Deacon

Scoring: 5-0, 7-0, 12-0, 12-5, 15-5 HT 20-5, 22-5, 25-5, 28-5, 28-10, 28-12, 33-12, 35-12

Referee: Dave Pearson

Attendance:10,439