Hibbard sinks Sarries in cliffhanger

Saracens had not lost back-to-back games since May 2015, while Gloucester had just one win in their last seven league clashes against Saracens.

But it was a nip-and-tuck affair in the first period, Billy Burns' penalty after six minutes meeting a quick response in Schalk Britz' well-taken try following sustained Saracens pressure after 12 minutes, with returning England prop Mako Vunipola prominent.

Saracens threatened to pull away with Marcelo Bosch's huge penalty, but outstanding New Zealander Tom Marshall rocketed over from close range for a converted Gloucester try before Burns kicked two penalties to give David Humphreys' side the half-time advantage.

All Black Jeremy Thrush compounded the lead after the break after a Bosch error, but Will Fraser continued his fine injury comeback with a try that levelled things at 23-23 before Gloucester's late show.

First Billy Twelvetrees kicked a penalty to move The Cherry & Whites ahead, before Hibbard scored from a driving maul as the Kingsholm side became the first to put three league tries past the champions this season.

Saracens had fallen to a shock 18-24 loss away to Worcester Warriors last time out and after Burns had put Gloucester ahead with a penalty on six minutes, McCall's side began to play like a side inspired.

Mike Ellery made ground down the left side after some soft hands in midfield from Schalk Burger and despite some efficient Gloucester defending, the champions poured forward in numbers. Mako Vunipola feature prominently going forward before Britz took a short pass to dive over, with Lozowski converting on 12 minutes for a 7-3 lead.

Marcelo Bosch's long-range boot moved Saracens further ahead, but Humphreys side remained composed and worked their way back into the visitors' 22. Gloucester's pack made the inroads before Marshall shot over from close range before Burns' conversion moved the Cherry & Whites level.

The hosts' line speed had been impressive for the first half hour, but as they strayed offside on the half hour mark, it cost them three points as Lozowski pumped over the penalty from in front of the sticks.

Youngster Burns made Saracens pay for their indiscretion on 35 minutes with his second penalty of the evening, before repeating the trick again on the stroke of half-time after a dangerous Brad Barritt tackle to give the Cherry & Whites a 16-13 lead at the turn.

Gloucester continued to make the most of any Saracens errors and when Bosch's attempted chip-and-chase fell into Cherry & White hands, the ball was recycled and Thrush galloped under the posts unchallenged for a converted score.

A head injury to Burns meant a lengthy pause in a period of Saracens pressure, but the champions did not relent and when Paul Doran-Jones was sent to the bin for pulling down a maul, Fraser went over for his first Premiership try since his return from injury.

With Gloucester back to the full complement, they piled forward into Saracens territory and Billy Twelvetrees kicked a penalty to move them 26-23 ahead with six minutes remaining.

Claiming the kick-off was pivotal, but they did more than that as Ben Morgan broke 40 metres up field and fed David Halaifonua, who cleverly passed the ball off a Saracens player and into touch as the cover defence converged on him.

Hibbard was emphatically driven over from the resultant maul.

Scorers:

For Gloucester:

Tries: Marshall, Thrush, Hibbard

Cons: Burns 2

Pens: Burns 3, Twelvetrees

For Saracens:

Tries: Britz, Fraser

Cons: Lozowski 2

Pens: Bosch, Lozowski 2

Yellow card: Paul Doran-Jones (Gloucester, 59)

Teams:

Gloucester: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 David Halaifonua, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Willi Heinz (captain), 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Jacob Rowan, 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Jeremy Thrush, 4 Tom Savage, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Josh Hohneck

Replacements: 16 Motu Matu'u, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Paul Doran-Jones, 19 Mariano Galarza, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Callum Braley, 22 James Hook, 23 Henry Trinder

Saracens: 15 Duncan Taylor, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt (captain), 11 Mike Ellery, 10 Alex Lozowski, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Will Fraser, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Schalk Britz, 1 Mako Vunipola.

Replacements: 16 Jared Saunders, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Petrus Du Plessis, 19 Mark Flanagan, 20 Kelly Brown, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Max Malins, 23 Matt Gallagher.

Referee: Wayne Barnes

Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Nigel Carrick

TMO: David Grashoff

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