Saracens stormed to the top of the Premiership on Sunday after the hosts took advantage of the early dismissal of England Saxons prop Nick Wood to rout Gloucester 44-12.
Wood received the second fastest red card in Premiership history after twice stamping on Jacques Burger’s head with just 73 seconds on the clock.
The quickest sending off belongs to Mike Watson of London Scottish, who lasted just 42 seconds against Bath in 1999.
The incident gave referee Wayne Barnes an easy decision to make and Wood trudged off to leave Gloucester with 14 men and an uphill task for virtually the entire game.
Their resistance lasted only until the third quarter when Saracens pulled clear.
Tries from Joel Tomkins, Schalk Brits and Billy Vunipola, as well as two from David Strettle produced Saracens’ second bonus-point victory in two matches, while Owen Farrell kicked 17 points.
Freddie Burns’s greater creativity saw him edge his England fly-half duel with Farrell, but the Gloucester playmaker was forced off with eight minutes remaining after receiving a heavy tackle from man of the match Burger.
Saracens rout Gloucester to go top
