Jamie George insists Owen Farrell's leadership has become less abrasive with age, but he still wants to avoid the accusing glare of his Saracens team-mate.

Farrell emerged from Saturday's 57-33 Aviva Premiership semi-final victory over Wasps as the holder of a new play-off record for points scored after amassing a haul of 27 at Allianz Park.

Defensively the 26-year-old was outstanding, turning over ball and tackling everyone in his path, and he repeatedly unpicked Wasps in an entertaining but one-sided clash.

England head coach Eddie Jones has appointed him captain for next month's tour to South Africa in the concussion-enforced absence of Dylan Hartley and believes he will inspire his team-mates through fear.

George's long-standing friendship with Farrell means he is no longer intimidated by his British and Irish Lions colleague, but he remains well aware of the repercussions of a display lacking in effort.

"No, he's not really scary for me - I've known him since he was 14. He has definitely worked on that side of his game," England hooker George said.

"Coming into the team as a 20-year-old, bossing people around, he had a certain way about him, but he is much more understanding of the people he is talking to. He is getting the best out of them as a result, which is what you want from a leader.

"But the look is still there. You sometimes get a look but what Owen is big on is that if you haven't worked hard enough to get back on the ball...

"He has got such a clever rugby brain on him that he knows if the mistake is from skill or from effort. A skill error or a knock-on and it is the effort error that he gives you the look for.

"The guy's incredible. For me, he just keeps getting better and better. From what we've seen here, the more leadership and responsibility he is given, the better he gets, the more he rises to it. He certainly leads from the front."

Saracens will face Exeter in Saturday's final at Twickenham in a repeat of the 2016 Premiership final having produced an opening 20 minutes that Mark McCall described as the best of his reign as director of rugby.

"The challenge is to repeat it next week," George said. "You've got to do it again. But also, it wasn't exactly the perfect performance because we conceded 40 points so there's a lot to fix up.

"Imagine if that was 50-odd-nil, we thought we were world-beaters and you come up against whoever in the final..."