A decisive 27-10 Premiership final victory for Saracens over Exeter Chiefs silenced their critics, according to director of rugby Mark McCall.

Chiefs won the 2016/17 crown but on Saturday were limited to a single try at Twickenham, courtesy of Gareth Steenson – a disappointing end to their impressive campaign after topping the regular season table.

And in a day of Sarries goodbyes, Chris Wyles became the first man to score in three Premiership finals as he ended his playing career with a brace, while hooker Schalk Brits was shown a yellow card during the final quarter in his last appearance for the club.

McCall was thrilled by the Men in Black’s overall performance, a triumph which did not seem possible just a few short months ago.

“Having lost five games in a row in December and to be here and play the way we did feels really good,” reflected McCall.

“As a group we were calm, composed and fought our way through that period.

“The players would say it felt brilliant on the field. We were so alive and I thought it was a top-class performance – it was a massive effort by everybody.

“I’m most pleased with the quality of our performance. It feels like it was our best final performance because of the quality of the opposition.”

Exeter certainly made a strong start to the game, enjoying 99 percent of possession for the first quarter – but they struggled to convert this into points, and after 15 minutes had only a Joe Simmonds penalty on the scoreboard.

Simmonds missed a second penalty, causing many raised eyebrows as the fly-half was chosen ahead of Chiefs veteran Steenson, but nevertheless it didn’t affect a shoddy Sarries start.

But Sarries finally found their momentum and by half-time were in complete control, causing Rob Baxter to shake up the side ten minutes into the second half, removing Simmonds from the field in the process.

By now, the stage was set for Sarries’ finest to show off, with the returning Billy Vunipola impressing with a try and brother Mako, Maro Itoje and Owen Farrell continuing to impress, having found their feet after this year’s disappointing Six Nations.

McCall will be hoping this summer send-off will be fresh in his team’s memory come August 31, when the newly named Gallagher Premiership Rugby season arrives.