Saracens bounced back from their loss to Bath at the Rec to record a hard-fought 28-21 Aviva Premiership victory over an in-form Gloucester at Allianz Park.

Chris Wyles, Alistair Hargreaves and Chris Ashton scored for the home side while fly-half Charlie Hodgson kicked three penalties and added two conversions in an assured display.

Gloucester posted tries from Rob Cook and Tom Savage while Greig Laidlaw was flawless from the tee with four successful kicks, but Billy Twelvetrees missed two long-range efforts at goal.

Gloucester will take plenty of confidence from their battling display but were eventually overwhelmed by the power of the Saracens' pack with Nick Wood's sin-binning in the 57th-minute proving to be a crucial turning point in the game.

Gloucester came firing out of the blocks early on and earned a 6-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes thanks to two Laidlaw penalties. Gloucester's high-tempo play forced Sarries offside on several occasions which gave Laidlaw the opportunity to bisect the posts twice.

Saracens were welcoming back their Springbok star Schalk Brits to the starting line-up but the livewire hooker was forced off after seven minutes with a rib injury.

Clearly stunned by Gloucester's fiery start, Hodgson settled things down and fired over a penalty to eat into Gloucester's early lead. Sarries, however, were positively shell-shocked soon after when Cook glided over in the corner.

Powerful carries from Kvesic and Richard Hibbard gave Gloucester great front-foot ball and Twelvetrees fired out a glorious long pass to release the full-back who swerved past his opposite number Ben Ransom to score.

With a ten-point lead, Gloucester needed to keep their composure but Twelvetrees gifted Sarries a try straight from the kick-off. The England centre took too long with his clearance kick and Wyles charged down his kick to regather and sprint 40 metres clear to bring Saracens back into the contest. Hodgson tagged on the extras to make it 13-10 in what was a breathless first quarter.

Saracens began to get a foothold in the contest and were soon rewarded with their second try after excellent approach work from the pack. Ransom spun clear and released blindside Ernst Joubert who sent his skipper Hargreaves scampering over in the corner. Hodgson failed with the conversion but Sarries went in at the break leading 15-13.

The second-half began as a cagey affair with Hodgson and Laidlaw trading penalties. Little by little, Saracens began to assert their authority with Billy Vunipola, Joubert and the outstanding Hargreaves carrying into the Gloucester defence with venom. Ashton broke downfield and when loosehead prop Wood appeared to pull a Saracens player back, referee Dean Richards sent the front row player to the bin.

Sarries capitalised on their numerical advantage almost immediately when Hargreaves rampaged through a gaping hole in midfield and passed to the onrushing Ashton who cruised in under the posts. Bouyed by the impact of their powerful bench, Saracens piled even more pressure on the tiring Gloucester defence with Hodgson kicking another penalty as Sarries stretched their lead to 28-16.

The home side were totally in control in the closing stages as they chased a fourth try and bonus point. Sarries battered the Gloucester line, but it was the away side who had the last laugh as lock Savage broke away to score and salvage a losing point.