Leicester Tigers v Saracens: Owen Farrell tipped for greatness by Shalk Brits following faultless kicking display

Farrell outshone his opposite number and England incumbent Toby Flood, who surprisingly missed two penalties from in front of the posts during the second half, by kicking five penalties as well as converting a try by James Short.

Saracens hooker Schalk Brits, who put himself back in the frame for a further caps for the Springboks with a stunning man-of-the-match performance, said Farrell was destined for a long career with England.

“Farrell is a kid who played like a man today,” said Brits. “He will just get better with age and will, as he gets old, dominate more in attack and organizing the backline even more.

“For a kid of 19 to play rugby like that is a phenomenal feat. He’ll get better and better and is a great player. He’ll definitely play international rugby, it is just a question of when, without a doubt.”

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall also hailed Farrell’s performance.

“Every time that a new challenge has been presented to Owen this year, he has risen to that challenge,” he said. “For a guy who is in his first year out of school, to play with that kind of composure and that kind of control against opposition is a remarkable performance.”

McCall also paid tribute to his side’s heroic defensive display as Saracens withstood 32 phases on their line to prevent Leicester scoring what would have been a match-winning try.

“It would have been very difficult for us to have lost at the end but it was a fitting end to the match because it tells you a lot about Leicester; the fact that they were 19-9 down but refused to give up,” added McCall. “But it hopefully tells you something about our squad and our team as well. We refused to yield and fought and fought at the end. We hope that today is the start of something, not the end of something.”

Richard Cockerill, the Leicester director of rugby, conceded that Saracens “probably deserved their victory” but once again pointed a finger at England for Flood’s drop in kicking accuracy.

“He (Toby) went to England with a certain kicking percentage and came back with a different one that was lower,” said Cockerill. “He was not responsible for the result today but that whole issue with his kicking has been a problem ever since the autumn Tests. We lost today but the season was not a disaster.”

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Toby Flood wants Leicester to banish ghosts of Dublin against Leinster

Toby Flood believes England's grand slam disappointment will not adversely affect Leicester's chances of Heineken Cup quarter-final success over Leinster in Dublin this weekend. Flood and his half-back partner Ben Youngs both had poor games against a rampant Ireland at the Aviva Stadium last month but the fly-half insists the Tigers will not fall into the same trap as the national side.

With the benefit of hindsight, Flood accepts England were insufficiently braced for Ireland's furious early assault and Leicester are determined not to make the same mistake. "Having already played the Irish side there, we're aware of the ferocity of it all and the aggression they showed.

"Leinster are very similar to Ireland in how they play, they have the same type of defensive strategy and we have to be ready for their physical challenge. It's going to be a pretty hectic first 20 minutes. Hopefully we'll try and keep this game really tight and turn the pressure on in the last 10-15 minutes."

Flood is adamant he and Youngs carry no mental scars from Ireland's convincing 24-8 victory, stressing that club games are "very different beasts" from Test matches. "There's not been a question of me lying awake at night questioning what I'm about. If anything it's made me determined to be better.

"Sometimes it takes time to bounce back but it is reinvigorating to come back to your club. It was good to have that 'You're back at Leicester' kick up the arse. We were quite flat but the rugby environment here is quite cut-throat in terms of humour. It brushes away any ailments you have."

The Tigers will be without the prop Marcos Ayerza after opting not to appeal against the Argentina international's two-week ban for butting the Harlequins' prop Joe Marler. Richard Cockerill, their director of rugby, described the disciplinary panel's decision as "fair" but remains concerned that financial inequality is making it harder for English clubs to compete with their bigger European rivals.

"The landscape of the club game and the finances has changed even since we were last in the final," said Cockerill, a firm believer that the Premiership salary cap is too low. "I don't think there's any disgrace in not having won it in the last eight years. The players we had in our squad in the last World Cup season in 2007 are nearly twice as expensive as they are now but the salary cap is virtually the same."

Northampton, who face Ulster in Milton Keynes on Sunday have signed the Saracens winger Noah Cato. The 23-year-old spent four years at Saracens, for whom he made 63 appearances.

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