Wingers Chris Ashton and Sean Maitland may have forced their way into British & Irish Lions reckoning according to Mark McCall – after an eight-try romp for Saracens against Bath.

Ashton scored twice in the second half and Maitland bagged one in the first half as Saracens ran up a 53-10 victory at Allianz Park.

Jamie George and Alex Goode also crossed in the first half before Saracens eased through the gears in a totally dominant second period.

Schalk Brits, Brad Barritt and Billy Vunipola added to Ashton’s brace with a try from Anthony Watson and a penalty and conversion from George Ford, all in the first half, the only Bath scores.

Despite the narrow 17-10 lead at the break, Bath offered little resistance and were simply outplayed in the second 40 as Saracens condemned the visitors to their third successive defeat of the season.

The win also keeps Sarries’ hopes of a home semi-final alive, leaving them one point off second-placed Exeter Chiefs with only four games to play.

Saracens director of rugby McCall said: “It was a really good performance. I thought we started well. It’s the kind of performance we’re after.

“The bench came on and took our game to a different level. We’re going to need that next week again.

“Chris [Ashton] was really good and you could see what a clever rugby player he is. Sean Maitland on our other wing was also good and the two of them gave performances that Warren Gatland might be interested in.”