Alex Goode could have been one of the England players returning from Six Nations duty that helped Saracens to an emphatic 53-10 victory over Bath on Sunday afternoon. Instead, he was making his first Premiership appearance in more than two months, having been cut from Eddie Jones’s squad at the start of the year.

The misery of being dropped was compounded a week later when Goode tore ankle ligaments that forced him to be sidelined and not only miss England’s entire Six Nations campaign, but also a long run of domestic and European fixtures for Saracens.

He returned in style at the weekend though, finishing off a try of the season contender and also setting one up for teammate Sean Maitland. “Even in tough moments, good moments, it’s just great being out there,” Goode said after the match. “It’s great being part of a team that’s so alive, so full of energy. I love playing at Allianz Park, I love playing with Saracens full stop.”

He added: “I had torn three ligaments in my foot, spring ligaments, so has been a slow process but it was great to be back out there and it felt pretty good.

“We stayed away from the operation as that would’ve been the rest of the season. It’s probably why I didn’t kick too much, kicking was a bit painful but luckily I didn’t have to kick too often. You get into the game and you get a bit of an edge and a bit of adrenaline and you don’t think about it.”

Goode had a hand in two of Saracens’s eight tries against a Bath team that capitulated after conceding a try to the full-back on the stroke of half-time. Starting with a tap-and-go in his own 22, the Saracens scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth shipped the ball on to Goode, and from there the Sarries back line lit up – it was on.

“I think Wiggy didn’t see that Kahn Fotuali’i was coming at me and I was trying to tell him not to tap it, and then he gave it to me and I just went from there really,” Goode recalls. “It opened up, I just played there and Brad [Barrit] hits a good line and we‘re on top of them and they’re scrambling. Jamie George throws one out to Sean [Maitland] and lucky enough he flicks it up to me. I think that shows we’re ready to go from anywhere, if it opens up we can and everyone’s happy to ball-handle and do that and especially in the first-half into the wind, sometimes you’ve got to play a bit more open.”

Saracens will face a similar task this Sunday when they welcome Glasgow Warriors, the 2014/15 Pro12 champions, to an Allianz Park that will have been expanded to a 15,000 capacity for the European Champions Cup quarter-final. Glasgow have forged a reputation for the kind of running rugby that Saracens displayed in tearing Bath apart as they stuck 36 unanswered points on the West Country side in the second half, but the expectation is that Gregor Townsend’s side will not wilt quite so easily.

British and Irish Lions captain candidates Show all 6 1 /6 British and Irish Lions captain candidates British and Irish Lions captain candidates Alun Wyn Jones Jones is probably still the leading candidate for the captaincy, even if his, and Wales’, Six Nations was not what they were hoping for. Jones took the Welsh armband from Sam Warburton for the championship but at times looked uneasy at making a call, such as when he was overruled when Wales opted to go for the corner against Scotland, rather than taking the shot at three points. Jones captained the Lions in the deciding third Test against Australia in 2013 and is a guaranteed starter if fit – something Gatland is keen for his captain to be, although not a necessity. AFP/Getty Images British and Irish Lions captain candidates Sam Warburton Had Wales not finished fifth in the championship with three defeats, there is a good chance Warburton would have been named player of the tournament. The way he reacted to losing the Wales captaincy and moving to blindside flanker has been phenomenal and he is now the bookies’ favourite after his performances and having already led the Lions to a tour victory. Of Warburton’s chances, Gatland said: “He's a different captain to some other players. He leads by example. He doesn't say a lot but he has had that experience. He's one of the guys potentially in contention, definitely.” However, he has been so good without the burden of the armband, would giving it to him hinder his performances? Getty Images British and Irish Lions captain candidates Dylan Hartley Before his red card for Northampton in December, Hartley was the frontrunner for the armband but now his place on the plane is not even assured. For England, Jamie George has impressed and could usurp his captain’s position over the next 12 months, with Hartley arguably not even the third most impressive Hooker the home nations boasted during this year’s Six Nations. However, his grit and fire has been one of the reasons for England’s success under Eddie Jones and it is that sort of personality which could be vital in the hotbed of New Zealand. Getty Images British and Irish Lions captain candidates Rory Best The way Best led Ireland to ending England’s unbeaten run shows that he has the ability to motivate the players around him in tough and gritty situations. He has also captained a side to a win over the All Blacks, the only candidate who is able to say that. Best is certainly a viable candidate but the question mark that remains hanging over him is if he is good enough to start at hooker against the All Blacks? Hartley, Best, George and Wales’ Ken Owens are all in with a shout. AFP/Getty Images British and Irish Lions captain candidates Owen Farrell Farrell was player of the tournament after a stunning Six Nations. His kicking is up there with Leigh Halfpenny’s as amongst the best in the world and he has the right mentality of a captain having been schooled under Eddie Jones. Farrell looks certain to start at 12 for the Lions and would make a fierce captain. However, having not captained an international side from the start, how would he fare leading the most intense tour the Lions have embarked on? It is a tough challenge for the most weathered of captains, never mind a novice. AFP/Getty Images British and Irish Lions captain candidates Conor Murray An outside shout for captain but the way he controls the game from around the ruck shows his importance to the Lions. He, like Best, has experience of beating the All Blacks and of a winning Lions Tour (like everyone on this list, other than Hartley). He has captaincy experience but while he was a certain starter a month ago, the performances of Rhys Webb have given Gatland a real decision to make. He said he wants to pick his squad first and then his captain and that could go against Murray in the decision-making process if Webb is now considered ahead of him. Getty

“They’ve come on leaps and bounds over the last couple of years,” adds Goode. “They were Pro12 champions, you don’t do that without a top set-piece, a top defence, and they’re strong. They’re a good side all across the park, they’ve got a dangerous back-three, a dangerous back line, but again they can handle across the board and they want to play rugby.

Alex Goode scores Saracens's third try against Bath on Sunday (Getty)

“They’re used to playing on an artificial pitch as well so that won’t hold anything back for them and they’re going to come and try and put pressure on us. But that said, Bath are a top quality side and we put so much pressure on them and went back-to-back-to-back-to back, scored again and again and just kept turning the screw.”