Alex Goode has made his name as a playmaking rather than a galloping full-back, but months out with a shoulder injury gave him the opportunity to work on his speed and a team that had won in Toulouse the previous month could not keep pace with him.
Goode scored one of Saracens' 11 tries on their way to a quarter-final date with Ulster, which will mean a return to Ravenhill for their director of rugby, Mark McCall, and helped create three others, including the key second after a tense and tight opening 28 minutes.
It was Goode's break from inside his own half after Schalk Brits had taken a quick lineout, beating defenders and stepping out of challenges, that started the rout and the highlight of the match was his try early in the second half when, after receiving a kick on the left wing at halfway, he went on an arcing run before straightening up and again flummoxing defenders with his speed and change of pace.
Full-back is not one of the problem positions for Stuart Lancaster ahead of the Six Nations, with Mike Brown one of the stand-out players in the autumn, but the remodelled Goode will give the England head coach pause for thought.
"I have to make it tough for the coaches," Goode said. "I feel I am playing well, but that does not mean I am going to get selected. Brownie is in good form and did well in November, but you cannot go into the England camp feeling you are second best and sulking. I intend to show I can have an impact on the team.
"Being out with the injury gave me the chance to reflect and look at my game to find ways I could improve. I have worked hard at running power, length strength, speed and tackle breaks. It has given me the mental strength to take people on and I am feeling more confident, getting out wider in the channels. I have a couple of sprint sessions a week and I think I have come back stronger and faster."
Saracens are in the last eight for the third season in a row but two defeats to Toulouse left them as one of the two best runners-up, along with Leicester, in what has been another difficult European campaign for Premiership clubs. The two sides that went through not only finished second in their pools but profited from being grouped with Italian teams, who in the Heineken Cup amount to little more than an invitation to help yourself to 10 points. In six matches against the three Irish qualifiers, English clubs mustered a solitary victory.
"The Heineken pools are led by three Irish provinces and three French clubs," said the Saracens chairman, Nigel Wray. "No wage caps there of course. Coincidence? How many 'low wage' clubs lead Premier League football? Like it or not, that is the way the game is going and it will create massive financial problems over here if you want to play at the top."
Increased television income will lead to a rise in the Premiership's salary cap but, if the Heineken Cup survives as a six-nation tournament, any financial increase enjoyed by the English will be matched by French clubs who will continue to stoke wage inflation. Teams such as Saracens will, unlike Goode, be running harder just to stand still.
Saracens Goode; Ashton, Taylor (Wyles, 53), Barritt, Strettle; Hodgson (Farrell, 59-67), Wigglesworth (De Kock, 55); M Vunipola (Barrington, 55), Brits (George, 53), Stevens (Johnston, 53), Borthwick (capt), Kruis (Hargreaves, 58), B Vunipola, Brown (Wray, 63), Joubert.
Tries Strettle 3, Ashton 2, Brits, Goode, Kruis, Wyles, Wray, Johnston. Cons Hodgson 3. Pen Hodgson.
Connacht Duffy; Carr, Henshaw (Leader, 59), Griffin, Healy; Parks (Carty, 64), Marmon (O'Donohoe, 64); Wilkinson (Buckley, 64), Henry (Wright, 47), White (Ah You, 47), Swift (Naoupu, 60), Clarke (capt), Browne, Heenan, Muldoon.
Pens Parks 2. Sin-bin Wright 37.
Referee L Hodges (Wales). Attendance 9,614.
