mens
Gallagher-Prime Minister
Harlequins claimed their first Gallagher Prem win of the season in a 33-15 defeat Saracens which led to a successful return for England prop Fin Baxter in time for the Nations Championship.
Marcus Smith was at the heart of the eventual win at The Stoop that failed to lift Quins off the foot of the table but lights the way ahead for them as they look to bounce back from a poor start to the season.
Man-of-the-match tries from Smith, Seb Driscoll, Cadan Murley and Will Porter sealed the bonus point for bragging rights over their London rivals, while a dedicated afternoon in defense was also key.
Saracens England back-rows Maro Itoje and George Martin may have started a Prem game together for the first time, but it was Quins’ pack that showed their steel to answer some of the doubts that have been raised about their ability to mix it up in the Prem this season.
Baxter’s return certainly helped in this regard, as the loosehead made an assured first appearance since picking up a foot injury 10 months ago, completing 40 minutes of England’s autumn opener against Australia two weeks later.
Smith needed just 175 seconds to stamp his authority on the match after taking control after Lucas Schmid got into the guts of Saracens, started the attack and then finished it off on his 200th appearance for the club.
Quins showed their teeth in front when only interference from Ben Earl prevented their maul from scoring and Driscoll was next after slotting through Tomos Williams after Baxter had offloaded in the tackle.
Saracens’ first meaningful attack ended in a good effort from Rotimi Segun, who managed to clear a long pass from Williams, but they were soon back in defense with a maul that led to a penalty try awarded by Earl.
This time Earl’s illegal mining was noticed and he spent 10 minutes in the sin bin. No sooner had he returned than Saracens lost a second player to a yellow card after Fergus Burke made a dangerous tackle on Rodrigo Isgro.
In the next passage of play Quins struck again when Murley sent over the top pass.
Saracens thought they had scored through Max Mullins but he cleared the ball with a last-ditch move from Smith when all he had to do was touch, although at least they ended the first half with a try from Theo Dan.
Burke failed the HIA as a result of his upright catch on Isgro, so Mullins crossed on the halfway line and then Andy Onyeama-Christie went off after a header.
Quins dominated the third quarter, but it wasn’t until the 55th minute that Porter struck again as he pounced on a Segun error from Williams’ unkind pass to finish in thrilling fashion.
Passive defending from Saracens helped Porter through but they responded with a fine try from Nick Tompkins before a well-drilled home defense prevented further points.
