An electric Marcus Smith marked his 200th appearance for Harlequins in style, delivering a player-of-the-match performance as he guided his side to a 33-15 victory over Saracens.
It was the hosts’ first victory of the Gallagher PREM season, with Quins running in three first-half tries and a penalty try against their London rivals at The Stoop.
Fly-half Smith, who made his senior debut for Harlequins during the 2017-18 season at the age of 18, touched down within three minutes of kick-off in his milestone match to score the fastest try of the season so far.
“Obviously, to get our first win of the season today, of all days, off the back of a storm, I was nervous coming out with the wind,” Smith told TNT Sports.
“Hopefully that can kick-start our Prem season.”
Quins showcased some exceptional heads-up rugby, with Fin Baxter popping off a one-handed offload to Seb Driscoll for the hosts’ second try of the match.
Though Saracens were ill-disciplined, they threatened Quins on multiple occasions, with Rotimi Segun dancing around three defenders on his way to the try line for the visitors’ first score.
But Quins hit back, mauling their way to the try line, before Ben Earl conceded a yellow card and a penalty try for collapsing.
Saracens were again reduced to 14 men later in the second half after Fergus Burke was shown a yellow for a high tackle on Quins winger Rordigo Isgro.
Lapses of concentration also proved costly for the visitors, with Max Malins sauntering over before Smith, coming from behind, knocked the ball out of his hands before the full-back could touch down for a try.
Saracens took some momentum into the second-half, with Theo Dan crashing over from the back of the maul to cut the deficit to 26-10 at half-time.
Joe Shaw’s side improved in the second term, but a fumble from Segun proved costly, with Will Porter picking up the loose ball before charging down the field for an impressive solo try.
“You can’t afford to come here and make as many errors as we did in the first-half around our roles and understanding what we were trying to do,” Shaw told TNT Sports.
“We were off it. We lost the discipline count. All around, it was pretty disappointing.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
