MATCH REPORT | Harlequins 10-38 Saracens Men
Saracens Men stormed The Twickenham Stoop as they completed a Derby Day demolition on their local rivals, beating Harlequins 38-10 in sensational style.
The Men in Black were utterly rampant as they silenced the home crowd and scored six tries to earn their fourth Gallagher Premiership victory in succession.
Sarries, who had already lost Elliot Daly and Ben Earl in the warm up then had another curveball thrown their way as Alex Lozowski had to be replaced just two minutes in to the game, meaning they were down three senior figures.
Quins looked to pounce straight away, but an early Marcus Smith penalty attempt came back off the post and the score remained 0-0.
The visitors were looking to play with tempo, and breaks from Ivan van Zyl and Tom Parton gave them early territory, but on both occasions they were penalised at the breakdown.
Sarries looked the more likely in the opening exchanges and created another chance when Parton was set free on the left by Hugh Tizard, but once again Quins won the battle at the breakdown and managed to turn the ball over.
The hosts then had some possession and got themselves another penalty, and this time Smith made no mistake to give them a 3-0 lead with 15 minutes played.
Sarries hit back straight away though and responded with the first try of there evening thanks to summer arrival Juan Martin Gonzalez.
A penalty was kicked to the corner and then with the maul brought down just one metre from the line, the Argentinian was there from the next phase to stretch over from close range. The extras from Farrell gave his side a 7-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
They then threatened to turn the screw when Andy Christie hammered through a gap and broke through, but just as he looked to release van Zyl the Quins defence managed to scramble back and stop what looked to be a certain try.
The next chance that arrived for the North Londoners was taken though as they began to dominate the game and the scoreboard. Olly Hartley, who was an early replacement scored a sensational team try as the Stoop was silenced.
Sarries went from side to side with some wonderful interplay, and then Maro Itoje charged through the middle to enter the 22. With an overlap on the right the ball was then spun to Hartley on the right, who cut inside and used all his power to finish off a brilliant score. The conversion came back off the post, but the lead was now up to 12-3.
It got even better for Saracens just four minutes later as their third try arrived courtesy of Jamie George.
Another inch-perfect touch finder from Farrell gave them a lineout just five metres away, and then in trademark style the maul powered over with the England hooker at the base to dot down and put the visiting fans in dreamland. Farrell was on the money from the tee and now the lead grew to 16 points.
Sarries soaked up one more defensive set and then thumped the ball in to the stands as they ran down the tunnel with a spring in their step, and a 19-3 advantage at half time.
If Sarries fans didn’t think it could get any better, it did just three minutes after the restart as the try bonus point arrived to increase the domination.
Itoje and Parton once again made ground, and then the resulting penalty was kicked to the corner. The inevitable then followed from the rolling maul as it powered over and Christie was there this time to go over in the corner for try number four.
Quins then looked for a way back in to the match and had almost three minutes of pressure right on the line, but a vintage defensive set which ended with everyone on the floor gasping for breath forced a knock on and sent the Sarries bench in to delirium.
Hartley then thought he had his second as Gonzalez hacked a kick ahead and gathered before passing out to the centre, but after a check with the TMO the try was disallowed for a pull-back in the build up.
They didn’t have to wait much longer for the next one to count though, as Parton marked a fine performance on the hour mark with a score in the corner. They went through phase after phase on the line, and then a beautiful pass from Alex Goode found Parton in acres of space on the left who had a clear run over the whitewash. Farrell’s delightful touchline conversion took Sarries over the 30 point mark.
In what was fast becoming one of the finest performances in many years, try number six came with 10 minutes remaining and this time it was Alex Lewington who joined the party. Goode, who was dancing around the back-line in his usual style dropped a grubber kick on to his boot and it bounced up perfectly to Lewington who could dot down. Farrell’s conversion sailed over, and then to rub salt in to the wound James Chisholm was sin-binned for a high tackle.
Andre Esterhuizen got a consolation for the hosts in the closing stages as he broke through the defensive line, but the day well and truly belonged to the North Londoners as they secured a wonderful win at The Stoop.
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