Saracens’ ‘incredible’ Owen Farrell showered in praise after Harlequins demolition

Saracens boss Mark McCall was full of praise for Owen Farrell who led the charge brilliantly on his 250th game for the club as they blew Harlequins away with a 52-7 win.

It was an outstanding performance from McCall’s side, which scored four tries in each half to take apart their London rivals in the Premiership.

Surprise

The extent of the dominance on the scoreboard even surprised McCall, who revealed the team only had two sessions in the build-up to the clash, with simplicity being the focus of the week.

“We weren’t expecting the scoreline and weren’t expecting the performance to be quite at that level,” said director of rugby McCall.

“We understand, however, that sometimes when you are dominant, it’s not always reflected on the scoreboard – today it was.

“This was about the players because we only had two training sessions and tried to keep it as simple as we could.

“Quins are a handful so to defend the way we did and keep on fighting in the second half was very encouraging for us.”

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The great Owen Farrell

In the build-up, former England number eight Lawrence Dallaglio labelled Farrell as the greatest Saracens player ever, while McCall could not speak high enough of the veteran on his massive milestone.

McCall said of Farrell’s performance: “Incredible, he played as good as I’ve seen him play for a very long time.

“It looked like it mattered to him and I think he’s going to be like that for the rest of the season, hopefully.

“He didn’t enjoy being the centre of attention during the week but the players wanted to make it a special occasion because they think so highly of him.”

Trouble for Quins

It may be a delight for Saracens, but it is a concerning result for Harlequins, who have now lost their last eight against their London rivals and have Bath next up.

Head coach Danny Wilson was upset with the lack of physicality and is eager to bounce back next week.

“The first-half performance caused all the problems,” said head coach Danny Wilson.

“Our lack of collision on both sides of the ball, our lack of physicality, we couldn’t get on the front foot which led to a half-time scoreline (24-0) where you’re chasing the game.

“When you’re chasing the game and trying to score, you end up overplaying into a defence which if they turn you over, you’re in a whole world of trouble.

“Our defence was really poor, and that’s the story of the game.

“We’ll bounce back at home against Bath; we have to because this league is so tight, and one or two wins or losses makes all the difference.”

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