Saracens v Harlequins: Five takeaways as English prodigy ‘steals the show’ as Quins ‘end the curse’ in London derby win
Jamie Benson slotting a penalty against Saracens
Following Harlequins’ 23-12 win over Saracens in the latest chapter of the Showdown, here are our five key takeaways from a tense game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The top line
The Showdown is quickly becoming one of the most anticipated games in the Premiership season, and this one was once again on a knife-edge.
Opposing bosses Mark McCall and Danny Wilson went down opposite routes in their respective selections, with Saracens deploying all of their returning internationals while Quins let some of their Six Nations stars get some needed R-and-R, but nonetheless it was still a competitive fixture from the off.
Harlequins came out strong, but an interception from Ivan van Zyl halted their early momentum – and later resulted in Theo McFarland’s opening try.
After swapping half-chances throughout the half, Saracens finally added their second as Tobias Elliott dotted down after a scintillating link-up between Alex Goode and Fergus Burke.
The second-half pretty much followed suit, with the teams just swapping half-chances, but an Oscar Beard break opened the game up and allowed Ben Waghorn to dot down for his side.
Quins’ late fightback eventually saw them snatch the lead too, as Jamie Benson slotted back-to-back three-pointers to make it 13-12 heading into the final exchanges.
Benson was at it again with just four minutes to go, as he knocked over his third penalty, but the final nail in the coffin came from Will Porter as the scrum-half slid over the line to secure the crucial win.
Andy Onyeama-Christie back on the field
A side story this weekend was the return of Andy Onyeama-Christie to the Saracens 23-man squad.
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The Scotland back-rower suffered a simply horrific injury in the reverse fixture at the Stoop, where his foot ended up the wrong way round. He was initially ruled out for six months as a result, but he has come back quicker than expected and now looks to be a big part of the run-in for his side.
Very pleasing to see him back out there.
Play-off race heats up
This victory for Harlequins not only boosts their own play-off hopes, but it also makes the race for the top four that bit more interesting. Quins are now in the top four in the table, but now find themselves within touching distance of the likes of Gloucester and Bristol above them.
It also adds yet another team into that play-off mix, with just 12 points separating top of the table Bath and Saracens down in seventh.
The run-in is building up very nicely, and it just adds extra spice to every game moving forward.
Frustrating day for Harlequins but starlet steals the show – and the win
Harlequins would have been kicking themselves tonight had they lost, but they certainly made it hard for themselves.
Considering just how much of the ball and territory they had, Harlequins could easily have put the game to bed, but yet they just couldn’t find a way to get over the line. Be that through spats of ill-discipline, knock-ons or even Saracens turnovers, it just seemed that whenever Quins got into the red zone they would lose the ball.
And it wasn’t through lack of trying either, they threw the kitchen sink at Saracens and looked to play different ways. They got a lot of change in the air thanks to Rodrigo Isgro, Nick David and Leigh Halfpenny, the pack were also very strong throughout and made some decent dents through the middle and then they had their usual flashes of champagne rugby.
The crucial difference though was the introduction of prodigy Jamie Benson, who stole the show in the win. The youngster, 22, showed serious minerals with his three penalties in the final exchanges, but even around that he swung the game back towards his side with his general play around the park. Things just seemed to happen whenever he touched the ball, which in turn meant Quins started taking the chances presented to them.
The key stat at the end though was the scoreline. For all of their missed chances, possession and territory, they managed to end the curse.
Returning internationals bright sparks in defeat
As mentioned above, the choice to deploy the returning Six Nations stars was a big talking point in the build-up, and they were all incredibly effective for Saracens upon their return.
Tom Willis – as always – didn’t shy away from putting in the tough carries in the tight and managed to consistently get Saracens over the gainline. Around him, Jamie George and Maro Itoje made themselves incredibly busy on both sides of the ball and came up with some big interventions as a result and Elliot Daly had a couple of classy touches in attack.
Elsewhere, Nick Tompkins seemed a player refreshed back in the Saracens jersey after a tough time with Wales and had a big impact around the park and Fergus Burke came up with a few delicious flourishes as well.
But, for all of their quality, it was just as noticeable when they came off the pitch. Quins began to win the 50/50s in that period where they began to leave the field and eventually stole the win in the end.