Normal service resumed for Saracens in the return of rugby at Allianz park this afternoon despite the lack of star names we are used to seeing present for the already relegated men in black.

Windy conditions contributed to a fair amount of kicking in the early stages in this contest and it was a highly accurate up and under from England and Saracens skipper Owen Farrell that led to an early try for Sean Maitland to open the hosts account.

The aerial attack from Farrell continued but for the large part of the first half, experienced full back Mike Brown was up to the task, defusing the threat and allowing Harlequins to gain some much needed momentum. It was however, a chronic lack of precision in the scoring zone that stopped the away side ever really getting a foothold in the match. 

A period of set piece dominance provided the visitors with yet more momentum which they were unable to capitalise on continuously turning down relatively straight forward chances at three points. It was a Marcus smith drop-goal that eventually got Harlequins off the mark but Saracens responded in all too familiar way with the instrumental International lock Itoje finishing a breakaway chance to realistically put the game out of sight after just half an hour.

Harlequins' late surge

Harlequins provided a valiant late surge but a charge down from Saracens led to a try securing the bonus point and summing up the afternoon for the visitors. Unforced errors and a lack of precision in scoring positions allowing Saracens a fairly comfortable victory. 

The home side were particularly impressive considering the predicament that they currently find themselves in with and with an experienced core of International players remaining it will be intriguing to see how they fare for the rest of this season.

 

 

 

 

 

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