Sarries v Quins is always a delight, there is an animosity between the two sides that you don't really get elsewhere in the league and it produces some quality encounters where each side dials up the pressure more than usual. The atmosphere in the ground was a proper delight and I even lost my voice for the first time this season. As another fan commented after the match, "I'm gassed"
I thought Harlequins started far better, with greater determination to put points on the board, but I wonder whether this was counterproductive by the end as it clearly led to the Quins players fatiguing a lot quicker. This really showed when Quins repeatedly took an age to form for line-outs; the boys from south-west London tried this before earlier in the season, but the ref today clearly wasn't having it and flagged it on perhaps two/three occasions.
I'm amazed that Quins really struggled to gain any traction when Sarries were down 1 man for a prolonged period of time (down to 2-men at one point); I think Quins scored just 5 points in that period, when Sarries managed 7. Perhaps had Quins not emptied the tank in the first 20-mins, the result could have been different.
I also didn't understand the lack of composure from Quins when they had their man advantage; rushing to score rather than biding their time. Instead they knocked on, held up over the line, or lost a line-out. Smith is a great player, but other players need to do some work to let the magic come through.
As to try of the game; the Earl knocking aside the trash talking pair of Marler and Evans was great and underlined why he was awarded player of the year. I also liked the crazy pass from Farrell to Tompkins.
In the end Saracens ran away with it, but the contest against Leicester will be a completely different affair.
I didn't have fault with the yellow cards, but I am surprised that some of the off the ball action wasn't looked. I'm guessing the Farrell punch was overlooked for the hits he took (two punches to the head from my view in the stand).
