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Northampton Saints 33 Harlequins 29

Although there were tries aplenty in this clash last night between the reigning Premiership champions and the always entertaining Quins I was underwhelmed.

Quins had a massive injury list (Tyrone Green, Caden Murley, Alex Dombrandt, Luke Northmore and Cassius Gleaves) causing Marcus Smith to play at full back and thus avoiding the comparison of the two England selected fly haves – Fin Smith of the Saints being the other.

Saints did not fire in the first half but, once they did, in the second, built up an impressive lead.

The turning point was Nick David’s stiff arm to the head tackle on Ollie Sleightholme resulting in the former’s yellow card and a try to Saints.

Marcus Smith, with his customary verve and less customary accurate conversion, had a very good game with two tries but he is a tad too short to tackle and be the last line of defence.

That is the crucial difference between him and say Beauden Barrett, who can cover 3 positions effectively. England have some good players but perhaps short of true international class and capability

Quins were also missing the tyro André Esterhuizen who has departed and was a mainstay at centre.

Quins financial support is always a mystery. Last weekend I met a rugby agent who spoke of a backer in Singapore.

The club always seem to find lucre where necessary and I cannot see them following Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish. Nor can I foresee us winning the Premier, nor being relegated.

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About Derek Williams

A recently-retired actuary, the long-suffering Derek has been a Quins fan for the best part of three decades. More Posts