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Consider the Hoodoo of the Day Derby is certainly banished. Before canceling the Saracens at the Stoop in October, Harlequins had lost eight in a row against their London rivals, but a more important sequence was broken with a victory against everyone at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium here. It was in March 2012 when they tasted the last victory in this match far from their southwest house of London; A neutral site that may have been, but itinerant fans in their neighborhoods that fill the seats would have enjoyed such a victory.
The door program said Alex Dombrandt, Danny Care, Marcus Smith, Chandler Cunningham-South and Cadan Murley like the five Harlequins players to watch; The fact that only one of them was on the ground made this victory all the more important as the half-theft of Fly, Jamie Benson, produced a projection of passage to adulthood. With a diploma in natural sciences from the University of Cambridge, his mind is as clear as his boot.
“I am really proud of this group since a few people would have had something to say about not selecting our three internationals and giving them the week off,” said Harlequins coach Danny Wilson. “Many of these combinations have helped get an incredible victory against a full charge buckwheat in front of this crowd in their big match.
“We were really satisfied with how [Jamie Benson] go. We are very lucky here to have three 10 in exception. Huge credit for him. It is a pressure transport environment in this stage. »»
Injuries were paid for the care and chances of Murley to present but for Smith and Cunningham-South, this match served as a compulsory support after their efforts in England. It would have been its own commercial objective if the Salries stars had done the same – Maro Itoje and CO. Will take their breaks in the coming weeks – but with the league which was still fighting for the eyeballs, it was a shame not to see all the stars exposed.
This is not to criticize Smith, Sunning himself in Miami, and the rest, but more to highlight the sacrifices that must be made with an ever more congested calendar complicated more in a year of the British and Irish lions. Even the implacable Itoje, which has played every minute of the last six editions of the Six Nations, admitted in November that it would be impossible to play at the top of its powers throughout an exhausting year.
For this reason, then, it was a serious setback in the hopes of the Saracens of a finish among the first four with so many sides in the mixture. This would have been a banker, given the circumstances; Leaving without even a single point is a major blow. “It is useless to become too emotional on this subject,” said coach Mark McCall. “We must understand why we were poor today. There are clear things to get. It’s a bit of a test for us in a group now. ”
It may not be a Saracens team capable of competing with what they assembled, by hook or by crook, during the years of glory, but the talent is always considerable, which made this flat performance perplexed. With Ben Earl who was breastfeeding a knee infection, McCall could still call on Theo McFarland, Juan Martin Gonzalez and Tom Willis as a rear elite row, with Andy Onyeama -Christ – Back from a horror injury suffered in the overthrow in October – as a high quality reserve. Young Nathan Michelow is also tilted for great things.
It didn’t even take McFarland for five minutes to open the scoring. A loose unloading of the skipper of Quins Dombrandt gave possession gently, with the resulting kick of Ivan Van Zyl well prosecuted by Sarries. A breakdown penalty was quickly operated by Jamie George, and the flanker did the rest.
What followed later, however, did not live in the show provided before the match in a world class arena. The crowd of 54,414 had been animated before kick-off, but derived with a sloppy game played largely between the two 22, the two parties perhaps the understandable rust since some of their representatives of their six nations had been back in the camp of a few days. It took Saracens to the edge of the break to knock again, with the cutest blind balls at the back of Alex Goode helping to create room so that Tobias Elliott sneaks around.
The Harlequins had done well to stay in the fight, but, like Angel Postoccoou, their ideological tendencies may not have them. Several times, they refused the guilty penalties to go to the corner and left without showing anything.
Their route in the match came from one of the few members of the England team who was exhibited in the quarters. Oscar Beard had to familiarize himself with the back of a tackle bag after the six nations spent working in training for a first hood in vain, but the center may well end with a key figure in the Argentina tour in summer, and showed its quality here. Showing the rhythm and the power that make him a high potential player, the center has shaken Elliot’s attention to cross halfway and send his midfielder, Ben Waghorn, under the sticks.
Benson, an impressive Uber of the bench, pushed a penalty to fill the two -point gap, before splitting nine more minutes to put Arlequins in front. A high tackle of Alex Lozowski and Young 10 intensified and put back again. Will Porter’s score put the result beyond doubt – what a victory, what a statement, what a turnaround.
Smith will soon be back rested and recharged but his shirt is in safe hands. Benson had to wait for his time behind the playmaker in England and his International Evans colleague, but he could not have better seized his opportunity. “You don’t need a genius to determine that it is a frustrating position to be and I work hard behind the scenes to try to be ready when I have an opportunity,” he said. “It’s an excellent environment to learn these two guys and I’m sure it will put me in good position in the future.”
