SARACENS V HARLEQUINS // A FIXTURE STEEPED IN HISTORY

By Sam Tonks

With the AVIVA Premiership showpiece fixture between Saracens and Harlequins at London Stadium just around the corner, we thought we'd take a look back through some of the storied contests between the two London rivals. 

Bringing the fixture to London Stadium for the very first time on Saturday 24 March, Saracens will be hoping to make a statement in their first trip to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. A limited number of tickets remain on sale for the match here...

Here's a look back at some of the memorable meetings between Saracens and Harlequins...

 

March 2014: Saracens 39-17 Harlequins

Three years ago, victory at Wembley Stadium saw Saracens move top of the Premiership with England stars Chris Ashton and Owen Farrell stealing the show.

Sarries racked up a fourth win in a row with young England fly-half Farrell scoring 17 of the 39 points, along with international team-mate Ashton and George Kruis going over in the first half whilst Karl Dickson was the sole try-scorer for Harlequins in a one-sided first 40 minutes.

The experienced Steve Borthwick was sin-binned after the break which brought hope to Quins. Sam Smith ignited a comeback with a try, Nick Evans added to reduce the deficit to two conversions and a penalty. 

Quins risked leaving out Six Nations representatives Chris Robshaw, Danny Care and Mike Brown and ultimately missed the lack of quality to pull the game back.

Jacques Burger and Marcelo Bosch ensured victory for Saracens with late tries, taking them to the bonus point mark. Bragging rights for the day and propelling themselves to top of the table, this continued their momentum to the season’s end. 

 

April 2017: Saracens 40-17 Harlequins

Another Wembley occasion, another victory for Saracens as they secured a play-off spot thanks to this victory. The Premierships title holders claimed a 14th win of the season and again Chris Ashton haunted Harlequins with his fifth try in three games, opening the scoring with Owen Farrell kicking the conversion between the posts. 

South African international Schalk Brits added a second try with Farrell continuing to tick the scoreboard over, he ended the afternoon with 20 points to his name. Quins’ Nick Evans notched three penalties to try and keep them in sight but a try was not forthcoming.

Michael Rhodes and Alex Goode also crossed over the line for Sarries to add the bonus point whilst James Horwill did score a consolation try for Harlequins in the dying minutes. 

 

 

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March 2012: Saracens 19-24 Harlequins

The London rivals faced off on the Wembley turf yet again, but it was Harlequins who came out victorious, on their way to their first ever Premiership title. It was a world record crowd for rugby union, until the same fixture broke it two years later, with 83,761 gathering for this local derby.

Jordan Turner-Hall got Quins off to a dream start with the opening try before Stuart Lowe crossed over the line to stretch their lead even further. The boot of Owen Farrell was the only thing keeping Saracens in the contest but the second half would be a frantic one for the league leaders.

England scrum-half Danny Care made it three tries on the board for the leaders, but Sarries weren’t lying down yet. Excessive pressure was being put on Harlequins, so much so that three of their men entered the sin-bin; Joe Marler, Nick Easter and Care.

The 12 Quins left standing couldn’t hold out a relentless onslaught as Richard Wigglesworth earned a try for Saracens while Farrell kicked over the conversion, adding to his four penalties.

Lowe proved the hero for Quins with try-saving tackles denying Michael Tagicakibau and Chris Wyles in the space of three minutes.

Quins’ resilience meant they extended their lead at the top of the table to six points, Farrell’s penalty made sure Saracens earned a losing bonus point and pushed back up to second.

 

November 2017: Saracens 29-30 Harlequins

In this Anglo-Welsh Cup tie, Harlequins marked a remarkable comeback with a stoppage time conversion from James Lang to win 29-30.

Both went into the game missing key personnel due to international duty but produced a thrilling game between the London rivals.

Max Malins scored the first of his 14 point haul with the opening try, yet Harry Sloan responded quickly for Quins after they dispossesed Saracens in their own 22. 

The visitors captain Charlie Mulchrone dropped the ball yards in front of the try line, a key chance missed. This proved costly as Malins added two penalties to the scoreline.

Jack Nay and Nathan Earle inflicted further damage to Quins with tries either side of half-time. Following Tom Whiteley’s break-away try, the Aviva Premiership leaders were 26-5 in front.

As the game went on, Harlequins became more adventurous and got their reward with Alofa Alofa and Elia Elia cutting the deficit to nine points with respective tries.

Lang scored a penalty in the final ten minutes to set up a grandstand finish, putting them a converted try away from an unlikely victory.

With Saracens holding on, Josh Ibuanokpe bundled over the try line to leave the game resting on Lang’s boot.

He duly took his tally to 10 points for the game and took his side to the next round in dramatic fashion.

 

We still have a limited allocation of tickets remaining for the fixture. Don't miss out and secure your seats at London Stadium now...