Smith sinks the boot into subpar Saracens

Ordinarily a game-winning performance from Marcus Smith worth 15 points would include a dozen line-breaks, several offloads and more hot steps than a Motown nightclub.

- Daniel Gallan

And while the England star dazzled in patches with ball in hand, it was his composed kicking that was the difference as Harlequins beat Saracens in a scrappy but enjoyable London derby.

Smith launched raking kicks into space. He hoisted contestable spirals into pale blue skies. He dinked over the top of rushing defenders. His first-half try came off a hoof into Saracens' red zone, one that caused chaos in the backfield. Chandler Cunningham-South gathered the loose ball and bulldozed over the gain line. Shortly after, Smith, on the front foot, wriggled past a tackler to score from five metres out.

"He's a British & Irish Lion," Smith's coach, Jason Gilmore, pointed out. "He gives us that game management. It's something we've struggled with in the past two weeks."