Abu Dhabi Saracens defeat Harlequins in derby fixture

Matt Jones - Editor 06:31 20/02/2016
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  • Unhappy return: Pieter Morton.

    Saracens inflicted a first West Asia Championship defeat on Harlequins in a thunderous Abu Dhabi derby.

    A super-charged encounter at Al Ghazal was characterised by countless big hits and aggression, with tempers boiling over regularly, although it was Sarries who kept their heads to record a hugely satisfying and deserved 25-10 triumph.

    The immense power of their pack was again a feature, with the visitors simply unable to conjure an answer.

    Sarries skipper Jaen Botes spoke of the need for his team to step up to the plate against their fierce foes and that’s exactly what they and he did, the South African scoring two of his team’s three tries.

    Quins have rightly won plaudits for their fantastic brand of attacking rugby this season under Mike McFarlane, with pace and stamina two key strengths, but Sarries went toe-to-toe with their more illustrious neighbours.

    Rather than fade in the second half, Sarries seemed to actually get stronger as the game wore on.

    “The boys showed character and kept fighting,” said Botes. “In the week we said we wanted to play for each other and they did that.

    “We’ve always known the effort and the talent was there. Against Exiles we were 14-3 down at half time but then switched off. We needed to go out there and play 80 minutes. It was a derby match and I think the boys stepped up because of that.”

    Number 8 Botes put in a captain’s performance, opening the scoring inside 10 minutes, crashing over after collecting the ball from a five-metre lineout.

    Quins were level within seven minutes, former Sarries centre Pieter Morton making inroads with a powerful run before partner William Umu powered to the line.

    When Brian Geraghty was yellow carded early in the second half Stephen Hamilton took advantage to kick the hosts 10-7 ahead, although Matt Smith, taking over from the usually flawless Luke Stevenson after two missed penalties, soon restored parity.

    From then on it was Sarries who took charge. They were getting under Quins’ skin and Botes stayed low from a ruck to dive over for his second try on the hour mark.

    With eight minutes remaining another forward surge ended with replacement Phanta Quinsile crossing and Hamilton’s late penalty truly put the game beyond Quins.

    Captain Phil Abraham said his side had not been consistent enough throughout the 80 minutes.

    “We came out firing and put a good amount of pressure early on but we just fizzled out,” said the American prop. “They have a strong pack and we’ve got to be able to handle that and we didn’t. “We’ve got the tools, the weapons, but we didn’t adjust.”

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