At the home of their nearest neighbours, Harlequins put on an exhibition, scoring seven tries to cement their hold on third spot in the Premiership with an impressive 41-14 win against London Irish.
Marcus Smith was imperious, providing the final pass for two of his team’s scores, and Joe Marchant underlined his England credentials as the defending champions kept their hopes of a home semi-final alive in some style.
Irish gave as good as they got. Perhaps not on the scoreboard, but their enterprise and dynamism with ball in hand meant they contributed to the entertainment.
There were many standout performances. Alex Dombrandt was a strong carrier throughout and Hugh Tizard was a tower in the Harlequins tight five. But there was one star among stars.
Smith ran the show for an hour in what the Harlequins coach, Tabai Matson, called “his conjuring best”. He stretched the defence at will, either through cross-field kicks or floating skipped passes. And though he was wayward from the tee, missing three of his five shots at goal, he showed why so many people want him to be England’s starting 10 whether or not more experienced players are available.
It was his opposite number, however, who got things rolling. Harlequins made a mess of a quickly taken lineout inside their own 22 and coughed up possession when André Esterhuizen was isolated on the ground. Irish moved the ball swiftly down the right and Paddy Jackson collected a Curtis Rona skip‑pass to canter home unimpeded. The fly-half kicked the conversion for a deserved 7-0 lead.
Quins responded soon after. Their scrum, which had gained an early ascendancy, won a penalty which Smith nudged in the corner. A textbook lineout to the middle and a compact driving maul had Jack Walker open the visitors’ account. Smith restored parity with the extras.
Irish thought they had their second but Ollie Hassell-Collins was adjudged to have knocked on when replays showed barely a sliver of daylight between his hand and the ball as he dotted it down. That would be as good as it got for the home supporters.
Smith declined the option of an easy three points and instead went to the corner again. “That’s the way these guys love playing and it’s awesome to be involved in,” Matson said. The lineout was won and several phases later Smith’s audacious ball over the top evaded Hassell-Collins by a millimetre and set up Cadan Murley on the wing.
Smith was again the supplier when he exploited an overlap down the left, feeding Huw Jones on the angle. Marchant came close to scoring just before but his busting run was stopped short under the poles. With numbers either side of him, Smith chose the right option and made it easy for his full-back.
Nick Phipps received a yellow card for cynically slowing a Quins attack while on the ground. He watched on as a neat lineout led to Walker playing a quick give and go with Hugh Tizard at the front of the line. That secured the bonus point and ended the match as a contest, but the spectacle still had 40 minutes to run.
The second half started as the first ended, with Quins registering a five‑pointer. Danny Care burrowed over from close range to score his 79th Premiership try. Smith found his range from the conversion before he was substituted. Lucio Cinti should have scored for Irish when he jinked off his right foot and charged into the try area but Tizard tipped the ball out of the careless winger’s hands.
Care, “a dirty player,” as Matson jokingly called him, was shown his fifth yellow of the season – a joint Premiership record – for a deliberate knock‑on as the game descended into a counterattacking competition. It was thrilling, if disjointed, and Esterhuizen and Janse van Rensburg scored a try each as gaps opened across the park. With the final whistle looming, Jones notched his second when he gathered a wide pass in space on the right.
One Premiership game can’t solve all of the Rugby Football Union’s problems on its own. No try-fest will dispel the sense that Eddie Jones has run out of ideas as England head coach. No Smith masterclass in Harlequins colours can erase the fact that Championship clubs have been cut adrift to fend for themselves.
And though anxieties over race and class and a reliance on foreign imports persists, 80 riotous minutes between the defending champions and a team eager to dazzle was a timely reminder this league can put on a show.
