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Wray returns from fractured skull as Saracens battle past Harlequins

By PA
Tempers flare between Saracens' Vincent Koch and Harlequins' Jack Walker (Photo by Kieran Cleeves/PA Images via Getty Images)

Harlequins continued their miserable record on visits to Saracens as they suffered a 19-10 Gallagher Premiership defeat at the StoneX Stadium.

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Quins have not won an away fixture against their London rivals since 2012 when they triumphed at Wembley and this defeat was also a third straight loss for the reigning champions, following reverses at the hands of Sale and Bath.

Tom Woolstencroft and Sean Maitland scored tries for Saracens with Alex Lozowski adding three penalties.

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Danny Care scored Quins’ try with Tommy Allan adding a penalty and a conversion.

Saracens began strongly to win two early penalties in the opposition 22 but declined kicks at goal in favour of attacking line-outs.

It paid immediate dividends with Woolstencroft crashing over for the first try after only five minutes.

Moments later, they should have had a second when Dom Morris seized on a loose ball to race away but the centre neglected to pass to the unmarked Maitland and went it alone before being tackled by Allan.

Quins had their first chance for points but Andre Esterhuizen’s penalty attempt from halfway went badly astray.

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Morris then made another error by conceding a soft penalty to gift the visitors a platform in the home 22, from where Care sniped over with Allan converting.

However, the Quins pack were under considerable pressure in the scrums, conceding penalties at almost every engagement, and it came as no surprise when Saracens regained the lead with a neat round of passing sending Maitland in after 23 minutes.

Harlequins made a change at tight-head with Simon Kerrod replacing Wilco Louw and they drew level with a penalty from Allan to leave the scores tied at 10-10 at the interval.

With the conditions worsening, the opening period of the second half was error-ridden, with both sides struggling to bring any continuity to their play.

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It looked inevitable that the next scores would come via penalties and they did when Lozowski was on target with two straightforward kicks in the 49th and 58th minutes.

One of the biggest cheers of the second half was reserved for Saracens favourite Jackson Wray, who came on for his first appearance since fracturing his skull in the game against Northampton six weeks ago.

The crowd had little else to get excited about as the fourth quarter finished scoreless apart from a 79th-minute penalty from Lozowski which deprived Quins of a bonus-point.

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Hellhound 11 minutes ago
Scotland's Gregor Townsend confirms Tom Jordan Glasgow exit

NZ lost a great player there. Played brilliantly for Glasgow and against SA was the best player on the pitch. Caused the Boks some headaches. Slot him into the current AB's team, and they would be very dangerous, especially broken play.


However, the Scots isn't stupid and their recruiting from the SH countries is starting to pay off. They don't have the player pool the SH countries have, nor that of their neighbours even.


I applaud them for being so open-minded as giving those players who have loyally played their rugby in Scotland for years a chance. SA for one have such a vast pool of players that's so talented and could be world class given the smallest chance, but will never get a look in because there is just so many stars in the country.


I don't mind that Saffas play for other countries to further their own careers. Besides, it makes Scotland better and makes for one more team to step up to the big stage and make rugby more exciting than just the top 4 that usually wins.


Scotland may have lost by 17 against a rusty Bok "B" team, but that score is not a true indication of that match. The Scottish biggest mistakes was kicking at goal the entire time, instead of going for the jugular. If they tried to go for tries, they may have been stopped and the score might have been bigger, but the game was on such a knife edge, that if they did go for it, they might have scored a couple of tries or more and we very well might have seen a Scottish upset.


It was by no means a bad effort at all. Tom Jordan is one of their best new talents coming through. He should've stayed with Glasgow. What a loss for the URC Champs. Going to Loftus and getting one over the Bulls is something that not even the so called best team in club rugby could do. Leinster keeps losing at Loftus. For Glasgow to do that in a Final was phenomenal and Tom Jordan was no small part of that feat.


Rugby is truely becoming a global sport now, where the eligibility rules is making rugby a much smaller world, but a much bigger global game. The Scots is most likely the team with the most aliens in their team. They welcome players with open arms. I applaud that. They are a sleeping giant, and if they continue playing like they did against the Boks, despite the results, they will become a real threat for 2027.


I admired how they played. They impressed everyone. I say good on them. Results will come if they continue on their upward trajectory. I wish them and Tom Jordan all the luck they deserve.

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