Owen Farrell vastly outperformed fellow England fly-half Marcus Smith as Saracens made a statement against Harlequins on Saturday.
The champions, who have struggled to maintain their best form this season, were completely outstanding from start to finish and sent a message to their rivals with this 52-7 victory over their London rivals.
Farrell, making his 250th appearance, showed great initiative throughout, while fellow English players Elliot Daly, Ben Earl and Theo Dunn also shone.
Dunn scored two touchdowns and Sean Maitland also scored twice, with other tries scored by Alex Lewington, Lucio Cinti, Juan Martin Gonzalez and Alex Goode.
Farrell scored six conversions and easily won the duel with Marcus Smith, who only added to Alex Dombrandt's try.
Smith staggered at the back of the retreating pack as Sarries' physicality and tempo proved too much for the visiting team.
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After a special tribute to Farrell on his 250th appearance for the club, Saracens came out of the blocks to make this a savory milestone.
Dunne exploited a gap in the defensive line to carry Sarries into the Quins 22, and winger Lewington parried a poor tackle from Marcus Smith before making a superb first move into the corner within two minutes.
Harlequins' indiscipline was the story of the first quarter, when captain Stephen Lewis' misdemeanor maul put them on the back foot.
Saracens smelled blood and the resulting lineout drive had several backs streaming in to help it over the line, with hooker Dunn touching down for his sixth try of the season.
Flyer Maitland was a late call-up in place of Rotimi Segun, but he quickly became Tottenham's toast as he slipped in the first of two goals in quick succession.
Commander-in-chief Farrell sprayed Maitland with a flat misplaced pass for his first try, and conceded the simplest run-in for Saracens' third try.
Maitland's second goal and Saracens' bonus point came in the 26th minute and summed up the performance of both teams in a completely one-sided first half.
Saracens believe they have found the 'right man' to replace Owen Farrell
After beating the Quins lineout, Dunn picked up the loose ball and after some quick hands, man of the match Elliot Daly made an audacious through-the-leg pass to make it 2-1 for Lewington.
Sarries' leading scorer unselfishly opened the scoring for Maitland, with the Scot fending off several desperate covering defenders to cross home for the second time, doubling his tally for the season in the process.
The momentum continued after the break and Saracens re-established themselves in Quins' corner after Joe Marler and Will Evans were penalized for breakdowns. Dunne found the deception again when the league's most prolific maul scored his 11th collective try of the season.
After a grueling 50 minutes with Dom Brandt stretching, Quins finally managed to get into the game, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed by a fine team try from Shinty.
Pumas teammate Gonzalez then picked up a loose ball and scored on the hour mark, before replacing provider for Good as Saracens moved past their fierce rivals into second place.
It's Goode's 🤌@Saracen reach 50 inches #Showdown 4 ⚫️🔴#gallagherprem #SARvHAR pic.twitter.com/flOdE4AnPl
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) March 23, 2024
Exeter boost play-off chances with winless game against Newcastle
Newcastle got off to a good start under new advisory director of rugby Steve Diamond, but Exeter maintained their momentum for a top-four finish in the Premiership until they lost 25-16.
Bottom of the table, the Falcons could have gone home with a bonus point had fly-half Brett Connon not missed a penalty with the final kick of the game.
Chiefs were dealt a blow before kick-off when England back-rower Ethan Roots injured his calf during the warm-up and was replaced by Jack Vermeulan.
Newcastle scored a try just 70 seconds later. Winger Ben Stephenson broke down the left flank, parried Josh Hodge's tackle and crossed into the corner for Connon to curl home from the touchline.
A quick tap penalty gave Chiefs a try after 12 minutes from England Under-20 No. 8 Greg Ficilau, but Exeter quickly awarded a penalty which was converted by Connon to extend the Falcons' lead to five points. .
Exeter had the upper hand in the first half, but Newcastle were not helped by the sin-binning of back-rower Guy Pepper for failing to back up 10 meters for a quick tap penalty.
However, the only goal the away team conceded while he was off the pitch came under the strangest of circumstances.
Exeter's Wales center Joe Hawkins sent a cross-kick towards the corner and Newcastle full-back Elliott Obatoyinbo dived in to neatly keep the ball in the net. He crashed into a billboard and was injured, then Zach Wimbush sauntered up and dropped the ball for a point, tying the score at 10-10.
Chiefs' forwards controlled the second half, with Australian prop Scott Sio and lock Luci Tuima powering over from close range within seven minutes to earn a try-scoring bonus point and Josh Hodge Added conversion.
Connon added another penalty between these scores, but the visitors went into the break trailing 22-13.
However, they started the second half brightly and, after a series of penalties, Konnon kicked three more points to move within six points of his own side.
Entertainment was vital as the weather conditions worsened, but Newcastle remained firmly in the game and Chiefs looked sleepwalking and in danger of suffering a shock defeat.
Newcastle's defense held firm as they rallied a sustained attack, but they were awarded 27 penalties in the game before substitute hooker Brian Byrne was lost with a yellow card for repeated team violations.
With the try bonus point already secured, Chiefs opted for a goal kick, with former Falcon Hodge hitting the uprights from 40 meters out for the three points, giving Exeter a two point lead and securing victory.
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