Harlequins hold off late Wasps fightback to end losing Premiership run

Harlequins returned to winning ways with a bonus-point victory in a match most significant for a first appearance for the visiting flanker Jack Willis in 53 weeks. Willis sustained the second horrendous knee injury of his career just over the road when playing for England against Italy last February, and has spoken candidly about his struggles along the path to recovery. Here he played the last 35 minutes from the bench and above all else it warmed the heart to see him back in the thick of it.

By the time he had got his bearings, Harlequins – bolstered by the surprise availability of Joe Marler – had raced into a 24-3 lead with tries from Oscar Beard, Huw Jones, Cadan Murley and André Esterhuizen. Louis Lynagh added another for Harlequins to leave Wasps, who had won their previous four Premiership matches, reeling.

While there were one or two signs of rust from the 25-year-old Willis, it was no coincidence Wasps fought back to within five points after his introduction.

“He added a bit to us,” said Wasps’ coach, Lee Blackett. “When he came on we started going forward and on the back of that the breakdown got easier. Today was big for him. I’m just happy for Jack, it has been a long time, it has been tough for him.”

Marler, meanwhile, has played a combined 31 minutes in England’s two Six Nations matches, and though Eddie Jones picked a smaller squad for last week’s training camp, the loosehead prop’s omission still caught the eye. He will almost certainly return to a wider squad on Sunday but there can be little doubt that Harlequins benefited from his experience, set-piece nous and sense of theatre.

“Even before [Joe] joined England for the Six Nations he said if there are any fallow weeks and I’m not getting much game