Marcus Smith runs the show for Harlequins in rout of London Irish

At the home of their nearest neighbours, Harlequins put on an exhibition, scoring seven tries to cement their hold on third spot on the Premiership table with an impressive 41-14 win over 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, and did so 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 at least.

There were many impressive performances. All four starting centres – Curtis Rona and Bernard Janse van Rensburg for Irish, Marchant and André Esterhuizen for Quins – ran with zealous intent and procured four turnovers on the ground between them. Alex Dombrandt was a strong carrier and Hugh Tizard was a tower in Harlequins’ tight five. But there was one star among stars.

Smith ran the show for an hour. When he straightened and attacked the line he caused panic among the men in green. He stretched the defence at will, either through cross-field kicks or floating skipped passes. He was uncharacteristically wayward from the tee, missing three of his five shots at goal, but he showed just why so many people want him to be England’s starting 10 whether Owen Farrell is available or not.

It was his opposite number, though, who got things rolling. Harlequins made a mess of a quickly taken lineout inside their own 22 and coughed up possession when Esterhuizen was isolated on the ground. Irish moved the ball swiftly down the right and Paddy Jackson collected a Rona skip-pass to canter home unimpeded. The fly-half kicked the conversion for