Owen Farrell edges Marcus Smith to help Saracens to win over Harlequins

At the home of one undisputed No 10, Owen Farrell edged his fly-half rival Marcus Smith to guide Saracens to a home semi-final in an entertaining bonus point victory over Harlequins. Farrell departed the pitch with a nasty bang to his left ankle before full-time but up till then had played his part in a powerful if far from perfect performance from the league leaders who are now assured of a top-two finish.

Smith, for his part, dazzled at times, made mistakes in others but never stopped trying to carve open the Saracens defence. It makes for captivating watching – Spurs could do with a player like that themselves – and comes in stark contrast to Farrell’s composed style. In truth, neither player had the kind of impact as Billy Vunipola, persona non grata with England at the moment, and if the No 10 battle caught the eye, it was Saracens’ ruthless streak, coupled with their ability to keep the error count lower than their visitors, which ultimately proved decisive.

They scored five tries to Harlequins’ four, denying their visitors a second bonus point because Farrell’s kicking was more accurate than that of Smith and they can look forward to next weekend’s Champions Cup fixture against the Ospreys with optimism. Harlequins travel to Cape Town to face the Stormers and have now won just one of their last eight league matches. That trip south comes with trepidation.

Vunipola began with the air of someone with a point to prove. He thundered into contact early on – on one occasion seemingly picking out Alex Dombrandt but it was the current England No 8 who struck the first telling blow, dotting down the opening try for the visitors after a sharp pass from Smith.

Another strong carry from Vunipola brought a penalty for Saracens