Express & Star

Wasps sting Harlequins to end losing run

Dai Young’s side returned to form in style against their Aviva Premiership rivals.

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Nathan Hughes terrorised Harlequins as Wasps swept aside their Premiership rivals with a 41-10 bonus-point victory in Champions Cup action in Coventry.

The England number eight spearheaded Wasps’ five-try assault on Quins, as Dai Young’s men ended a miserable run of five straight defeats in style at the Ricoh Arena.

Joe Marler was perhaps fortunate to avoid a red card for a forearm smash to Will Rowlands’ midriff, in another unsavoury disciplinary incident for the England prop.

What they said

Tweet of the match

Star man – Hughes

The England number eight produced a talismanic display, bullishly dishing out two brutal hand-offs. First Hughes sent Chris Robshaw hurtling backwards at pace, then he repeated the gritty trick on Dave Ward. Receiving a fend to the neck appeared anything but enjoyable for both Quins forwards.

Disciplinary lapses hit Harlequins hard

First Marland Yarde was dropped from the Quins match squad for “an internal disciplinary matter”, then Mike Brown and Marler received yellow cards. Marler can perhaps count himself lucky not to have been sent off for dishing out a forearm smash to Rowlands’ midriff. Given his chequered disciplinary past, the England prop will doubtless have been relieved to avoid a red card that could have also yielded a suspension.

Smith’s learning curve continues

England starlet Marcus Smith has all the bearing of a genuine Test match star, but progress in rugby is rarely linear. The 18-year-old has trained with England and is highly likely to make his senior debut some time in the next year. But the process of realising all that talent will come with some bumps along the road, and his charged-down kick that led to Christian Wade’s try was just the latest blip on an otherwise-impressive learning curve.

Who’s up next?

Northampton Saints v Wasps, Franklin’s Gardens, Aviva Premiership, Saturday, October 28

Harlequins v Worcester Warriors, The Stoop, Aviva Premiership, Saturday, October 28

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