The new year cannot come quickly enough for Northampton, humiliated again on their second outing to Twickenham this season by a hot-stepping Harlequins, for whom Marcus Smith excelled as conductor-in-chief. The 18-year-old Smith had a hand in five of Quins’ seven tries and contributed 15 points with the boot. For Northampton it was the latest horror show and they are making a habit of them of late. Smith had also added a penalty and having converted both tries, Quins were 17-0 up and full of new year fizz. Mat Luamanu’s converted try brought up Quins’ half-century before Haywood’s close-range effort for Northampton but the damage had long since been done.

Source: The Guardian December 30, 2017 18:28 UTC