England and Saracens captain Owen Farrell guided his side to a 36 – 24 win over rivals Harlequins on Saturday. 

Pulling the strings masterfully in a dominant display against his closest rivals for the England number ten shirt. Farrell built on his strong showing in England’s Six Nations defeat to Ireland. 

One moment that caught the eyes for all the wrong reasons was a hit Farrell received rather than dished out. 

Launching an up and under, Farrell was caught by Quins centre Luke Northmore who left a trailing arm as he jumped to block the kick. 

In a rather ugly-looking incident, Farrell hit the deck as Northmore was shown a yellow card. 

🟨 Luke Northmore received a yellow for this stray arm on Owen Farrell

🤔 What did you think of this one? #SARvHAR pic.twitter.com/Pdee9hiTA5

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) March 25, 2023

Speaking post-match as part of ITV’s coverage, Farrell’s England teammate and co-captain Courtney Lawes said of the incident: “You know, you just can’t afford it. It cost Quins in the end because they were on the front foot.” 

“There’s just no need for it, really. Yeah, he has gone to charge down the ball, but he actually brings his arm down to make contact with Owen.” Lawes said. 

Chipping in, lead present David Flatman said: “it leads to this, a beautifully constructed try for Maro Itoje.” 

Lawes then doubled down on his point, saying: “It just swings the momentum totally, and it is quite lucky it didn’t hit him in the face.”

“I think that’s why they went upstairs, and you can’t make in big games mistakes like that.” 

“That is what Sarries are so good at, not making mistakes at the wrong time,” Lawes concluded. 

Written by Philip Bendon