Saracens have been through a lot since they last reached a Premiership grand final which made this fractious semi-final triumph all the sweeter. The north Londoners have been absolutely determined to make it back to Twickenham this season to draw a defiant line beneath their well-documented descent to the Championship and now stand within 80 minutes of potentially their most satisfying domestic triumph of all.
They were made to work mighty hard for the privilege, with Quins playing a full part in a furious, feisty contest which saw four players sent to the sin-bin for high challenges. The game’s decisive individual, though, proved to be the Saracens flanker Ben Earl who scored a hat-trick of tries to reinforce his new duke status as the Premiership’s player of the season.
