Owen Farrell’s showdown with England fly-half rival Marcus Smith smashed the previous viewing record for a Premiership rugby match.
The match, played on Saturday at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, drew a crowd of 55,109 to see Farrell’s Saracens beat Harlequins 36-24.
Broadcast live both on ITV and BT Sport, the London derby was seen on television by more than 1.5 million - 200,000 more than tuned into last season’s Grand Final. The figure broke down into 1.33 million on ITV and 186,000 on BT Sport.
