Saracens stunned high-flying hosts Harlequins with a five-try blitz in Premiership Women’s Rugby to claim a bonus-point win that boosts their play-off chances.
They built on early scores to claim a deserved 33-10 victory that dents second-placed Quins’ title challenge.
The visitors move up to third place in the table, two points behind Harlequins – who remain three points behind league leaders Gloucester-Hartpury with three games of the regular season remaining.
Saracens’ USA international Lotte Sharp scored tries at the start of each half, beating the final defender out wide to get the ball rolling in the 10th minute before then racing under the posts four minutes after the break.
Bryony Field had gone over from the back of the maul to extend Sarries’ advantage in the first half, only for Ellie Kildunne to peg them back before the break by finishing off a well-worked Quins move.
After Sharp put the visitors back in control, further second-half tries from Sophie Bridger and Akina Gondwe, either side of an Abbie Fleming score for Quins, completed the win.
Meanwhile, fifth-placed Bristol Bears missed out on the chance to move back into the top four after falling to a 39-38 defeat at Trailfinders.
Grace Moore zipped under the posts to run in what turned out to be the winning try, putting Trailfinders 39-26 up after adding to scores from Kate Zackary, Lisa Thomson, Tyson Beukeboom and two from Liz Musgrove.
Late tries from Millie David and Lark Atkin-Davies – who both scored twice for Bristol – made it a one-point game but the hosts were able to hang on.
Defeat leaves the Bears level on 43 points with fourth-placed Exeter Chiefs, but below them on matches won. Exeter host Sale Sharks on Sunday.
In Saturday’s other game, second-bottom Leicester Tigers lost 61-12 at home to sixth-placed Loughborough Lightning, who had eight different scorers in their nine tries, with Krissy Scurfield managing a double.
