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Danny Wilson hits back at selection critics following Harlequins' win
By PA
Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson revealed his team’s stunning 23-12 upset victory over Saracens at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was forged out of mistakes made last season.
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Quins rested their England stars Marcus Smith, Fin Baxter and Chandler Cunningham-South following the Six Nations but still ambushed their London rivals in front of a 54,414 crowd.
Trailing 12-0 until the arrival of the final quarter, they hit back with tries from Ben Waghorn and Will Porter, while rookie replacement fly-half Jamie Benson landed three nerveless penalties.
In contrast, Saracens fielded their England contingent apart from injured back row Ben Earl, yet were still upstaged on their annual headline event in north London.
“I’m really proud of this group considering a few people would have had something to say about not selecting our three internationals and giving them the week off,” Wilson said.
“Last season we put too much pressure on our internationals to return. Think about what the Six Nations is for an international rugby player – physically, mentally and the big one we all forget is emotionally.
“They are huge games of rugby win or lose. I am lucky enough to have had an experience coaching international rugby and I came out of those tournaments ready for a rest.
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“So we felt give them a rest straight away regardless of who we are playing. I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but it worked for us.
“Our top players are amazing players, but there was also a tactical element because we wanted to play a slightly different way.
“We didn’t take too many risks, we went to an aerial kicking game. It’s not something we are going to do every week, but it was the right thing to do this weekend.
“It’s been 13 years since we beat Saracens away and we have done the double on them this season, which is massive.
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“Now we have to back it up. We have got Bath away and Leinster away. To come out of here with points is vital, but now let’s see what we can do.”
Saracens boss Mark McCall wants a reaction from his team as they enter a key part of the season, travelling to Leicester on Sunday before facing Toulon in the south of France in the Champions Cup six days later.
“It felt like we didn’t have any possession of the ball. After the first 15 or 20 minutes we spent the game in our half,” McCall said.
“We have some clear things that we need to get better at. There’s no point getting too emotional about it, we have to understand why we were poor.
“This is bit of a test for us as a group now. It doesn’t have to be the end, there are six games to go. It’s on all of us to work really hard at it next week.”
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