The England No.8 may have struggled with his country but his brace of tries here helped keep alive the Londoners slim chances of a top four spot as the Premiership battle reaches boiling point.
Steve Borthwick was in the crowd watching on, and boss Tabai Matson enthused: “Alex was exceptional in the second half. Ultimately, his physicality and some of those carries in the second half were huge.
“He runs lines not many loose forwards do. That’s the way he fits into our system. We can put him in positions where he causes havoc.
“He has the captain’s armband and that gives him confidence. He has been a different beast this week. He came back after an intense England campaign and you want to give them a mental rest even if they don’t get a physical on. But he got to recharge his game for a couple of weeks.”
Louis Lynagh also shone for Quins with a try on his return to action for them after ten months absence having had a double knee operation. The young wing could smile for once after regaining his fitness and getting back onto the field in what turned out to be a convincing win for Quins but was hard work in a first half which saw them lead 12-10.
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