The good, bad and average on show as Exeter and Saracens remain unbeaten and Premiership honours Rob Horne

The good, bad and average were all on show over the weekend as the Gallagher Premiership prepared for its upcoming European vacation with its sixth course of a rather enjoyable entrée.

First the good, and there was plenty of it

Rob Horne. What a human being. Partially paralysed down the right side of his body by the first-minute collision which robbed him of his livelihood in last season’s east midlands derby between Northampton and Leicester, the 28-year-old former Australia international would have been forgiven for feeling a sense of bitterness towards a sport for which he has sacrificed so much.

Horne did not want the fanfare, adulation and focus of attention he received at Twickenham on Saturday as part of a game which effectively became his testimonial but he took it all with good grace, humility and dignity, just has he has carried himself these past six life-altering months.

Horne’s positivity in the face of adversity has been a lesson to us all.

“I'm just happy to have found my feet now,” he said. “You have to find ways of doing things you took for granted.

“Initially it took forever for me to get ready. I have two young kids at home and working out why Dad can't pick me up at the moment is a really difficult thing to explain to a toddler. But you find ways.

“The body is pretty amazing and the mind is certainly an incredible thing. You adapt, you continue to develop and find ways to do things.”

Leicester were 23-15 winners at Twickenham (Getty)

With a young family and uncertain future, Horne must be supported not just in the short-term but over the long-haul. Rugby owes its warriors as much.

It mattered not a jot the game did not live up to the pre-match build up as Saturday was as much about honouring Horne and all players who have suffered life-changing injuries playing a sport they love. Saturday at Twickenham was good, very good in fact. We must ensure Horne is never forgotten.

Across the road at the Stoop on Saturday night NBC viewers were also treated to plenty of good, some bad and a bit of average.

Billy Vunipola’s decision to introduce rugby’s version of walking in cricket by telling referee Luke Pearce he had dropped the ball over the line avoided endless tedious and potentially inconclusive replays and ensured the Saracens No8 will enter next weekend’s European Champions Cup competition with halo firmly intact.

Billy Vunipola was magnanimous as US viewers watched on (Getty)

Quite what his coaches thought of their star forward giving up a potential match-winning five-point try before half-time is still unclear, although director of rugby Mark McCall said it was “fair enough” through gritted teeth post-match, but one thing is certain: Vunipola’s act of benevolence is unlikely to catch on.

Some good and some average from Quins. Much good in a performance full of intent, aggression and belief against a Saracens team who find the Stoop a trickier place than most for them to ply their trade. Many were left asking why they don’t front up like that every week but that’s for another time.

Mike Brown made his 300th appearance for the club and Danny Care his 250th and both players entering the field carrying their young children in their arms softened the hardest of hearts. That was good.

Care’s over-the-top celebration of a well-taken first half try was decidedly average and clearly motivated his team’s opponents to go again in an ill-tempered second half where the animosity between the sides occasionally threatened to spill over.

Vunipola’s celebration when he touched down for real on 70 minutes was a clear response to Care. All in all, it was pretty average but, as is so often the case in rugby, Quins initial exuberance saw them brought down to earth with a bump.

Talking of bumps, spare a thought for Quins centre and former NFL star Paul Lasike after he was knocked unconscious early in the first-half of Saturday night’s encounter. With the game screened live to a US audience for the first time, the incident was a stark reminder that it is not just American football grappling with the ongoing challenge of head injuries in its sport.

Paul Lasike was knocked unconscious in Harlequins' defeat by rivals Saracens (Getty)

Lasike’s tackle technique was bad, his head on the wrong side and taking the full force of Will Skelton’s knee. Mercifully, he was awake and alert after the game. But rugby still has much to do to find ways of reducing these incidents.

Three more good things from the weekend’s rugby. One, Jack Nowell’s stunning try for Exeter Chiefs against Bath on Friday night which surely put the bed once and for all the ridiculous notion Rob Baxter’s men are one-dimensional or boring. Sparked by the electric Henry Slade and finished by the irrepressible Nowell, Chiefs went from one end of the field to the other with razor-sharp precision, confident handling and dazzling footwork and pace. Boring? Do me a favour.

Ben Spencer’s first-half tackle on Quins forward Renaldo Bothma was as good as anything you’ll see this season while Danny Cipriani’s all-round show for Gloucester against Wasps was also of the highest class again as his old team were put to bed at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday.

Much good, some bad and a little average. The Gallagher Premiership takes an extended autumn break now. On to Europe.