Harlequins star Marcus Smith quipped that he would try and “beat Jonny Wilkinson to 1,000 points” after crossing the 500 barrier in the Premiership on Wednesday night.

Smith scored 16 points in Quins’ 38-15 win over London Irish at Twickenham Stoop, with his second try ensuring he became the second-youngest player to reach 500 Premiership points.

Only World Cup winner Wilkinson has reached 500 points at a younger age than the Quins ace, who made his debut for the club in 2017.

At 21 years and 207 days old, Smith has reached the milestone quicker than illustrious names including George Ford, Charlie Hodgson, Owen Farrell and Olly Barkley.

Smith said: “It’s an honour to play one game for Quins, let alone 75 or 80.

“I am proud every time I wear the jersey and I love playing here at the Stoop.

“To rack up 500 points in my first three years has been brilliant. Hopefully I can beat Jonny to 1,000!”

Smith’s first score broke the deadlock on Wednesday evening but Irish took full advantage of a yellow card for Quins scrum-half Scott Steele and surged ahead through tries from Dan Norton and Ben Donnell.

Scott Baldwin reduced the deficit but Jacob Atkins’ penalty ensured the Exiles reached half-time with a 15-10 advantage.

Quins went back in front after the restart through Smith’s landmark try before Steele dotted down for the bonus-point score.

A penalty try put the result beyond doubt and Cadan Murley went over to add further gloss to the scoreline.

Quins head of rugby Paul Gustard said: "It is an 80-minute game and I thought we were good value for the victory as we were the dominant side.

"We couldn't get our set-piece going in the first half and if you lose as much possession as we did then it's impossible to sustain pressure.

"When we get good field position we are a dangerous side, but if you commit hari-kari then you will come under pressure.

"We want to try and win our last three games and finish as high as we can but our next fixture at Gloucester will be tough as they have been playing well since the resumption."

Quins’ tricky trip to Kingsholm is on Monday night, with kick-off at 7.45pm.