Conor O'Shea praises Mike Brown's improvement

Conor O'Shea has heaped praise on Mike Brown's improved performances for Harlequins in the Aviva Premiership this season ahead of their semi-final match against Saracens.

The full-back has been named the Premiership's Player of the Year for his efforts with Quins this season, having won the same prize during the Six Nations while playing for England earlier in the year.

The club's director of rugby told Sky Sports News: "I said to him when I came here, one of the things I felt, with maturity and understanding, his game was always going to improve because his game didn't rely on out and out pace.

"You see him kicking at the right time now rather than taking on the world every time he gets the ball. He's so competitive that he now understands how to control the emotion.

"I would have thought that a couple of years ago if he made a mistake in a game it might have consumed him. But as he's got older and more mature he's in control of that emotion and drive: he knows how to go to the edge, but not slip over it."

The winner of this afternoon's match will face Northampton Saints in the final at Twickenham later this month.