Quins travelled up to Northampton today with arguably their strongest side of the last few weeks, but sadly, despite a late comeback, could not muster enough to beat the Saints at the trusty bastion that is Franklin's Gardens.
Quins welcomed back Nick Evans and Tom Williams to the starting line-up, but even they could not inspire the London side to continue their recent unbeaten Premiership and LV= Cup run. However, it was nice to see tries return to the Premiership - in case we were all in danger of forgetting what they are.
Saints built an early lead to get the crowd going, with Bruce Reihana pouncing on a loose ball after a Quins fumble to power over the visitors' try line. The swirling wind worked against the home side as the conversion sailed wide.
Quins responded by piling on the pressure, but seemed unable to break a resolute home defence. After some possession tennis, Saints were awarded a penalty from the halfway line, and the wind came out in favour of the hosts, aiding the ball through the uprights.
Now it was the Saints’ opportunity to turn the pressure up and, after some nifty (if risky) handling, they were awarded another penalty that Myler slotted to keep the home side at a distance.
Momentum shifted back to Quins and, in an effort to stem the building tide, Neil Best earned himself a yellow card for a dangerous shoulder charge on his old team mate, Nils Mordt. Nick Evans replied in the best and most dignified fashion by driving the ball through the sticks to put the first three points on Quins’ scoresheet.
Quins maintained the upper hand, but were unable to take full advantage - and were not helped when the referee called a supposed forward pass as Strettle looked to have released Tom Williams free on the left wing just before half time.
Saints started strongly in the second half and were awarded a penalty for their efforts, which Myler slipped in convincingly before Neil Best was allowed back on the field, his indiscretion not proving costly for the home team.
As time ticked on, Quins stepped up their game, but fortune was not on their side as they failed to make a telling impact. Northampton took better advantage of their chances and broke away from the defence for Juandre Kruger to score off a finely fed pass by Soane Tonga'uiha. Myler provided a sniff of hope to Quins by missing the conversion but, in reality, Saints were pretty much home and dry.
However, Quins did get their teeth into the match in the last ten minutes with Josh Drauniniu posting in two tries punctured by a Soane Tonga'uiha try in between. Drauniniu’s first try was the finish of a beautiful Quins move, creating an overlap and allowing him to touch down in the corner. Nick Evans converted that one, with Mike Brown stepping up for the final kick of the game to convert Drauniniu’s second intercepted score which prevented Northampton earning a bonus point win.
Final Score: Saints 26 – 17 Harlequins.
