HARLEQUINS 29 NORTHAMPTON 14
A dogged and determined Harlequins overturned a half-time deficit to secure a second-straight bonus-point victory in the PREM Rugby Cup.
A fast start from Harlequins saw Nick David race into the Northampton 22, only for possession to be lost.
Quins made the most of the territory shortly after though, with an inch-perfect pass from James Lang releasing Cameron Anderson into the 22.
From there, the pack went to work, with Will Hobson crashing over from close-range.
Quins lost Theo Povey and Lang in the early exchanges though and Northampton soon hit back, with a powerful carry from Tom Pearson edging his side into the lead.
The visitors continued to apply the pressure, forcing David to carry the ball dead.
Saints made the most of the pressure, crossing for their second of the match through Toby Thame, with Shields adding the conversion.
After some strong defensive work, Quins released Sharp to break free, only for Bradley’s pass back to the wing to drift forward.
Northampton looked to build the phases inside the Quins 22 again though, only for Anderson to produce a monstrous tackle on Thame to force a knock-on and stop the attack dead.
Quins hit back right before the half-time break though, with some beautiful dancing feet from Sean Kerr.
The youngster ducked out of one tackle, before stepping and jinking past several Saints defenders to race in out wide, narrowing the gap to two points at the break, after Josh Bellamy had nailed the conversion from out wide.
As the second-half kicked off, Saints has a try chalked off, before Quins hit the front, Stu Townsend sniping off the back of a maul to dart over the line and edge his side ahead.
On the hour mark, Quins bought up the bonus point with a lovely flowing move that saw David release Anderson, to fend off the final attacker and dot down for a well-taken finish.
Northampton looked to respond though, as they hammered away at the Quins line, only for some more heroic last-gasp defence to force a knock-on as the visitors looked to ground the ball.
Injuries were mounting for Quins, as they lost replacement Alfie Bowman to a knock, forcing Jason Gilmore’s side to play a man down for the final 10 minutes.
Quins continued to defend resolutely, holding Saints up over the line for the third time in the contest, before forcing a knock-on in the middle of the field.
With five minutes to go, Quins sealed the contest with a stunning solo breakaway from Bellamy, as the fly-half gathered the ball in the backfield and raced in from halfway with a stunning turn of pace to take his side clear of Northampton.