Willie Talau crossed for two tries as St Helens stretched their unbeaten run and ended Harlequins engage Super League play-off hopes with a 32-16 win at the Stoop.

The Saints had to battle back from a 10-point deficit at half-time to win their 19th straight game and were pushed all the way by the Londoners.

And after suffering 58-12 and 54-0 drubbings by the visitors earlier this season, Quins were left to reflect on what might have been.

After a tentative opening from both sides, the home team burst into life with a pacy performance that stunned their illustrious opponents.

And they were rewarded for their enterprising play when Rob Purdham exchanged passes with David Howell to crash over after seven minutes.

Harlequins continued to stretch the Saints with some aggressive running rugby and increased their lead when Will Sharp scorched down the wing, evading a clutch of defenders before offloading for Scott Hill to cruise under the posts.

St Helens eventually kicked into gear and after Hill was penalised on the last tackle, James Graham was held just short before Paul Clough burrowed over to narrow the deficit.

But with Leon Pryce well shackled by the home defence, the Saints were struggling to find any rhythm, and just before half-time Julien Rinaldi restored the 10-point home advantage when he dummied his way over.

St Helens were expected to come out firing after the break, and so it proved as the league leaders went through the gears and stretched the Quins defence.

Moments after the restart a flowing move saw Talau break through two tackles to cross, and then when Graham twisted his way over the line to score minutes later, the visitors were level.

With the hosts rocking, Saints capitalised on their advantage when Jason Cayless cantered through a huge gap to give the visitors the lead for the first time.

St Helens were slowly exerting a grip on proceedings and when Ade Gardner crossed out wide late on there was daylight between the teams, with Talau completing the scoring.