Northampton booked their place in the Zurich Premiership semi-finals after
victory over a spirited Harlequins side.
The final scoreline flattered the visitors somewhat as they were rarely in the
match until the closing stages.
But in the final analysis it was the kicking skills of fly-half Shane Drahm,
who kicked three out of four attempts at goal, which proved the difference.
The home side went ahead with a Drahm penalty after 16 minutes with the same
player adding a second score shortly afterwards to put the home side 6-0
ahead.
They had threatened to score a try on a number of occasions and when they
finally drove through on the 26th minute it was made to look very simple.
Scrum-half Mark Robinson, a late replacement for Matt Dawson, flicked the ball
up for his flank forward Darren Fox who had a clear run to the line from 30
metres.
Drahm was unable to convert but at 11-0 up the home side were coasting.
Harlequins rarely troubled the home side and the Saints should have gone
further in front before the break when full-back Nick Beal failed to make the
most of his supporting players.
It could have proved to be a costly error as 15 seconds after the interval the
visitors got on the scoresheet when Jim Evans charged down Drahm's attempted
clearance and pounced on the loose ball to score.
Andy Dunne was unable to convert and the home side missed a couple of
gilt-edged chances before they added a second try when Quins were penalised for
allegedly killing the ball and the referee awarded a penalty try which Drahm
converted.
The visitors were unable to add another score until three minutes from the end
of normal time when Gavin Duffy collected a sharp pass from Scott Bemand to
score in the corner.
Dunne was unable again to convert and with time running out Quins appeared to
have missed their chance of a vital bonus point.
However, deep into stoppage time George Harder ran in a third try which Dunne
converted to leave them just one point short.
Teams:
Northampton: Beal, Clarke, Vilk, Leslie, Cohen, Drahm,
Robinson, Smith, Thompson, Taumepeau, Lord, Connors, Blowers,
Fox, Seely.
Replacements: Tucker for Clarke (65), Brooks for Drahm (80),
Morris for Taumepeau (53), Phillips for Lord (69),
Soden for Fox (73).
Not Used: Richmond, Howard.
Tries: Fox, Penalty.
Cons: Drahm.
Pens: Drahm 2.
Harlequins: Duffy, Harder, Bell, Deane, Monye, Dunne, Keogh,
Jones, Hayter, Dawson, Rudzki, Evans, Sanderson, Vos, Horstmann.
Replacements: Bemand for Keogh (61), Leonard for Jones (49),
C. Dott for Hayter (40), Gomez for Dawson (49),
Miall for Rudzki (61), Diprose for Horstmann (71).
Not Used: Jarvis.
Tries: Evans, Duffy, Harder.
Cons: Dunne.
Att: 12,048
Ref: Roy Maybank (RFU).
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