Leeds Tykes took a massive step towards preserving their Zurich Premiership status with a magnificent victory against fellow strugglers Harlequins at Headingley.

Two late tries from Phil Christophers and Andre Snyman secured the points for the Tykes but it could not have happened without a superb performance from their pack of forwards.

The game was played in front of Leeds' second biggest-ever crowd, with 8,151 supporters turning out to cheer the Tykes on.

Harlequins defended manfully throughout but the Tykes pressure finally told with Christophers' 68th-minute try.

The win goes a huge way to securing the Tykes' position in the top flight of English rugby as they have hit form at just the right time.

The opening stages were unsurprisingly nervy with both sides preferring to kick for territory rather than move the ball in slippery conditions.

Leeds had the bulk of possession but the Quins' defence was quite magnificent. One thundering Will Greenwood tackle five metres out from his line on South African international winger Snyman being particularly memorable.

Quins took the lead against the run of play in the 29th minute when Jon Dunbar was penalised at the side of a ruck after Greenwood had set up a good field position with a break down the right. Jeremy Staunton kicked the penalty to make it 3-0 to the visitors.

Leeds twice turned down kickable penalty chances, opting instead for attacking line-outs but their ploy looked to have backfired as the Quins defence held rock solid.

Leeds kept on pressing and eventually Gordon Ross managed to put Snyman through the smallest of blindside gaps for the winger to charge towards the try line. Quins fullback Gavin Duffy hit Snyman with a magnificent all-embracing tackle, but after consultation with the video referee, a try was awarded. Ross's touchline conversion gave the Tykes a deserved 7-3 half-time lead.

Whatever Quins' director of rugby Mark Evans said to his players at the break had the desired effect as they raced out of the blocks and scored a try through fly half Staunton. Ross's pass was intercepted by his opposite number, who sped over from 50 metres before converting his own try.

The Tykes blew a gilt-edged chance to take the lead after 63 minutes when Chris Bells collected a loose pass in the midfield and fed Argentinian full-back Diego Albanese. With Ross standing out on the wing, it looked a certain try for the Tykes but Albanese's diagonal run ended with a woefully misdirected pass to the Scottish international and the chance went begging.

The Tykes finally got it right with 12 minutes to play when Ross collected a stray Dan Parks pass and stepped outside the rushing defence and fed his three quarters. Christophers carried the ball on although he looked to have wasted the opportunity when he gave an early pass to substitute winger Tom Biggs.

However, the 20-year-old stood up in the tackle and fed a brilliant pass back inside to the supporting Christophers to score. Ross's touchline conversion made it 14-10 to the Tykes.

The Tykes made the game safe with Snyman's late try after Alan Dickens created space from the back of a scrum to send the South African in. Ross's conversion sent the Yorkshire crowd into dreamland.