Harlequins complete 20-9 victory over Northampton

Harlequins 20 - 9 Northampton Saints, Twickenham Stoop
Scorecard

Alofa Alofa scored the only try in the game as Harlequins registered their third win in the ongoing Aviva Premiership beating Northampton Saints by 20-9 at Twickenham Stoop on Saturday.

An early penalty in the sixth minute from Nick Evans and Alofa's touchdown in the 10th minute, allowed Harlequins to get a 10-0 lead. However, Evans' counterpart, Stephen Myler struck back two penalties in a span of five minutes as the game headed into the half-time with the Quins leading by 10 - 6.

Evans' replacement Tim Swiel created a major impact in the second half adding four penalties as compared to one by Northampton Saints and ensured they won the game by a 11-point margin.

The win has taken Harlequins to the eighth spot with 12 points while Northampton Saints are positioned at ninth with 11 points.

Harlequins rugby director John Kingston lauded Marland Yarde for his efforts in the game in the absence of Anthony Watson, who suffered a broken jaw during England's training camp in Brighton.

"He was absolutely terrific," said Kingston

"The season started a little bit slowly for him. He had a couple of knocks but the last couple of weeks he's been fantastic.

"I've got a huge amount of time for him. He puts everything into his training and everything into his play. He was outstanding today.

"I think he's really put his weight behind everything this year and he always gives 100 per cent."

Harlequins suffered a major blow early in the game as Joe Marler's replacement Mark Lambert was injured in the sixth minute of the game and was replaced by Adam Jones. Kingston credited Jones for his match readiness and picked him as his standout player in the game.

"For me, Adam Jones was unbelievable because he didn't realise he was going to be coming on until very early this morning when Joe failed his test to come through," Kingston explained.

"As a consequence, he was into the deep end on the other side of the scrum. It's a testament to him that he answered that. For me, he was my man of the match."