Harlequins reach quarter-finals of Challenge Cup with 17-33 bonus point win over Agen

Agen 17-33 Harlequins, Stade Armandie
Scorecard

Harlequins came up with a five try performance as they went on to beat Agen 17-33 at Stade Armandie on Friday to reach the quarter-final of the European Rugby Challenge Cup.

The Quins now finish the group stage as table toppers in Pool 5 with 21 points edging out Benetton while Agen finished last with two wins from six games.

The visitors got off to a fantastic start when Jack Clifford celebrated his recall to England squad with a sixth minute try that was followed by a conversion from Marcus Smith to take a 0-7 lead.

The response from Agen came through Valentin Saurs when he dotted down in the 19th minute and with Jake McIntyre adding the extras the scores were levelled 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.

However, it was the Premiership side that dominated the remainder of the first half with tries from Max Crumpton (35') and Gabriel Ibitoye (40') as the teams went into the break with a 7-19 lead.

The Quins were quick to get off the block in the second half when a beautiful chip kick from Danny Care was collected by Nathan Earle as he went over the line in the 44th minute with Smith once again spot on with the conversion. Any hope of a comeback from Agen was put off with Harlequins' fifth try coming from Joe Marchant in the 63rd minute to take their tally to 33 points.

Even though Quins suffered a setback with a sin-bin to Lewis Boyce in the 67th minute, back to back tries from Jordan Peyri (69') and Nicolas Metge (73') ensured Agen reduced their losing margin to 16 points.