Eight try Harlequins trounce Agen 54-22 in Challenge Cup opener

Harlequins 54-22 Agen, Twickenham Stoop
Scorecard

Harlequins ran an eight try riot as they went on to trounce Agen 54-22 in their European Rugby Challenge Cup encounter at Twickenham Stoop on Saturday.

The Quins now top Pool 5 with five wins while Agen are languishing at the bottom of the table. Mike Brown on his 300th appearance for the club scored the opening try in the 14th minute and Marcus Smith converted to take them to a 7-0 lead.

Leo Berdeu led Agen's response with a 25th minute penalty kick but the home side tripled their tally following touchdowns from Charlie Mulchrone and Semi Kunatani in the 26th and 30th minutes respectively with Smith slotting extras on both the occasions to make it 21-3.

Loris Tolot with his 35th minute try cut the gap down to 13 points but Agen suffered a setback when Alban Conduche was sin-binned just at the stroke of half time.

The hosts were quick to get off the block in the second half when Nathan Earle touched down in the 43rd minute and George Merrick followed the suit seven minutes later as the scoreline became 33-8.

Just as Agen found some momentum through Fouad Yaha's try in the 54th minute they once again lost the plot with the winger sn-binned at the start of the final quarter and to make things worse Harlequins were also awarded a penalty try.

Facundo Bosch provided some consolation in the end for Agen with a 75th minute try but Harlequins capped of a fantastic game with further tries from Joe Marchant (71') and Kunatani (78') to complete a 54-22 victory.