Harlequins overcome Bath to register first win in Champions Cup

Harlequins 15-9 Bath Rugby, Twickenham Stoop
Scorecard

Harlequins opened their account in the ongoing Heineken Champions Cup as they earned a hard fought 15-9 win over Bath Rugby at Twickenham Stoop on Saturday.

The Quins are now at third place in Pool 3 with four points while Bath with their second successive defeat are languishing at the bottom of the group. England's Joe Marler was also making his first appearance for the club since returning from the World Cup campaign.

Harlequins, who started the tournament with a defeat against Clermont had a terrific start with Marcus Smith kicking three penalty goals in the opening quarter and that remained the only points in the first half as the home side had a 9-0 lead heading into the break.

Smith with his fourth penalty kick at the start of the second half stretched Harlequins' lead to 12 points before Freddie Burns reduced the deficit of the visitors to six points with two three-pointers in the 53rd and 59th minutes.

James Lang with his maiden penalty goal in the 75th minute provided a breathing space for Quins but they suffered a setback with Elia Elia sin-binned a minute later. Despite having an additional player in the closing stage, all Bath managed was a penalty kick from Burns as they went on to lose the game by six points.