Harlequins revive play-off hope with 30-17 win over Northampton Saints

Harlequins 30-17 Northampton Saints, Twickenham Stoop
Scorecard

Harlequins have kept their hope for play-off alive as they defeated Northampton Saints 30-17 in the 17th round of the Gallagher Premiership at Twickenham Stoop on Saturday.

The win has taken Harlequins to 37 points as they remain at seventh place while Northampton are at sixth place with 40 points.

It took Saints just five minutes to get off the mark when Matty Proctor set up Rory Hutchinson over the line and James Grayson kicked the conversion to make it 0-7.

A Marcus Smith penalty kick got Harlequins off the mark in the 15th minute and they went on to seize the lead in the 24th minute when Nathan Earle dotted down following an offload from Alex Dombrandt. Smith kicked the extras as the scoreline became 10-7.

The visitors gathered momentum with Ryan Olowofela's try in the 31st minute but Scott Baldwin's try in the 37th minute and a penalty from Smith ensured the teams finished an engaging first half with a 18-14 scoreline.

The Quins dominated the start of the second half as Smith set the foundation for Chris Robshaw's try in the 47th minute and three minutes later a combination of Mike Brown and Dombrandt allowed Chris Ashton to cross the whitewash for his second try for the club and Smith followed with the conversion to take the scoreline 30-14.

Grayson kicked a 58th minute penalty goal to reduce the deficit to 13 points but they could not find any more breakthrough as they slipped to their ninth defeat.

Northampton will host Exeter Chiefs in the 18th round on 4th September while Harlequins will face Bath Rugby at Twickenham Stoop.