Nathan Earle's late try helps Harlequins edge out Bath Rugby 29-31

Bath Rugby 29-31 Harlequins, Recreation Ground
Scorecard

Nathan Earle scored the decisive try in the final minute as Harlequins edged out Bath Rugby 29-31 in their Gallagher Premiership clash at Recreation Ground on Saturday.

Bath Rugby are at the seventh place in the Gallagher Premiership table with 35 points while Harlequins have consolidated their third position with 48 points.

The Quins had a terrific start with Chris Robshaw dotting down in the 8th minute and shortly Alex Dombrandt's kick was grabbed by Joe Marchant as he dotted down in the 12th minute. James Lang addded the extras on both the occasions as the visitors got off to a 0-14 lead.

The response from Bath came with a 16th minute penalty kick from Rhys Priestland after which Jonathan Joseph capitalised on a loose ball to go over the line in the 10 minutes later for an unconverted try. Priestland with his second penalty gap narrowed down the gap to 11-14 but Dombrandt got his name in the scoring sheet after good works from Marchant and Mike Brown.

Bath did not relent under pressure as a Nathan Catt try before the break ensured the teams had a scoreline of 16-21 at the end of the first half.

Todd Blackadder's men went on to claim the lead for the first time in the game with back to back penalty kicks from Priestland after the break after Ross Batty made most of the offload from Ruaridh McConnochie to dive over in the 64th minute to take the scoreline 29-21.

However, Quins fought back when an offload from Brown found Marchant for his second in the 71st minute to make it 29-26 before Marcus Smith made a kick to the corner allowing Earle to touchdown and complete a 29-31 win.