Northampton Saints maintained their unbeaten run in the PREM Rugby Cup as they scored four tries in a 26-17 win against Harlequins in Round 3 of the competition.
A slow first half proved to be evenly matched between the sides, with both Saints and Quins crossing twice before the break – as Northampton sent debutant Tom Rowe and captain Sam Graham over.
Saints stretched their lead early into the second half when Fyn Brown crossed the whitewash from close range, and soon secured the bonus-point score through 18-year-old James Pater; but from there the game entered a stalemate as both sides successfully held off the other’s attacks.
Eventually it was Quins who broke the deadlock as they sent Seb Driscoll over four minutes from time, but it was too little, too late for the visitors and Saints held on to seal their second win in the Cup competition this term.
FIRST HALF
Saints wasted no time crossing for their first of the evening after just two minutes; Pater plucked a high kick out of the sky and cut a lovely line through Quins’ defence before popping the ball right to a waiting Rowe. The debutant winger still had work to do but muscled his way over the whitewash to open the scoring.
Saints defended a series of Quins attacks well up until the game’s 15th minute, but eventually the pressure from the away side proved too much and it was Cassius Cleaves who brought the scores level.
The men in Black, Green and Gold got their second on the half-hour mark, sending skipper Graham over the whitewash after an extended period of pressure in Quins’ 22. Anthony Belleau added the conversion to swing the score 12-5 in Saints’ favour.
Quins had the last word of the half though, as a string of penalties against Saints got them close before Jamie Benson sent a crossfield kick over to the unmarked Hayden Hyde on the left.
SECOND HALF
Benson’s missed conversion before the break meant Northampton emerged for the second half with a narrow two-point lead and they had extended it just a couple of minutes in, with Brown ending Saints’ push from a five-metre lineout.
The lead became 16 points moments later, when Belleau broke free on the halfway line and drew Quins’ defence before putting Pater through just right of the posts for his first score in a senior Saints shirt to make it 26-10.
Saints went down to 14 men after 49 minutes though, as Chunya Munga was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle, but Quins could not make the most of their extra man and Northampton survived the sin bin without conceding.
The men in Black, Green and Gold entered the game’s final quarter back to full strength but it was Quins who crossed next, with back rower Seb Driscoll breaking free to stretch over the tryline.
Benson’s conversion made it 26-17 and that’s the way the scoreline would stay until the final whistle, as Saints survived a final attack from their guests to seal their second win of the PREM Rugby Cup.
Saints enjoy a bye week in the competition next weekend and return to action on Saturday 15 October (kick-off: 5.30pm) when Newcastle Red Bulls make the trip to cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens for Round 4 of the Cup.
LINE-UPS
SAINTS: 15 Pater, 14 Rowe, 13 Lumley, 12 Thame, 11 Caqusau, 10 Belleau, 9 Weimann; 1 Scola, 2 Manfredi, 3 Green, 4 Prowse, 5 Munga, 6 Benson, 7 Brown, 8 Graham (c).
Replacements: 16 Walker, 17 West, 18 Tonga’uiha, 19 Bennett, 20 Ainsworth-Cave, 21 James, 22 Pasco, 23 Hendy.
QUINS: 15 Anderson, 14 Hyde, 13 McMillan, 12 Kerr, 11 Cleaves, 10 Benson, 9 Green (c); 1 Kerrod, 2 Riley, 3 Lamositele, 4 Browne, 5 Green, 6 Carr, 7 Driscoll, 8 Schmid.
Replacements: 16 Staples, 17 Hobson, 18 Streeter, 19 Williams, 20 Williams, 21 Murray, 22 Slevin, 23 Bellamy.