Harlequins came from behind to become the first team to win at Premiership leaders Northampton this season with a hard-fought 16-13 rugby union success on Saturday.
’Quins were 10-3 behind and down to 13 men at Franklin’s Gardens after John Andress and England back-row Nick Easter had both been sent to the sin-bin.
However, they fought back to record their first away win of the league season after England scrumhalf Danny Care charged down Stephen Myler’s kick to score the decisive try in the second half of a match where all of ’Quins other points came via the boot of New Zealander Nick Evans.
“It was a tremendous result in adversity,” Harlequins coach Conor O’Shea said. “It’s as adverse as you could get, 10-3 down at Franklin’s Gardens with only 13 players. You can’t coach that, it is all down to the hearts of the players and I am so proud of them.”
Victory saw ’Quins into fifth place in the 12-team Premiership.
However, despite the defeat Northampton remained top of the table in a league where the ultimate winners are not the side heading the standings at the end of the regular season, but the team that triumphs in post-season playoffs.
London Irish lost for the ninth straight match in all competitions despite outscoring Bath three tries to one in a frustrating 25-24 home defeat at the Madejski Stadium.
The Exiles, who last tasted victory on Oct. 31, were undone by the final kick of the match when Bath’s former England international Olly Barkley landed his sixth successful penalty to add to his earlier conversion of former Springbok scrumhalf Michael Claassens’s try.
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