Mike Brown comes back to haunt Harlequins as Leicester Tigers claim dramatic win

Planet Rugby
Mike Brown on his way to a try for Leicester Tigers against Harlequins.

Mike Brown on his way to a try for Leicester Tigers against Harlequins.

Harlequins legend Mike Brown scored what proved to be the match-winning try for Leicester Tigers as the visitors sealed a dramatic Premiership victory at the Stoop.

Brown’s score, which was converted by Handre Pollard, moved Tigers into a 17-14 lead on 64 minutes before Pollard struck a penalty to make it 20-14 with 10 minutes to play.

It looked like Quins were staring defeat in the face until a late try from Tyrone Green handed Jarrod Evans the chance to win the game off the tee. However, he was wide with his attempt and Leicester held on to claim a priceless win that takes them fifth.

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Leicester suffered two heavy defeats in the Investec Champions Cup but the four-point haul keeps them in contention for a Premiership play-off spot as the league heads for an extended break with the Six Nations kicking off next weekend.

Jasper Wiese and Brown scored Leicester’s tries with Pollard kicking two penalties and two conversions on the night.

Nick David, Green and Jack Walker scored tries for Harlequins with Evans adding two conversions but missing the vital one from Green’s score.

After an error-ridden first 15 minutes, Pollard had the first chance for points and he made no mistake with a 40-metre penalty.

Without props Dan Cole and Joe Heyes in their line-up the Tigers struggled in the scrum but it was a different story in the line-out as it was the home side who lost a couple on their own throw which resulted in a disjointed game.

Both sides favoured kicks from their respective scrum-halves to gain territory and hence the first 25 minutes were an unedifying spectacle for the capacity crowd.

The first piece of real action came when from a position on halfway, Tigers created space for Ollie Hassell-Collins to tear through the defence. The wing was hauled down just five metres short of the try line but when Quins were penalised, Wiese took full advantage to force his way over.

Pollard converted before Quins struck back in style. From deep inside their own half, a well-timed pass from Evans sent Green through a huge gap before the full-back provided David with the opportunity to run 30 metres for the try.

Evans converted to leave the hosts trailing 10-7 at the interval.

After the restart, Hassell-Collins again went close after collecting a chip through from Brown but some determined cover defence from the home side thwarted the wing.

With 50 minutes on the clock, Quins looked to have taken the lead when Andre Esterhuizen powered past three defenders on a 45-metre run to touch down but TMO replays showed an earlier obstruction and the try was ruled out.

The home side introduced Cadan Murley in place of Louis Lynagh with Ben Youngs taking the field for Leicester in time to see his side fall behind.

An unstoppable line-out drive resulted in a try for Walker which Evans converted to give Quins a four-point advantage going into the final quarter.

Leicester responded with a superb second try when Solomone Kata created space for Hassell-Collins to hare down the left flank with his inside pass sending former Quins’ favourite Brown over.

Pollard converted and added a penalty before Green finished off a flowing move by dummying his way over with a minute left on the clock but Evans missed his straightforward shot at goal.

The teams

Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Nick David, 13 Will Joseph, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Louis Lynagh, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Max Green, 8 James Chisholm, 7 Will Evans, 6 George Hammond, 5 Irne Herbst, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 3 Will Collier, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Fin Baxter
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Arthur Clark, 20 Archie White, 21 Lewis Gjaltema, 22 Will Edwards, 23 Cadan Murley

Leicester Tigers: 15 Jamie Shillcock, 14 Mike Brown, 13 Dan Kelly, 12 Solomone Kata, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Tom Whiteley, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Olly Cracknell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Kyle Hatherell, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Dan Richardson, 2 Julián Montoya (c), 1 James Cronin
Replacements: 16 Finn Theobold-Thomas, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Tim Hoyt, 19 Sam Carter, 20 Matt Rogerson, 21 Finn Carnduff, 22 Ben Youngs, 23 Matt Scott

Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant Referees: Craig Maxwell-Keys, Peter Allan
TMO: Andrew Jackson

READ MORE: Scotland and Wales hold their breath as Six Nations stars feature in the Premiership

Harlequins Mike Brown