Premiership: Harlequins leave it late to edge Exiles while Northampton see off Bristol

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Tommaso Allan Harlequins v London Irish Premiership 2022 - PA.jpg

Harlequins struck at the death as they secured a 26-24 victory against basement dwellers London Irish in a thrilling Premiership encounter at Twickenham Stoop on Saturday.

George Head was the home side’s hero as he scored the match-winning try in the game’s dying moments after the visitors took a 24-21 lead courtesy of a 71st minute penalty from Paddy Jackson.

Earlier, the Exiles’ Ben Donnell and Quins’ Nick David were both red carded for dangerous tackles, but the home side, as is so often the case, would not be denied as they sealed their win which lifts them up to fourth in the Premiership standings.

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Harlequins had Josh Bassett sin-binned eight minutes into his debut for a deliberate knock-on, and London Irish immediately made the most of their one-man advantage.

The resulting penalty was kicked to the corner and their driving maul proved unstoppable as number eight So’otala Fa’aso’o grounded the ball over the line, with Jackson converting.

It was 14-a-side when the Exiles’ Rob Simmons saw yellow for a high shot on Tommy Allan, but his team-mates were soon celebrating a second try when Donnell forced his way over from close range.

Jackson added the extras again to open up a 14-0 lead that lasted until the break, but the hosts were back in the game four minutes after the restart when Danny Care’s pass gave Allan an easy finish near the posts.

In a further boost to Quins’ hopes, Donnell was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle on Joe Marler in the build-up, and suddenly all momentum appeared to be with the home side.

Not for long, though, as a depleted Irish hit back almost immediately when Benhard Janse van Rensburg moved the ball left to put James Stokes into space and he timed his pass to allow Ollie Hassell-Collins to finish in the corner.

Jackson’s conversion meant a 14-point gap between the teams again, but this was soon halved when Alex Dombrandt, making his comeback from injury, barged over from a few metres out.

The match was then all-square when a strong five-metre scrum from Quins led to Care feeding Allan, whose nifty footwork sent him through a gap to score his second, with him then converting.

Another twist quickly followed as the numbers out on the field were levelled up by a red card to David for a high hit on the Exiles’ Luca Morisi.

Quins collapsing a scrum then gave Jackson the chance to kick the visitors back in front with nine minutes left, but this still did not prove decisive.

That was because Harlequins snatched victory with the clock deep in the red as a driving maul found top gear when it mattered most to allow hooker Head to get the ball down.

Northampton Saints power past Bristol Bears

Alex Mitchell ran the show as Northampton condemned Bristol to a fourth successive Premiership defeat by winning 45-31 at Franklin’s Gardens.

Scrum-half Mitchell, who has been overlooked by England head coach Eddie Jones for the Autumn Nations Series, sparked a first-half try blitz by crossing twice in six minutes.

Wing Ollie Sleightholme and lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto followed suit before the break as Northampton secured a bonus point after just 32 minutes.

Matt Proctor added a fifth touchdown early in the second period, with debutant fly-half Fin Smith kicking five conversions and a penalty as he impressed following his arrival from Worcester.

Bristol led through a fourth-minute Harry Thacker try that Callum Sheedy converted, but they had no answer to Saints’ all-court game when it clicked and was supremely marshalled by Mitchell.

The visitors performed much better in the second half as Sheedy converted his own 53rd-minute try and flanker Magnus Bradbury also scored. Thacker then crossed for his second touchdown that AJ MacGinty converted, securing a losing bonus, and MacGinty claimed a fifth Bristol try during the closing seconds, but Saints were never seriously threatened.

James Grayson converted his own late try for the home side, with Northampton following Newcastle, Exeter and Gloucester in piling Premiership misery on Pat Lam’s team, who have not won in the league since toppling London Irish five weeks ago.

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