NEC Harlequins suffered an 18-17 defeat against Northampton Saints in their final Zurich Premiership fixture of the season; a result that means they will be away to Leicester Tigers in the Zurich Wildcard semi-finals next Saturday (15th May 2004). Trailing 11-0 at half-time, Quins fought back in the second half and a try from George Harder from the last play of the game gave the visitors a bonus point from their afternoons work.
The home side dominated territory and possession in the first half and two penalties from fly half Shane Drahm saw the Saints lead 6-0 after 23 minutes. Three minutes later and the hosts scored the opening try of the match after securing a turnover of possession just inside the Quins half. Ben Cohen made ground and a clever pass from Mark Robinson allowed flanker Darren Fox to sprint clear to the line unopposed. Drahm failed to add the two extra points on offer but Northampton were now 11 points clear.
Quins started their fight back immediately at the start of the second half. Drahm saw a clearance kick charged down by Jim Evans and the lock forward was the first to fall on the loose ball to put Quins first points on the board. Andy Dunne's conversion attempt hit the post but the visitors were now just six points behind (11-5).
Back came Northampton and their dominance in the scrum resulted in them being awarded a penalty try after 51 minutes. After winning a scrum five metres from the line, the Saints pack powered their way forward and after the ball shot out of the set-piece, referee Roy Maybank had no hesitation in giving the penalty try that Drahm converted to put the home side two scores clear once again (18-5).
Quins excellent defence continued to keep the Saints out and the visitors then scored two tries in the closing stages to earn themselves a bonus point. A turn over inside the Saints twenty-two allowed Mel Deane to make the necessary break before giving Gavin Duffy a try scoring pass, with the full back diving over in the left hand corner, though Dunne failed to convert from wide out.
A frantic final passage of play saw Quins recycle possession through a number of phases before good work from Simon Miall and Andre Vos gave Harder the space he needed to run-in the final try of the match down the right flank. Dunne's successful conversion was immediately followed by the final whistle, denying Quins the chance of one final attack and going for the match winning score.
Final score, 18-17.
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