The points came from the respective fly-halfs in what was a well contested match in difficult conditions.

The victory was made even more special for Mark Lambert who came off the bench to mark his 100^th appearance for the club.

It was the visitors that controlled the conditions well and match the Saints' dominance upfront.

The slippery conditions dictated a kicking game and one which Harlequins are not usually famed for. Man of the match, Mike Brown was exceptional under the high balls and was a sure bet to secure possession.

Harlequins came close on numerous occasions to scoring tries but the slippery conditions and their discipline cost them at key points however Evans was able to kick to victory.

It was the fly-half who opened the scoring after just two minutes. Joe Gray who had gone down with an early neck injury dominated in the first scrum and Evans happily converted.

Harlequins were almost celebrating an opening try after a penalty was kicked to touch inside the Saints' 22. Nick Evans made a half break and despite getting an offload away to Matt Hopper, the centre knocked on and Saints cleared their lines.

When Soane Tonga'uiha came in to a maul from an offside position, Evans had the opportunity to extend the lead from his boot on 15minutes.

The fly-half missed and when Saints gathered their own drop out and Lee Dickson box kick to Mike Brown pressured the full-back into conceding a penalty. Stephen Myler drew the cores level.

Replicating Harlequins, it was the saints turn to miss out on a try following a score. Ken Pisi made a promising break down the right wing and after shipping the ball wide to Ben Foden, the full-back powered his way over the line. However, referee Wayne Barnes ruled that the final pass from George Pisi was forward.

Harlequins conceded a penalty in the scrum, but Myler failed to take the lead.

As the half hour mark approached Danny Care worked hard in pressurising Phil Dowson picking from the base of a scrum. The scrum-half forced a penalty and this time Evans was on target.

Care was again pivotal in defence after the Saints worked into the 22 from a penalty, with Courtney Lawes charging forward, Care's tackle forced a knock-on which halted the hosts as they began to build momentum.

Harlequins held the visitors well in the final 10 minutes of the half. The Saints regularly went to their forward pack to gain territory through numerous rolling mauls. As the rain began to fall, the half time whistle blew and Harlequins had a narrow 3-6 lead.

Harlequins stormed into the second half and Nick Easter almost scored a brilliant solo try. Brown gathered a tricky Saints cross field kick and after Robshaw offloaded to Easter, the number 8 charged up field.

With Danny care in support, Easter decided to hack the ball on and nearly won a foot race against Ben Foden. However the Saints full-back gathered possession and when Care infringed, Saints were able to clear their lines.

It was then the turn of James Johnston to take on the Saints back line. Breaking down the blindside from a ruck, the prop was tackled 10 metres from the try line. Harlequins won a penalty when Care was pulled into the ruck, but Evans missed for the second time.

From the 22 drop out, kicking tennis ensued, When Brown finally gathered a kick he offloaded to Ugo Monye broke down the right wing. Harlequins were patient in attack, but Easter knocked the ball on in contact and the Saints raced up field.

Johnston did well to halt Jamie Elliott on the left wing, but while rolling away from the tackle, he interfered with play, earning him a yellow card. As the hour mark approached, Saints worked into the 22 and won a penalty. Myler stepped up levelled the scores at 6-6.

Evans was able to cancel the score out when Mike Brown got the better of his opposite number Foden inside the Saints 22. This followed a fantastic tackle from Tom Casson which isolated the full-back and allowed Brown to pounce.

Evans added another penalty on 66 minutes and when Harlequins returned to 15 men they had outscored Saints six points to three.

The kicking game continued in the slippery conditions and with Brown and Tom Guest collecting two consecutively, Harlequins found themselves being awarded a penalty in the Saints 22. Evans again stepped up, extending the lead to 6-15.

Harlequins had to be patient and well-disciplined in the final moments, but when Guest was forced into touch five metres out, he threw the ball away, allowing replacement Ryan Lamb to take the Saints into losing bonus point territory from the boot.

As the clock went dead, Harlequins were awarded a penalty after Brown drilled the ball into the Saints 22. Evans was able to convert and the visitors secured a 9-18 victory.

Harlequins now look ahead to the Big Game five on December the 29^th when they face London Irish. Over 70,000 tickets have been sold and there are a limited amount available. To purchase tickets, please click here.