Northampton 29-23 Harlequins: Harry Mallinder's last-gasp try gives Saints a vital bonus point win - Ruck
Aviva Premiership

Northampton 29-23 Harlequins: Harry Mallinder’s last-gasp try gives Saints a vital bonus point win

27 March 2016
Rugby Rucker
  • Northampton moved into the Premiership top four with a bonus-point victory over Harlequins
  • Saints prop Alex Waller bundled over and Courtney Lawes added a second, but Tim Visser showed electric pace to give Quins a 13-12 half-time lead
  • Quins extended their lead through Jack Clifford but tries from Ben Foden and Harry Mallinder gave Northampton the win
Harry Mallinder’s last-gasp try gave Northampton Saints a vital bonus point 29-23 win over top-four rivals Harlequins at Franklin’s Gardens.

Jim Mallinder’s men move into fourth place after claiming their seventh consecutive win against Harlequins and seriously dented Conor O’Shea’s hopes of making the Aviva Premiership Rugby semi-finals with four rounds to go

Northampton scored two first half tries through forward pair Alex Waller and Courtney Lawes. Quins only try of the first 40 came from Tim

Quins only try of the first 40 came from Tim Visser, with Ben Botica kicking eight points though give the visitors a narrow 13-12 lead at the break.

Harlequins only try of the second half came from new England face Jack Clifford, with Botica converting to extend the away side’s lead.

Foden then crossed for Saints with Myler converting before Botica twice missed gilt-edged chances from the tee for Quins leaving the hosts with a slender 22-20 lead with ten minutes remaining.

And Mallinder made him pay five minutes later when Ken Pisi’s flick sent him over in the corner to secure the bonus-point for the hosts, though Botica did manage to salvage a losing bonus point with his final kick.

Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson (c), 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Christian Day, 4 James Craig, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Reece Marshall, 17 Campese Ma’afu, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Sam Dickinson, 21 Kahn Fotuali’i, 22 JJ Harrahan, 23 Harry Mallinder

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Charlie Walker, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Ben Botica, 9 Danny Care (c), 8 Nick Easter, 7 Luke Wallace, 6 Jack Clifford, 5 James Horwill, 4 George Merrick, 3 Will Collier, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Mat Luamanu, 20 Chris Robshaw, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Matt Hopper, 23 Ross Chisholm

Date: Sunday, March 27
Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 15:15 local (14:15 GMT)
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth
Assistant Referees: Wayne Falla, Paul Burton
TMO: Graham Hughes