Harlequins 19-16 Bath Rugby
Harlequins have made it to the play-offs again – edging a thriller at the Stoop to complete a great late push to their season.
They seem to have clicked into gear at precisely the right time and will hit next week's semi-final with confidence after a fifth Premiership win in a row to sneak fourth place.
Boss Conor O'Shea said before kick-off that 'momentum and belief is everything in sport' and he will trust that momentum carries into a seismic clash against Saracens at Allianz Park next Saturday.
The sold-out match carried a real cup-tie intensity from start to finish – as you would expect with some much riding on it. It was a winner-takes-all contest, with the onus on Quins to win this final league fixture to overtake the visitors.
The hosts carried the greater threat for most of a match in which they never trailed and deservedly got their noses in front after 16 minutes.
The beavering Danny Care collected at a breakdown and hurled a perfect pass out wide to Mike Brown for a try in the corner. Nick Evans converted.
But this was not going to be a game where O'Shea's men could hope to bury their opponents easily.
George Ford slalomed through the Quins midfield after picking up possession on halfway soon after – adding the extras himself to restore parity.
Nick Easter, making a club record-equalling appearance, thought he had put the hosts back in front in the very next attack, but the pass he collected from Care near the tryline was deemed forward after being referred upstairs by ref Wayne Barnes.
Evans missed a kickable penalty on the half hour but made amends soon after in front of the posts after Quins had poured forward behind a kick ahead to force Bath into holding on to the ball.
That made it 10-7 at the interval, but Bath drew level again soon after the restart when full-back Nick Abendanon drifted between defenders to take the visitors up to the try line and force a penalty. Ford was again the scorer.
Bath were down to 10 men after former England winger Matt Banahan was yellow carded and Quins took it as their cue to start applying more pressure. Brown's kick ahead forced another penalty for Evans to make it 13-10.
That lead was extended by another Evans kick following some sterling work from prop Kyle Sinckler, who chased another Care chip to force Bath to concede a lineout and was then impeded as he tried to take a quick throw.
With Banahan back on, Ford pegged Quins back to 19-16 with two penalties either side of another from Evans and the tension mounted with 10 minutes to go.
In the event, Quins saw out the danger well and when Ford attempted a despairing long-range drop-kick from 40 yards, it was the tiring visitors' last roll of the dice.
Line-up: Brown, Williams, Molenaar, Turner-Hall, Monye, Evans, Care, Marler, Ward, Sinckler, Matthews, Robson, Fa'asavalu, Robshaw, Easter. Replacements: Buchanan, Lambert, Collier, Kennedy, Guest, Dickson, Botica, Smith.
Attendance: 14,800
