| Harlequins: (0) 19 |
| Tries: Murley 2, Care Cons: Smith 2 |
| Leicester: (12) 27 |
| Tries: Reffell 2, Montoya, Watson Cons: Burns 2 Pens: Burns |
Reigning champions Leicester were rejuvenated as they ended their mini-losing streak with a superbly clinical victory over a frustrated Harlequins.
Close-range scores from Wales flanker Tommy Reffell and hooker Julian Montoya helped Tigers to a 12-0 half-time lead.
Reffell’s outstanding finish after the break stretched the advantage to 17.
Cadan Murley’s two tries – either side of an Anthony Watson score – and a late effort from Danny Care got Quins going but it was not enough to deny Tigers.
Leicester’s statement win – their first in three games and fifth on the road in 2022 – moves them up to fifth with Quins, in eighth, left ruing only their second defeat at the Stoop in the last seven matches as captain Joe Marler’s 250th appearance for the club ended on sour note.
Tigers, who destroyed Quins in the breakdown all afternoon, started like they meant business after suffering back-to-back defeats, and it was not long before their dominant pack got the chance to set up their first try as Reffell rumbled over from a rolling maul off the back of a line-out from the 10-metre line.
The loss of Chris Ashton to a Head Injury Assessment (HIA), after the former England winger put in a huge hit on a marauding Quins full-back Tyrone Green just outside the Tigers’ 22, did not destabilise their momentum as they kept the home crowd subdued.
Opportunities for Quins were rare but when they did have a chance, they fluffed their lines as centre Luke Northmore inexplicably dropped the ball as he went over the line.
Tigers’ suffocating pack made them pay when hooker Montoya rolled over off the back of a maul following a line-out.
The visitors kept up the heat after the break and stunned Quins with another try as Reffell brilliantly finished a slick handling move following a scrum, diving full length to dot down milliseconds before being bundled into touch by Marcus Smith.
Quins did finally fire on 68 minutes when Murley rounded off a fine move from Tommy Allan’s pass as Smith maintained his 100% record from the tee with the extras to cut the gap to 10.
After Freddie Burns missed a drop-goal attempt to put Tigers’ back up by 13, Quins’ indiscipline resurfaced as George Hammond took out Jack van Poortvliet giving Burns an easy penalty.
Tigers then effectively sealed victory when Watson intercepted an ambitiously long pass from Andre Esterhuizen in his own 22 to run in under the posts.
Murley capped an excellent personal afternoon with his second before Smith missed his first kick of the season.
Winger Murley seemed set for a hat-trick following a sensational run from his own half before Care gathered the recycled ball to add some late gloss to the score.
Leicester Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick told BBC Radio Leicester:
“It was an improved performance. Defensively we improved – until that last part of the game, to lose two tries is disappointing.
“The players worked exceptionally hard and I’m proud of them. It was a step in the right direction but there’s plenty to work on still.
“The squad hasn’t been together very much and that does enable you to build some cohesion.
“We been faced with some challenges over a short period of time already this season and what we’ve got to do is continue to keep facing those challenges and get better.”
Harlequins head coach Tabai Matson:
“It’s very disappointing when they were the best in every area and it’s the worst I’ve felt since being here.
“They were brutal in the collisions and our breakdown was not good enough, but they forced errors from us and were pretty flawless.
“You’ve got to keep the scoreline close and keep the tempo up but we could not do that either.
“Cadan is the best left wing in the league and he looked dangerous all the time, but we must work out ways of getting him more possession as we did not do that.”
Harlequins: Green; Marchant, Northmore, Esterhuizen, Murley, Smith, Care; Marler (capt), Musk, Louw; Lamb, Herbst, Keningham, Evans, White.
Replacements: Riley, Garcia Botta, Kerrod, Hammond, Jurevicius, Gjaltema, Allen, David.
Leicester Tigers: Steward; Ashton, Potter, Scott, Watson, Burns, B Youngs; Cronin, Montoya, Cole, Wells, Green, Liebenberg, Reffell, Wiese.
Replacements: Clare, Van Wyk, Heyes, Henderson, Cracknell, Van Poortvliet, Gopperth, Nadolo.
Referee: Adam Leal.
