Quins revival stuns Hull
Harlequins overturned a 16-point deficit to claim a 34-26 victory over Hull FC at the Twickenham Stoop.
Last Updated: 18/05/08 5:55pm
Harlequins overturned a 16-point deficit to claim a 34-26 victory over Hull FC at the Twickenham Stoop.
Scott Hill was the catalyst for the comeback, the Australian stand-off having a hand in all his side's six tries as they rallied in superb fashion.
Youngster Tony Clubb and Chris Melling touched down twice, while Julien Rinaldi and Mike Worrincy each scored in the second half after an Adam Dykes-inspired Hull had dominated the opening period.
Australian Dykes' high kick exposed Quins full-back Jon Wells and allowed Richard Whiting to get the game's opening score after two minutes.
Another Dykes bomb just prior to the half-hour mark was not dealt with by winger Rikki Sheriffe, this time allowing Mike Burnett to clean up and feed Tommy Lee, who raced to the line with ease.
A rout looked on the cards when Hull when stand-off Danny Washbrook crossed following more slick work by Dykes.
Clubb class
However, Quins got on the comeback trail before the hooter when a series of penalties allowed replacement second-rower Clubb to force his way over from short range. Henry Paul's conversion reduced the deficit to 10 points.
And the hosts picked up where they left off after the interval when Rinaldi intercepted Craig Hall's pass and returned it 30 metres for the try.
Kirk Yeaman went 85 metres on his own to keep Hull ahead with a storming 85-metre run after 50 minutes, but the Airlie Birds had no answer as Quins ran riot late on.
Hill sent Worrincy over six minutes later and then Melling scored straight from the kick-off to give the hosts the lead for the first time at 24-20.
Clubb made light of the attention of three Hull defenders to extend that to eight points on 68 minutes.
Matt Sing pulled one back shortly after for Hull, but Hill had the final say after a silky exchange opened the way for Melling to ice the result.