Quins turn tables on Wigan
Harlequins produced a stunning second-half comeback to upset Super League leaders Wigan 38-26 on their own soil on Friday night.
By Rachel Griffiths
Last Updated: 23/04/10 10:50pm
Harlequins produced a stunning second-half comeback to upset Super League leaders Wigan 38-26 on their own soil on Friday night.
Luke Dorn inspired the revival with two tries in 10 minutes, while captain Rob Purdham landed a late touch down 11 minutes from the end to clinch the Quins' second win of the season.
Despite the result, Warriors stay top of the table and Harlequins remain in the basement, but the Londoners' appear to have reached a turning point after also advancing to the fifth round of the Challenge Cup last weekend.
Impressive
The outcome eclipsed an impressive full debut from Wigan youngster Liam Farrell, who posted two first-half tries to intially put his side in charge.
The visitors took an early 6-0 lead thanks to a try from David Howell and a touchline goal courtesy of Danny Orr, but Wigan replied immediately with two tries in four minutes.
Back row forward Farrell landed the first, while full-back Cameron Phelps added the second to put the home side in the lead.
Warriors continued to dominate as skipper Sean O'Loughlin fed Joel Tomkins, who went over on 31 minutes, before Farrell completed his brace of tries just before the break.
Pat Richards, the League's leading scorer, converted all four tries to give Wigan a substantial lead going into half-time.
Quins reshuffled their back division for the second half as Dorn stepped in for Ben Jones-Bishop, and the full-back promptly brought them back into contention with two tries in quick succession.
Orr added the extras both times to slice Wigan's lead to just six points, but four successive penalties awarded against the visitors halted their momentum as Warriors took a 26-18 lead on the hour.
Harlequins kept themselves in the game by scoring the best try of the evening on 64 minutes, with the ever-dangerous Orr kicking to Sharp, who touched down.
Lead
The Londoners then reclaimed their lead five minutes later when Kevin Penny broke clear down the middle to set Purdham up for his side's fifth try.
The visitors seemed unstoppable by that point and hooker Chad Randall sauntered over for another try to add the insurance to their win.
Orr was accurate as ever with his sixth successful conversion and put the final nail in the home side with a last-minute penalty.