Northampton stun Harlequins thanks to Ben Foden's late try
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 06/02/16 4:52pm
Ben Foden showed England head coach Eddie Jones what he is missing as the full-back scored a last-gasp try to lead Northampton to a 27-23 victory at Harlequins.
The visitors took the lead three times during a frantic first half at the Stoop, centre Luther Burrell also demonstrating his talents to Jones as he set up a try for Christian Day and scored another.
Those two tries and the boot of Stephen Myler gave Northampton a 17-14 lead at half-time, the hosts getting on the scoreboard through tries for George Merrick and Ross Chisholm, with fly-half Nick Evans kicking both conversions.
In a tighter second half Evans added two penalties to JJ Hanrahan's one before the Kiwi's replacement Ben Botica looked to have won the hosts the game with a 72nd-minute three-pointer.
But Botica soon went from hero to villain as, with time up, he failed to find touch and Saints got the ball into Foden's hands and he pounced to clinch a first Premiership win for Northampton since New Year's Day.
Myler capitalised on Northampton's quick start and put the visitors ahead inside five minutes with an easily converted penalty.
But Harlequins put seven points on the board with their first real attack of the game as some good hands presented Merrick with a simple opportunity to cross the line and Evans added the extras.
Myler missed the chance to add another three points but an excellent burst from Burrell saw him tear through Quins' defensive unit and unselfishly offload the ball to Day, who ran home unopposed.
Chisholm handed the lead back to Quins in the 23rd minute as he received the ball 10 yards from the line and charged over, Evans once again converting with ease.
But the first-half action did not stop there and on the half-hour mark Burrell put Saints ahead for the third time in the game after being set up by centre partner Harry Mallinder, Myler successfully kicking his second conversion.
And the half ended on a sour note for the hosts as Tito Tebaldi was sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on, Saints taking a 17-14 lead into the dressing rooms.
Harlequins made light work of being a man down, however, as Evans scored his first penalty of the game three minutes into the second half to level proceedings.
And the No 10 continued his excellent kicking form to give the hosts the lead with a penalty from straight in front of the posts after Northampton were penalised for a deliberate knock-on.
The home side dominated the first 15 minutes of the second half and were yards away from extending their lead on several occasions, but resilient defending from Saints kept the gap to three points.
Tom Wood was yellow-carded with 14 minutes to play for bringing down the Quins maul with them inches away from crossing the line.
The hosts immediately regained their lead through a Botica penalty after Saints were penalised for holding on.
But with the 80 minutes up Saints had one chance left to win the game and some patient build-up allowed Foden space and he faked to pass before bursting through the last line of defence to win the game, with Hanrahan adding the conversion.
