Quins' best is not quite good enough against St Helens

Harlequins turned in their best performance of the season but it was not quite good enough for the bottom side to beat a St Helens team who were clearly feeling the effects of their third game in eight days. Quins, whose small squad has been badly affected by injuries, matched them for much of the game but came up just short. Mick Potter, the St Helens coach, said: "Harlequins did a real good job today and I think we were fortunate to take the two points. It was a tough game and Harlequins fought to the death." Harlequins shocked the visitors by taking the lead when Ben Jones-Bishop crashed over and Danny Orr converted. However, St Helens hit back, Andrew Dixon touching down and Kyle Eastmond converting from the touchline. They broke the deadlock with two tries in as many minutes early in the second half. The first was a brilliant solo effort from Eastmond and when Dixon collected his second from a quick tap penalty, with Eastmond converting both, it looked all over for the home side. To their credit Quins regrouped and came back into the game with two quick tries of their own. Kevin Penny, on loan from Warrington, touched down and then Luke Williamson crossed with Orr bringing them level once again with the conversions. Midway through the half James Roby struck twice with a couple of typical darting runs and with Eastmond converting both and adding a penalty Saints again looked home and dry. But a late converted try from Tony Clubb showed Quins' commitment right to the end. The Harlequins coach, Brian McDermott, said: "I'm most pleased that we came out of the dressing room with a mentality to defend right from the off."