| Harlequins: (21) 28 |
| Tries: Esterhuizen, Smith, Murley, Riley Cons: Smith 4 |
| Glasgow Warriors: (7) 24 |
| Tries: Cummings, Matthews, Horne Pens: Horne Cons: Horne 3 |
Hooker Sam Riley scored a late try as Harlequins defeated Glasgow Warriors in a thriller to book their spot in the Investec Champions Cup quarter-finals.
The Warriors started fast as Scott Cummings went over, before Quins responded with three tries.
Andre Esterhuizen, Marcus Smith and Cadan Murley crossed for a 21-7 lead.
Glasgow hooker Johnny Matthews and George Horne sparked the game back into life, but Riley responded to hand Harlequins a historic victory.
This was Quins’ first knockout win in Europe’s top-tier competition in their history, with the prize a quarter-final against Bordeaux Begles or Saracens next weekend.
An away win for Saracens on Saturday, who suffered a club record European defeat by Bordeaux during the pool stages, would mean a home tie for Harlequins in their first quarter-final in 11 years.
Smith stars as Quins hold on
Franco Smith’s starting XV contained 11 Scotland internationals and it did not take them long to show their class, when lock Cummins powered his way over to reward Glasgow’s fast start in attack.
Wet and difficult conditions did not prevent both sides from playing in the first half as Quins turned down shots at goal to seek the maximum reward.
Their bravery was finally rewarded, as Smith’s cross-field kick was brilliantly picked up by Esterhuizen on the wing.
Smith missed the opening three rounds of the Six Nations due to injury, but came on to kick the winning drop-goal against Ireland in round five, before finishing sharply for a try in defeat by France in Lyon.
His impact left England wondering what could have been if he remained fit, and his dancing feet to grab his side’s second try showed once again his individual brilliance.
The 25-year-old then turned provider with some sharp hands to send Murley over untouched.
Last weekend in the league, the hosts scored six unanswered tries to lead 40-3 before Bath scored five times to nearly snatch victory with a stunning second-half comeback.
Glasgow have scored the most tries from mauls across European leagues this season and they turned to this lethal weapon as Matthews went over to start their fightback.
Horne’s try quickly followed before he knocked over a penalty to regain their early lead. But Quins regained composure and opted for their driving maul instead of potentially levelling the game and the brave call was rewarded with the winning-try.
Added to his touches in attack, Smith was impeccable off the kicking tee, with three first-half conversions and a final kick to keep Glasgow out of three-point range.
‘That’s a monkey off the back’ – Smith
Player of the match Smith, speaking on TNT Sports about nearly losing a 14-point lead: “Whenever we’re ahead, we seem to let the opposition in; that’s something we’re working on.
“We’re still not where we want to be, but we’ve got another European knockout now, which is exciting.
“In the last two years we’ve fallen at this hurdle, so that’s a monkey off the back. We’ll enjoy tonight because we haven’t done it before.
“The biggest thing was to stick to the plan. Glasgow are an excellent team, and massive credit goes to the forwards for mauling over at the end there.”
Line-ups
Harlequins: Green; Lynagh, Beard, Esterhuizen, Murley; Smith, Care; Baxter, Walker, Collier, Herbst, Hammond, Lewies (capt), Evans, Dombrandt.
Replacements: Riley, Marler, Lewis, Launchbury, Trenholm, Lawday, Green, Anderson.
Sin-bin: Joe Marler (62)
Glasgow: McKay; Steyn (capt), McDowall, Tuipulotu, Rowe; Jordan, Horne; McBeth, Matthews, Z Fagerson, Williamson, Cummings, M Fagerson, Darge, Dempsey.
Replacements: Hiddleston, Kebble, Sordoni, Manjezi, Miller, Venter, Dobie, Weir.
Sin-bin: Sione Tuipulotu (33)
Referee: Tual Trainini (France)
