Quins late show sinks Bath
An 85th minute try from Nick Easter saw Harlequins snatch their first win of the season against Bath at Twickenham Stoop.
Last Updated: 03/10/09 9:53pm
An 85th minute try from Nick Easter saw Harlequins snatch their first win of the season against Bath at Twickenham Stoop.
The England forward crashed over under a pile of bodies before Nick Evans slotted the extras to seal a dramatic 13-11 victory on Saturday evening.
The outcome was cruel on Bath, who were leading 11-6 before the video official eventually concluded that Easter had grounded the ball behind the line.
England manager Martin Johnson and attack coach Brian Smith were in attendance for the low-scoring affair in West London, not least to assess the form of Ugo Monye and Nick Abendanon.
Bath started the brighter, referee Wayne Barnes awarding the visitors three penalties inside the opening 10 minutes, fly-half Nicky Little converting two to open up a 6-0 lead.
Resolute
Evans responded with a penalty of his own on 16 minutes - the only points the home side could muster in a cagey opening period.
Quins thought they had scored their first home try of the season in the 54th minute when Monye pounced on a scramble and touched down by the left wing flag.
However Barnes intervened, deducing that Gonzalo Tiesi had knocked on in the build up.
Evans had a chance to haul Quins level shortly after, but his 28-yard penalty sailed hopelessly wide to the frustration of the home fans.
At 6-3 down Quins piled on the pressure, but Bath's defence was resolute, denying Gonzalo Camacho and Danny Care when they looked to have escaped the cover.
With one minute of normal time remaining, Evans kicked his second goal of the night to level at 6-6, only for shocking defence to seemingly hand the game to Bath, Shontayne Hape sidestepping his way through for what seemed a match-clinching score.
However, the home side refused to lie down, and their persistence was rewarded when Easter ploughed over - Evans calmly slotting the extras.
