Quins leave Leeds reeling
Harlequins scored an emphatic 38-3 Aviva Premiership victory against Leeds Carnegie at Headingley on Sunday.
Last Updated: 24/04/11 5:40pm
Leeds found themselves deeper in the Aviva Premiership relegation mire on Sunday when Harlequins scored an emphatic 38-3 victory at Headingley.
The result means that Neil Back's side now need at least a bonus point from their trip to Northampton to have any chance of staying up, whilst also hoping that Newcastle do not take anything from their two remaining games against Bath.
Quins, meanwhile, have kept alive their hopes of Heineken Cup qualification, something they can also achieve if they win this season's Amlin Challenge Cup.
They play Munster in the semi-finals of the second-tier tournament next week but must overhaul Bath or London Irish to qualify via the Premiership.
Determined
Harlequins ran into a determined Leeds defence initially, with Kearnan Myall proving their mainstay.
The Sale-bound flanker twice denied the Londoners the opening try - Myall latterly being forced to make a well-timed tackle on George Lowe to stop the centre scampering over the line.
Harlequins kept coming back for more, however, and they finally crossed the whitewash midway through the first half.
It came after Leeds academy product Danny Care took a pass from his England team-mate Nick Easter and chipped Christian Lewis-Pratt before beating Lachlan MacKay in a race to touch down.
Their second came after 22 minutes when George Robson broke into the Leeds 22 and offloaded to Nick Evans.
He in turn played an inside pass to Joe Gray and the hooker raced over. Evans' second conversion made it 14-0.
Adrian Jarvis had two penalty chances to reduce Leeds' deficit but he missed them both, with the home side finally breaking into the Harlequins 22 in the 35th minute.
Henry Fa'afili was the catalyst, while a neat break from Rhys Oakley kept the pressure on.
However, Leeds were also guilty of handling errors, with both Scott Mathie and MacKay stripped of possession when good openings beckoned.
Signs of life
They showed signs of life, but their hopes were realistically ended three minutes into the second half when Harlequins scored their third try.
It was scored by Jordan Turner-Hall, after quick hands from Care and Gonzalo Camacho.
The game was therefore up for the Yorkshire club, who also lost Steve Thompson at half-time before captain Marco Wentzel succumbed to a calf injury.
Lewis-Pratt assumed kicking duties from Jarvis and got Leeds on the scoreboard after another MacKay break. But when presented with another chance, he hit the post.
Care then scored a drop goal before Easter sprinted underneath the posts to secure the bonus point for Quins.
Mike Brown ran in a 65-metre interception try from Michael Stephenson's pass and Rory Clegg converted from the touchline to complete the rout.
