Hull rally to stun Quins

Hull produced a superb late fightback to climb off the canvas and floor Harlequins 40-30 at the Twickenham Stoop.

The Airlie Birds had looked set to suffer a sixth defeat of the 2011 season when they trailed 30-16 midway through the second half.

However they ran in four tries without reply in the final 15 minutes to turn the tables and claim a much-needed win that will ease the pressure on under-fire head coach Richard Agar.

Quins had taken control of the contest by crossing three times in the space of seven minutes, though they were unable to hang on to their advantage.

Level

The two sides had been level at 12 points apiece at the break, Hull having taken the lead when Joe Westerman set up a try for Danny Tickle.

Ex-Quins winger Will Sharp stopped Chris Melling from getting an almost immediate reply, although he couldn't prevent his old team-mate crossing after 13 minutes following good work by Luke Dorn and David Howell.

The score, converted by Luke Gale, led to a period of home dominance that saw Tony Clubb burrow his way over from close range.

Hull were forced to weather the storm before replying against the run of play; a break by Sharp led to Obst releasing Kirk Yeaman for a clear run-in.

Tickle's conversion levelled matters going into the interval and Agar's side then edged ahead at the start of the second half when some poor tackling from their opponents allowed Tom Briscoe to cut inside with ease.

Quins, though, seized control of the contest with a blistering spell that saw them notch 18 points in a hurry.

Hooker Andy Ellis set up Dorn to burst free and the latter then went from scorer to provider, claiming a high ball ahead of Hull full-back Richard Horne to create the chance for Gale to go over.

Daylight

The hosts were to add another score in the 58th minute, Karl Pryce breaking through four tackles to set up a try for Chad Randall, and with Gale adding his fifth conversion there was suddenly clear daylight between the teams.

But any thoughts the Londoners had of getting back to winning ways following their heavy loss away at Warrington seven days earlier were to be dashed.

A close-range try on 65 minutes from Epalahame Lauaki signalled the start of a scoring spree from the Airlie Birds, and they struck again five minutes later when Sam Obst raced over, Tickle's conversion closing the gap to two points.

With Quins completely shell-shocked, Jordan Turner touched down to put Agar's side ahead in the 71st minute before Yeaman rounded off the comeback with his second of the afternoon in the dying seconds.