Saints stretch unbeaten run
Willie Talau scored twice as St Helens came from behind to beat Harlequins 32-16 at the Stoop.
Last Updated: 20/08/08 9:46am
St Helens have stretched their unbeaten run to 19 matches after scoring a 32-16 Super League victory against Harlequins at the Stoop.
The defeat ended the home side's hopes of reaching the play-offs, a fact all the more galling given that they had held a 10-point half-time lead.
But, despite being pushed all the way by the Londoners - who suffered 58-12 and 54-0 drubbings by St Helens earlier this season - the visitors battled back, with Willie Talau crossing for two tries.
Both sides started the match tentatively, but the home side then burst into life and produced a pacy performance that appeared to stun Daniel Anderson's men.
Quins' enterprising play was rewarded when Rob Purdham exchanged passes with David Howell to crash over after seven minutes.
Harlequins continued to stretch their opponents with some fine running rugby and increased their lead when Will Sharp broke down the wing, evading a clutch of defenders before offloading for Scott Hill to cross under the posts.
St Helens finally responded after Hill was penalised on the last tackle, the league leaders' points coming after James Graham was held just short - Paul Clough then burrowing over to narrow the deficit.
Stuttering
But with Leon Pryce largely ineffectual, St Helens' game was stuttering and just before half-time Julien Rinaldi restored Harlequins' 10-point advantage when he dummied his way over.
That was as good as it got for the home side, however, as St Helens upped their play considerably as soon as the second period got underway.
A flowing move saw Talau break through two tackles to cross, and when Graham twisted his way over the line to score minutes later, the visitors pulled level.
With the hosts now buckling, Saints took clear advantage with Jason Cayless sauntering through a huge gap in the Quins' defence to give them the lead for the first time.
St Helens were slowly exerting a grip on proceedings and when Ade Gardner crossed out wide late on there was daylight between the teams - Talau completing the scoring late on.
