Gale force stops Quins rot

Gale: Set Quins on course for first win in 13

Luke Gale inspired Harlequins to a 40-22 win over Wakefield as the Londoners ended their horrendous slump in form in style.

The stand-off grabbed one try and created two others as Quins claimed their first win in 13 Super League games.

Gale also kicked 12 points to finish with a 16-point tally as his side enjoyed a seven-try victory at the Stoop.

With recent loan signing Kyle Briggs starting at scrum-half, the hosts looked menacing from the outset and took the lead after just four minutes.

Chris Bailey cut through the Wakefield defence and after he was held, Chad Randall was on hand to give the try-scoring pass to Gale.

Bottom two

Wakefield were looking for a win that would take them above third-bottom Quins and out of the bottom two for the first time this season but they struggled to get any momentum and fell further behind on 17 minutes as Bailey took a short pass from Gale to coast under the sticks, Gale again converting.

The Wildcats needed a lift and they so nearly got it on 24 minutes, Jarred Hickey barging his way over the line only to be held up by strong Quins defence.

And the visitors would rue that missed opportunity moments later when Luke Ambler created a gap for Gale, who had Luke Dorn on his shoulder to storm to the line and open up an 18-point lead.

Things got even better for the Londoners on the half-hour mark, with Tony Clubb bursting through a host of tackles to push Quins past the 20-point mark.

Missing skipper Glenn Morrison, Wakefield were looking a sorry bunch and a series of handling errors was hardly helping their cause.

But after Randall gave away a needless penalty, they claimed their first score right on half-time when Dale Morton darted over in the corner.

After the break, Quins briefly took their foot off the gas before Chris Melling crashed over in the corner on 51 minutes after a neat Randall pass.

Smith sin-binned

Things went from bad to worse for Wakefield shortly after as scrum-half Jeremy Smith was sin-binned for dissent.

But to their credit, John Kear's men kept pressing and after a Julien Rinaldi kick forced Dorn into a fumble behind his own line, the French hooker pounced to cut the deficit.

Any thoughts of a stirring fightback were quickly suppressed by the hosts, though, with Jamie O'Callaghan racing clear to set up Randall for a 63rd-minute try.

O'Callaghan touched down himself three minutes later, sneaking in at the corner after good work by Mike Burnett, although the Wildcats added some respectability to the scoreline with Hickey and Paul Johnson crossing late on.