Harlequins end five-match losing streak with 26-20 win over London Irish

Matt Hopper: One of two try scorers for Harlequins

Harlequins ended a five-game losing streak with a vital 26-20 win over London Irish at the Stoop on Saturday.

Tries from Matt Hopper and England's Danny Care as well as 16 points from the boot of All Black Nick Evans were enough to see off the surge from the visting Irish, who scored two tries of their own through James Short and Tom Fowlie to go with 10 points from the kicking tee of Shane Geraghty.

Coming into the match Quins had lost their last five matches in all competitions, and they were made to work hard for the four points on a sunny afternoon in Twickenham.

It was Quins who started the match better than their guests as Harry Sloan, Matt Hopper and Nick Evans all made surges for the line early in the encounter, with the pressure eventually telling on Irish as they conceded a penalty which Nick Evans converted to open the scoring.

Shane Geraghty pushed a kick over too far in play shortly after, resulting in a Quins scrum in an attacking position. The ball was sent wide to Marland Yarde who was tackled high by Geraghty and Evans doubled the home side's lead.

In the 13th minute some solid scrumming from the visiting Irish resulted in a penalty which gave Geraghty an opportunity to make amends and cut the deficit for a 6-3 scoreline.

More penalties were traded by the kickers as Quins took a 12-6 lead into the 29th minute, when Dave Ward, Mark Lambert and Nick Easter worked well to send Hopper down the touchline before he fed back inside to Danny Care who dotted down under the poles.

Quins full-back Ross Chisholm was caught out by a bouncing ball that he took too long to gather and James Short obliged by running 40 metres to score for Irish. At 19-13, the conversion from Geraghty brought to an end a very frenetic first half.

The two sides traded tries in the second half, but ultimately Quins were able to weather the storm and achieve a much-needed 26-20 win in front of a relieved home crowd and continue their quest for a top four finish.