Quins edge out Exiles

Teenage winger Sam Smith notched his second try in two senior starts to help Harlequins to a 16-13 LV= Cup win over London Irish.

The clash at the Madejski Stadium saw Quins end a six-match losing streak and put themselves in contention for a semi-final spot.

Academy player Smith, 19, who marked his Quins debut with a try against Newcastle, touched down late in the first half.

Fly-half Nick Evans also kicked 11 points to help see off the Exiles, who enjoyed solid possession but lacked a cutting edge.

Ryan Lamb added to the home side's woes, landing only one of his three penalty attempts and failing to convert Jonathan Joseph's two tries in what proved to be a dismal day with the boot for the fly-half.

Absence

Harlequins recorded the win despite the absence of England elite squad members Ugo Monye, Danny Care, Nick Easter and Chris Robshaw, as well as Saxons call-up David Strettle.

In another change to the line-up, skipper Will Skinner withdrew with a knee injury ahead of the match and was replaced by Neil McMillan.

Irish, who have now lost their last four outings, also fielded an unfamiliar side with eight potential starters missing from their ranks, including England trio Paul Hodgson and brothers Delon and Steffon Armitage.

Quins opened up an early lead in the third minute thanks to the boot of Evans after Irish were caught offside in front of their own posts, and Lamb failed to level matters five minutes later when his penalty hit the post.

The visitors surged further ahead in the 19th minute courtesy of a penalty from former All Black Evans after the Exiles killed the ball at a ruck.

Irish appeared in with a chance of getting off the mark when stand-in captain Peter Hewat powered down the left touchline to go over, but the touch judge spotted he had put a foot out of play as he dodged his way through.

Surprise

The hosts were then hit by a surprise try when Smith intercepted a Hewat pass intended for Topsy Ojo and sprinted from inside his own 22 to cross underneath the posts, leaving Evans a straight-forward conversion.

Jordan Turner-Hall was yellow-carded for Quins for a blatant late challenge on Lamb, who failed to fire home the resulting penalty from well within his range.

Evans compensated by putting Quins 16-0 ahead when he landed his third penalty from just inside the Irish half before Lamb finally hit the target for the hosts on his third attempt, his penalty going over just before the break.

The Exiles managed to narrow the deficit thanks to tries from Joseph in the 54th minute and again in the dying seconds, but it was too little too late as Lamb sent both conversions wide.