Harlequins coach John Kingston felt his side paid the price for their poor finishing as they slumped to a 26-17 defeat to Northampton.
Quins supremo regrets a chance missed
Harlequins coach John Kingston felt his side paid the price for their poor finishing as they slumped to a 26-17 away defeat to Northampton.
The visitors were made to pay dearly for errors at crucial times and were left to rue not making more of their numerical advantage when Saints flanker Neil Best was sin-binned late in the first half.
A frustrated Franklin said afterwards: ""We didn't take our chances. We had a lot more chances than I thought we would create.
"I thought we controlled the game for large sections of it but we definitely burned three clear try-scoring opportunities."
Quins enjoyed their most dominant period of the match while Best was in the bin, but were harshly denied a try for the returning Tom Williams when referee Peter Allan adjudged the key pass from David Strettle to have gone forward.
"You have to be around eight to 10 points better to succeed on away grounds," Kingston diplomatically continued. "That tends to be the way it is.
"I don't wish to be rude to Peter (Allan) but with 13,000 cheering it's hard to give a decision in our favour."
Williams, who was at the centre of the 'Bloodgate' incident, completed his three-month ban earlier in the week and played for 58 minutes on Saturday before being replaced.
Kingston was delighted with his display and could even see the funny side when he was struck down with a nose bleed.
"It was ironic that he had a bang on the nose and we were struggling to quell the blood," he added.
"However it was great to have him back, he is a very level-headed boy and has conducted himself well throughout all of this. All the squad are very supportive."
Mallinder delighted
Northampton coach Jim Mallinder felt his side had edged the encounter and were value for their hard-fought victory.
"I think we had the edge," Mallinder said. "We got our basics right.
"We ran the ball at the right times and took all our opportunities.
"The Quins have improved considerably since the start of the season but they will have been disappointed not to have taken their chances at the end of the first half, but our defence was very good."
