Bonus point Harlequins thump London Irish

Scotland’s dutch born winger Tim Visser scored a hat-trick of tries as Harlequins thumped London Irish 38-7 at the Twickenham Stoop on Saturday.

Harlequins outscored London Irish by five tries to one in the match with Visser scoring three and Quins other tries coming from captain Danny Care and replacement Jack Clifford.

The match started quietly with just an early penalty from Nick Evans separating the sides until Visser scored his first try of the match.

This put Quins into what was a commanding half-time lead over the Exiles who spent the majority of the match camped inside their own ’22.

Two more tries from Visser and one apiece from Danny Care and Jack Clifford earned the hosts a bonus point in what became a second half rout.

A try in the last minute from Halani Aulika was mere consolation for London Irish who suffered their sixth defeat in six matches.

Evans was in excellent form with the boot as he helped Quins bounce back from their narrow defeat to the Exeter Chiefs last weekend.

The hosts now sit third in the Premiership table while the Exiles remain rooted to the bottom.

Quins opened the scoring after six minutes through a penalty from Nick Evans after Irish were penalised at the ruck.

The hosts were forced into an early change after Sam Twomney picked up a knock, the second-rower replaced by Charlie Matthews in the ninth minute.

The home side were forced into another change in the 23rd minute, Ross Chilsolm replacing the injured Ollie Lindsay-Hague. The replacement was straight into the thick of the action as he found space out wide before crossing in the corner for what looked like the first try of the match.

However, television replays confirmed that a fantastic tackle from Exiles winger Alex Lewington had forced Chilsolm into touch before he touched down.

Just minutes later Harlequins had their first try of the match. Scotland winger Visser broke through two tackles before crossing the whitewash.

Evans added the conversion to ensure his side went into the half-time break with a strong ten-point lead after what was a quiet first half.

Seven minutes after the break Care extended the home side’s advantage with a try. The Quins captain capitalising on a two-on-one before touching down. Evans scored the conversion to take his side into a commanding lead.

Visser scored his second try of the match and Quins’ third in the 57th minute. Evans converted to make the scores 24-0, taking his side out of sight of their winless opponents. The Scot completed his hat-trick in the 69th minute, going over in the corner to secure the bonus point victory for his side.

Evans once more converted taking his side 31 points to the good. Replacement Clifford completed the rout with a try in the 76th minute, Evans converted to take the score to 38-0.

Consolation came for the Exiles in the last minute, Aulika crossing the whitewash with Theo Brophy-Clews adding a conversion making the final score 38-7.

Final Score Harlequins 38 (10) London Irish 7 (0)

Scorers

Harlequins
Tries – Visser (3), Care, Clifford
Pen –
Con – Evans (4), Botica
Drop –

London Irish
Tries – Aulika
Pen – Evans
Con – Brophy-Clews
Drop –

Match Officials
Referee :Luke Pearce (43rd Premiership game).
Assistant Referees: Ashley Rowden & Simon McConnell
TMO: David Sainsbury

Teams

Harlequins

15. Mike Brown , 14. Ollie Lindsay-Hague , 13. George Lowe , 12. Harry Sloan , 11. Tim Visser , 10. Nick Evans , 9. Danny Care (C) , 1. Joe Marler , 2. Dave Ward , 3. Adam Jones , 4. James Horwill , 5. Sam Twomey , 6. Chris Robshaw , 7. Luke Wallace , 8. Nick Easter

Replacements : 16. Rob Buchanan , 17. Mark Lambert , 18. Will Collier , 19. Charlie Matthews , 20. Jack Clifford , 21. Karl Dickson , 22. Ben Botica , 23. Ross Chisholm

London Irish

15.Topsy Ojo*; 14.Alex Lewington; 13.Ciaran Hearn*; 12.Eoin Griffin; 11.Aseli Tikoirotuma*; 10.Chris Noakes; 9. Darren Allinson 1. Tom Court*; 2. Gerard Ellis; 3. Ben Franks*; 4. Eoin Sheriff (Captain); 5. Jebb Sinclair*; 6. David Sisi; 7. Blair Cowan*; 8. Luke Narraway (c)*

Replacements: 16.Tom Cruse; 17.Tom Smallbone; 18.Halani Aulika*; 19. Ollie Curry; 20.Ofisa Treviranus*; 21.Brendan McKibbin; 22.Theo Brophy Clews 23. Sean Maitland*

*Denotes International