Cassius Cleaves scuttled in for his second try just three minutes from full time to deliver a mortal blow to Northampton Saints’ title defence and offer Harlequins hope of reaching the Premiership play-offs. One major flaw of this compelling competition is that the stakes are sometimes highest for matches compromised by international duty. With two teams scrapping to chase the top four and considerably compromised by England selection, this contest could have been edgy and forgettable.
Instead, the teams were typically intrepid, with Harlequins full-back Tyrone Green sparky as ever, and did not clam up until the last 20 minutes. Jack Kenningham and Will Joseph were also excellent but it took Cleaves, a former England Under-20 international on his return from a hamstring injury he sustained in September, to secure the shoot-out by sprinting down the touchline for a bonus-point try.
“He’s out-and-out gas,” said Danny Wilson, the Harlequins head coach, of Cleaves. “He still has a lot to learn – he should have had three tries, to be honest – but he’s got finishing ability and it always felt as though he was going to get away.”.
Saints will now need an extraordinary resurgence when the Premiership resumes in late March. Like Harlequins, they are into the last 16 of the Champions Cup. Maybe that tournament, in which they host Clermont, will become their chief focus for silverware. Phil Dowson, Saints’ director of rugby, conceded that they will need favours from others on the domestic run-in. Always magnanimous, he described this defeat as “heartbreaking” but educational for youngsters thrust into the limelight.
