Harlequins (6) 22
Tries: Dorn 2, Howell, Gale Goals: Melling, Orr 2

Leeds (16) 42
Tries: Ambler, McShane, Webb, Smith 3, Ablett Goals: Smith 7

Smith scored 26 of his side's points at The Stoop

A standout solo performance from Lee Smith saw Leeds secure a comfortable victory over Harlequins at The Stoop.

The Rhinos winger led the way, scoring a hat-trick and converting all seven of his side's tries.

Leeds' others tries came from Luke Ambler, Paul McShane, Brent Webb and Carl Ablett.

Harlequins were 16-0 down after 25 minutes and never recovered, despite tries from Luke Gale, David Howell and two from Luke Dorn.

Defences were on top at the start but a Quins mistake gifted the defending champions the opening score.

Tony Clubb spilled a Dorn pass, allowing Smith to break away down the touchline to go over. Moments later, scrum-half McShane crossed after Webb had been tackled just short.

On 25 minutes, the Rhinos increased their lead further when full-back Webb shrugged off a poor tackle attempt from Gale to score.

The hosts finally got on the scoreboard when Dorn rounded off a neat move, taking a Danny Orr pass to race away and score.

Quins pressed again at the start of the second half, Clubb muscling through tackles to allow Dorn to cut the deficit to just four points.

That revival was short-lived, however, as Ambler took a flat-pass from Webb to beat the defence.

And on 53 minutes Smith cashed in on Quins' hesitancy after a Webb grubber to pounce. As the home side began to crumble, Ablett added a further try.

As the visitors took their foot off the gas, Quins added a pair of tries through Howell and Gale. But the game was finally lost when Smith added a late score to round off his hat-trick.

Harlequins coach Brian McDermott:
"We started the game in a terrible fashion and we were always trying to catch up.

"I do not think we woke up until about the 50-minute mark. Leeds had developed a bit of a siege mentality with their missing players and you have to give them a lot of credit.

"We did play really well in patches and there are some positives to take out of it.

"I know people will see this as a missed opportunity for us and perhaps it was. But we have to forget about it and move on."

Leeds coach Brian McClennan:
"It was a great effort. It was a great opportunity for the players to grab hold of the situation and get something out of it.

"All of the players that I brought in gave a very good account of themselves.

"There was a different chemistry out there. The players took a lot of ownership for how we were going to play.

"There was a lot of maturity on display and I am delighted."

Harlequins: Dorn, O'Callaghan, Clubb, Howell, Sharp, Gale, Randall, Wilkes, Orr, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Williamson, Temata, Melling
Replacements: Ellis, Krasniqi, Ward, Esders.

Leeds: Webb, Donald, Delaney, Senior, Smith, Ablett, McShane, Leuluai, Buderus, Ambler, Kirke, Pitts, Clarkson.
Replacements: Diskin, Amor, Eastwood, Bush.

Referee: James Child (Dewsbury).

Att: 4,117.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version