Marcus Smith's late try sees 14-man Quins to victory
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Marcus Smith scored a superb individual try in the dying seconds to snatch victory for 14-man Harlequins at London Irish as they took another step towards qualifying for the Premiership semi-finals.
Quins trailled following an Ollie Hassell-Collins' try going into the final minute. However, Marcus Smith conjured up a moment of magic stepping his way through the Exiles defence to cap off a 21-25 victory on the day that Mike Brown became the first Harlequin to play 350 games for the club.
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🐐 @MarcuSmith10 🐐 #COYQ #LIRvHAR pic.twitter.com/FgWS2YDKMz
— Harlequins 🃏 (@Harlequins) April 24, 2021
Harlequins got off to a shaky start, with London Irish racking up a six-point lead in the first twenty minutes as the men in the Quarters struggled to find their footing, with a number of successive breakdown penalties causing issues.
Brown scored the first try of the match after Paddy Jackson had kicked two penalties for the hosts, with Smith's conversion edging Quins ahead.
Smith and Jackson exchanged penalties before Cadan Murley's try on the stroke of half-time saw the visitors move 15-9 in front.
Esterhuizen was given his marching orders for shoving his forearm into Curtis Rona's face the remaining half an hour of the match. Ben Loader and Hassell-Collins tries edged the Exiles ahead.
Smith's penalty kept the away side in touching distance before Smith had the final say. Under pressure from the Irish defensive line, Care spun the pass out to Smith who looked set to be swamped by Irish defenders. However, Smith’s dancing feet carried him in and around the oncoming bodies, dotting down for the try in a dramatic finish to the game.
Final score: London Irish 21-25 Harlequins
Harlequins scores
Try: Brown 29, Murley 40, Smith 79
Conversion: Smith 29, 79
Penalty: Smith 35, 55
London Irish scores
Try: Loader 51, Hassell-Collins 61
Conversion: Jackson 51
Penalty: Jackson 10, 20, 37
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