Northampton (33) 66 Tries: Fishwick 2, Coles 3, Mitchell, Frame, Todaro 2, F. Smith Cons: F. Smith 8 Harlequins (14) 21 Tries: Clevey, Dombrandt 2 Cons: M. Smith 3 Alex Coles scored a hat-trick as Northampton Saints inflicted a 10-try thrashing on Harlequins and climbed back into the Premiership's top four. Saints breached Quins' defence almost at will in the first half with tries from Danny Fishwick, Coles, Alex Mitchell and Tommy Frame. Casie Clevey and Alex Dombrandt responded for Quins but two more tries from Coles and Edoardo Padaro, plus one from Finn Smith, ensured another thrilling Saints victory. They will be concerned, however, by the injury to their captain, Fraser Dingwall, who was stretchered off with a neck brace early in the second half. After Bath had gone top with a dramatic win earlier in the day, Northampton were behind within minutes of kick-off. Playing with a fast ball advantage, the visitors broke into Saints' 22 before Marcus Smith eventually found Clevey in perfect position to break the home defence, before adding the points. Both sides squandered chances, George Turner was inches short on his Premiership debut, before Saints levelled the scores. An amazing run down the wing involving George Henry and James Ramm took them to Quins' line, which was immediately broken by Fishwick. The excellent form of the full-back Henry was also key to Saints' second try, with a brilliant loop to isolate defenders before laying on a perfect attacking score for Coles. A third soon followed with Phil Dowson's men unable to cope with the pace of the attack and a quick pass from Fishwick and Coles released Mitchell, who had no trouble reaching the line. Fishwick then caused more pain for Quins with a second try, with a pass from Mitchell, to secure a bonus-point win at the break. Harlequins responded with their second try, a brilliant set-piece from line-out to line-out, with the ball quickly shifted to Chandler Cunningham-South, who eventually passed to Dombrandt, who screamed into the corner untouched. That proved to be only temporary relief, as it seemed nothing could stop Mitchell, who ploughed through multiple defenders in the centre of the pitch before passing to Frame, who avoided Nick David to send Saints 33-14 ahead at the break. The game did not resume at the same frenetic pace in the second half, but that did not stop Saints from extending their lead. Craig Reid was one of many players who battered the Quins' line before the ball found Coles, who was unstoppable from close range. Padaro then scored, with the Italian winger the beneficiary of another Henry trickery, to sprint and scream untouched. Saints' eighth try was more luck than skill, with Smith the happy recipient after a pass from Ange Gousseault hit George Van Der Mesrt in the head. But another spectacular try followed, with Padaro breaking through four Quins' defenders to bag a double before Dombrandt scored a second as a consolation after a Rodrigo Isgro breakaway. Saints were not done, with Coles bagging a hat-trick with the final score of the game, as they returned to the summit, two points clear of Bath. That result left Harlequins in eighth, one point ahead of Gloucester in ninth. 'Some fantastic tries there' - reaction Northampton head coach Sam Vesty spoke to BBC Radio Northampton: "We scored some fantastic tries there, we started the game really fast and we're dangerous when we play like that. "I was a little disappointed with our defence in the first half. I think we were much better in that in the second half. "Alex Coles was excellent. He's always at the end of the line break and he's the best celebrator in the team - he's always right there with the person who scores, but often he's the one doing it."
On Fraser Dingwall: "Fraser is smiling and waving, so everything is fine on that front. They [the medics] are being overly cautious and if it takes five or six minutes to treat a player, that's the right thing to do."
Northampton: Henry; Padaro, Frame, Dingwall (c), Ramm; Smith, Mitchell; Fishwick, Smith, Miller-Mills, Coles, Van Der Mesrt, Kemm, Pearson, Chick. Subs: Reid, Skelton, Kunoa, Purousi, Graham, McParland, Gousseault, Hutchison. Harlequins: David; Isgro, Norrthmore, Evans, Clevey; Smith, Friday; Hobson, Turner, H. Williams, Pagadizabal, Treagle, Cunningham-South, Kenningham, Dombrandt (c). Subs: Riley, Corder, Delgado, E. Williams, Lounsdall, Curry, Porter, Bradley. Ref: Sarah Cox.
