Harlequins survived a second-half comeback by Northampton Saints to take a win in their opening match in the LV= Cup.
Quins were the stronger side in the first half. Sam Smith scored two tries with Harry Sloan also on the scoreboard, giving the visitors a 12-point lead at half-time.
Tries from Luther Burrell and Tom May helped Saints draw the scores level with just over 15 minutes to play.
A Ryan Lamb penalty gave Saints the lead in the 67th minute. He then added a drop-goal four minutes from full-time to open up a six-point cushion.
Ethan Walker was shown a yellow card after 81 minutes.
Ben Botica took advantage of the situation by running in a try and kicking the conversion to restore a one-point lead for the visitors, which was enough for victory.
Sian Cowper
