Overview
- Harlequins beat league leaders Northampton 38-31 on Saturday after Tom Lawday scored a last-minute try that finished his seven-year stint at the club.
- Alex Dombrandt scored two tries for Quins and Northampton scrum-half Jonny Weimann also crossed twice, including a 40-metre interception, in a game with several lead changes.
- A much-changed Saints side had already secured top spot and will host a Premiership semi-final, while Quins’ victory could not alter the European places.
- Gloucester’s concurrent win over Newcastle confirmed Harlequins would finish outside the Champions Cup places and play in the second-tier Challenge Cup next season.
- The result provided farewells for Lawday and long-serving attack coach Nick Evans and shifts Harlequins’ off-season focus to squad rebuilding and the financial and sporting impact of missing top-tier European rugby.