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Harlequins 35 Hull Kingston Rovers 16
Hull Kingston Rovers coach Justin Morgan had few complaints after seeing his side outplayed by Harlequins in the engage Super League.
Matt Gafa and Rikki Sheriffe each grabbed two tries as Harlequins moved back into the play-off places with a hard-fought victory over the visitors.
Gafa struck in each half to take his season tally to eight as the London club produced a dominant first-half display and then withstood a second-half Hull fightback.
"We were out-enthused today by a very, very good side," he said.
"They have a great work ethic and we didn't match that.
"We are playing down on confidence at the moment but we are trying to get it right.
"We need to get our attitude right as a team. If we get our minds right and in the contest then we will get our bodies in the contest."
The visitors made the brighter opening and it was only a combination of poor decision-making and strong home defence that kept the scoresheet blank.
First burly stand-off Paul Cooke broke tackles only to see Ben Galea's grubber kick elude everybody, then moments later Ben Fisher knocked on with the line at his mercy.
Midway through the half though Quins turned the game on its head with two tries in the space of three minutes.
The first came when Danny Orr's chip allowed Jon Wells to leap highest and plunge over the line, and seconds later captain Rob Purdham stole in after Sheriffe had made an electrifying 50-metre run.
With Henry Paul converting one and adding a penalty Harlequins suddenly had a handy advantage and the confidence seemed to drain from the shell-shocked visitors.
The Londoners then made their dominance tell when Orr made a surging break and Gafa was on hand to scamper over, Paul adding the extras.
Just as in the opening half Hull KR made a strong start to the second period, and were rewarded when Ben Cockayne profited from a Cooke up-and-under to crash over.
As the conditions deteriorated, Quins stretched their lead when first Paul struck a drop-goal, then Gafa claimed his second try after good work by Purdham.
But the visitors refused to go quietly and quick tries from Cockayne and Kirk Netherton produced a frantic finale for Rovers.
But with the minutes ticking away, and with Hull KR desperate for possession, Sheriffe found space out wide to twice dart in to seal victory.
Harlequins: Wells, Clubb, Gafa, Howell, Sheriffe, Paul, Orr, Temata, Randall, Ward, Mbu, Worrincy, Purdham. Substitutes: Rinaldi, Melling, Haggerty, Grayshon.
Hull Kingston Rovers: Briscoe, Fox, Cockayne, Walker, Fitzhenry, Cooke, J. Webster, Mills, Fisher, Vella, Newton, Lovegrove, Galea. Substitutes: Crossman, Gene, I'Anson, K. Netherton.
Referee: I Smith (Oldham).
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Friday 10 February 2012
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