Harlequins 12 Wigan Warriors 36: Richards applauded by Maguire after he helps sink Quins

Richards claimed two tries and booted 12 points for a 20-point haul that ultimately proved the difference in a hard-fought game and Wigan coach Maguire was eager to pay tribute.

He said: "Pat is the type of player that you are really glad to have in your team. He probably does not get enough credit for what he does out on the field. He scores the points and keeps things ticking over.

"There are a lot of things that he does very well but he is not flashy so does not get all the headlines. But he is a very important part of what we are doing."

It was nip-and-tuck stuff in the first half, which ended 8-0 in the visitors' favour.

Sam Tomkins did his twinkle toes routine to ghost over early on but Quins dug in to frustrate the visitors. The hosts enjoyed the bulk of possession and territory, but they choked every time they got close to the Wigan line.

Richards booted a penalty late in the first half, before Joel Tomkins was sin-binned for dissent right on the hooter.

That setback did little to derail the Warriors though as Darrell Goulding scorched in for a try early in the second half after Quins coughed up possession.

Things then got very hectic as twice the Londoners threatened a revival, only for Wigan to step on the gas each time.

Firstly, Jamie O'Callaghan crossed after a kick fell kindly, only for Michael McIlorum to reply quickly. Then it was the returning Ben Jones-Bishop who touched down for the hosts after O'Callaghan's kick bounced his way.

But any thoughts of a famous double for the hosts, having beaten Wigan on their patch earlier this campaign, were soon snuffed out.

Richards twice darted over in the corner as the Quins' defence tired, and he was also on hand to convert the last of the tries, scored by Liam Farrell.

Quins coach Brian McDermott said: "We had enough possession but we were not quite good enough to turn that into points when we were close to their line. I do not think we were just good in patches – I thought it was the whole game.

"There is no point us getting into arm-wrestles with teams as we will never win those, we have to throw the ball around. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't.

"But I am pretty sure the fans would rather see us come off the field having lost by giving it a go, rather than some of the stuff we produced earlier in the season."