Report: Harlequins 39-17 Loughborough- record-breaking Edwards leads Quins to bonus-point win

Chloe Edwards marked her 100th appearance for Harlequins with a try and a bonus-point win as they swept aside Loughborough Lightning 39-17 at Twickenham Stoop.

Four first-half tries from Edwards, Ellie Kildunne, Bella McKenzie, and Hannah Sims earned the extra point, with impact players Emily Chancellor and Lenaig Corson getting involved in the second 40. McKenzie also scored a late penalty, as well as three conversions.

Two tries from Maja Meuller in the first-half kept Lightning in the game, but they were unable to mount the required comeback in the second, despite Sadia Kabeya’s converted try.

The win sees Harlequins move back above Saracens into third, with the side now sitting 13 points clear in the play-off places. Loughborough Lightning remain 8th.

Following defeat to Gloucester-Hartpury last week, Quins were looking for a quick start. However, it was Lightning who raced into a 5-0 lead. The away side’s rolling maul took no time to get up to speed, with Meuller forcing the ball over with less than two minutes on the clock.

Harlequins responded well to early set back, forcing Lightning to revert to their expected position within their own 22 metre line.

Less than 10 minutes in, Edwards used all of her experience to position herself perfectly to mark becoming the first women to make 100 Quins appearances with a converted try.

The home side continued to dominate possession, but struggled to find a breakthrough due to Lightning’s resilience in defence, until a moment of magic from co-captain Emily Scott.

Intercepting the ball in her own half, she burst through, before a couple of wide passes finding Kildunne, who went over in the top right. The pressure continued, with McKenzie also crossing under the posts.

Lightning were able to find a way back, with the determination of their rolling maul allowing Meuller to crash over for her second try of the game. However, any chance of a comeback was thrawted as Quins’ attacking threat forced Lightning to give everything on their try line to prevent a quartered shirt going over.

Despite more than five minutes of their best efforts, Hannah Sims was finally able to burst over  for her first Harlequins try, putting Quins ahead by 14 at half-time.

The second-half was a closer affair, with the home side’s grip on the game tightened when Loughborough’s Emma Wassell was yellow-carded, and impact player Emily Chancellor forced her over following a recycled line-out for her first try at the Stoop.

On the stroke of an hour, Lightning made matters interesting when a pair of England internationals combined for the away side’s third try. Hunter was able to find Kabeya who crossed over, with the conversion by Helen Nelson reducing the deficit to 12 points.

However, the away side were unable to kick on, with a McKenzie penalty making a hard task even more difficult in the 75th minute.

As the clock went past the 80 minute mark, Quins had one more attack that added further gloss to the scoreline as impact player Colson scored her first try for the club.

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