Harlequins 28 - 18 London Irish: Quins plunge Exiles into deeper trouble

George Lowe's try sealed the points as Harlequins inflicted an eighth consecutive defeat in all competitions on struggling London Irish.

Harlequins fly-half Nick Evans finished with 23 points from seven penalties and a conversion, while opposite number Chris Malone scored all of London Irish's points. The Exiles remain fourth in the Aviva Premiership but they have not won since 31 October and their situation is starting to resemble a crisis.

It was not as if London Irish did not have their chances but they failed to capitalise on Danny Care being sent to the sin-bin. They finished the game camped on the Harlequins line but spurned the chance to secure a losing bonus point by chasing the try.

In the end, they left with nothing while Harlequins were celebrating their first victory in three attempts since moving their festive fixtures to Twickenham. Ugo Monye made his comeback for Harlequins from a foot injury that had kept him sidelined since the second game of the season. The England wing was industrious and won a couple of penalties but this was not the day for a flying wing to shine.

The Exiles spent the last 10 minutes camped on the Harlequins line, winning numerous penalties. They could have kicked any of them to secure the losing bonus point but went for the try and left empty-handed.