Dorn stars in Quins romp
Luke Dorn scored four of Harlequins' eight tries as the Londoners crushed Crusaders 50-22 at The Stoop.
Last Updated: 06/06/10 8:16pm
Luke Dorn scored four of Harlequins' eight tries as the Londoners crushed Crusaders 50-22 at The Stoop.
Helped by a string of early Quins errors, the visitors made a fast start and were camped in the opposition's final quarter for the opening 10 minutes.
But the closest the Crusaders came to the first score was in the ninth minute when Mark Bryant was held up by a clutch of defenders as he looked to drive over on the last tackle.
And seconds later Quins scored from their first foray into the Crusaders' half, as David Howell made a break from deep and although the supporting Chad Randall was hauled down, Dorn went over.
Suddenly the hosts were dominant and moments later they doubled their lead when Chris Melling ran on to Danny Orr's superbly-timed pass to crash over at the sticks.
Back came the Crusaders, only to be twice held up over the line by determined Quins defence, and then Lincoln Withers just failed to gather a Michael Witt grubber through.
Despite all of their possession the Welsh side were lacking a clinical edge, and the Londoners once again showed how it should be done on 25 minutes, Dorn seizing on a loose ball to touch down after a Melling break.
Shortly afterwards the visitors once again had a chance to test the home defence, but Nick Youngquest was unable to get the better of Jamie O'Callaghan, fumbling the ball as he looked to touch down in the corner.
The Crusaders finally got themselves on the board with seconds of the half remaining thanks to an individual effort from Clinton Schifcofske, chasing and collecting his own clever kick.
But there was still time for Luke Gale to boot a penalty on the hooter to increase Quins' lead.
And it was Gale who pushed the hosts even further ahead after the interval, exchanging passes with Tony Clubb to race clear and score.
Full flow
Quins were now in full flow, and minutes later an excellent Dorn pass allowed David Howell to carve through the defence for a further try.
Crusaders hit back when Jason Chan showed good strength to take a Rhys Hanbury pass and muscle his way over.
But Quins soon snuffed out any threat of a revival as Dorn claimed his third try, cashing in after Randall's kick was missed by Gareth Thomas.
Seconds later and it was number four for Dorn, the full-back selling a dummy to speed over the line with ease.
By now the result was in the bag, and there was even time for teenage debutant Olsi Krasniqi to claim a first Super League try.
To the visitors' credit they did stage a late rally, with both Peter Lupton and Rhys Hanbury crossing for consolation scores.
