Trailfinders Women narrowly lost 39-46 against Harlequins at The Takeoff 2 in a nailbiting encounter that had fans on the edge of their seats.

A brace from Kate Zackary, along with tries from Kat Evans, Tyson Beukeboom, Liz Crake, Vicky Laflin and a penalty try, was not enough to upset table-topping Quins.

Taking two points from the fixture, Trailfinders remain 6th in the table, two points ahead of Loughborough Lightning and 11 behind Bristol Bears in 5th.

The visitors came flying out of the blocks, scoring two tries in the first seven minutes through Silvia Turani and Claudia Peña, but Trailfinders responded quickly.

Abby Dow won a penalty at the breakdown, and following a kick to the corner, the Trailfinders maul powered over, giving Evans the opportunity to score.

The hosts then brought the gap down to four in a very similar fashion.

They forced Quins to infringe at the ruck and set up a maul on the opposition 5m; this time, Beukeboom was the benefactor.

Harlequins responded, displaying the kind of attacking flair that has taken them to the top of the table.

Three tries from Jade Konkle, Ellie Kildunne and Connie Powell gave the visitors a 21-point lead in a flash.

Undeterred, Trailfinders kept pushing, and debutant Rori Wood produced a sumptuous offload to Zackary, who scored to end the half.

Half Time: Trailfinders 17-31 Harlequins

If a 14-point lead at halftime led anyone to assume the contest was over, Trailfinders had other ideas.

They made three substitutions at halftime: Sam Shiels, Vicky Laflin, and Ella Amory coming off the bench, and the game turned on its head.

Trailfinders had the early momentum and kicked to the corner after a Harlequins infringement to set up another maul.

They got it rolling, and Harriet Millar Mills brought it down illegally, which resulted in her being sent to the bin, and Trailfinders were awarded a penalty try.

Despite being a player down, Quins scored next through Kayleigh Powell as they attempted to quell the hosts’ momentum.

After a booming Lisa Thomson 50-22, Crake powered over on the back of another maul to close the gap. 

Crake then won a textbook jackal penalty, and Thomson found the Quins 22 again.

This time, the visitors managed to stop the driving maul, but Trailfinders reacted and went through the phases to find Laflin, who went over in the left corner.

That took Trailfinders to within two, and then, almost instantly, their captain stepped up and gave them the lead. 

Trailfinders line speed forced a drop from Millar Mills, and Zackary hacked it into acres of space. Peña then fumbled possession trying to gather the bouncing ball, and Zackary hacked through again, picking the ball off her bootstraps to score an absolute screamer.

With 10 minutes to go, Trailfinders were in front, looking to cause a major upset, but Quins had the last laugh. 

Two tries from Carys Phillips and K.Powell ultimately gave the visitors the win at the end of an engrossing encounter.

This leads Trailfinders into their contest away at Sale next week with plenty of positives to take, having run the league leaders very close.

Full Time: Trailfinders 39-46 Harlequins

Tries: 

Trailfinders

Evans (10), Beukeboom (18), Zackary (39,68), Crake (56),  Laflin (65), Penalty (46)

Harlequins

Turani (4), Peña (7), Konkle (21), Kildunne (23), C.Powell (32), K.Powell (48,75), Carys Phillips (70)

Conversions:

Trailfinders

Schell (39)

Harlequins

Tuima (4, 7, 21)

Yellow Cards:

Harlequins

Millar Mills (46)

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