Auckland benefit from changed Quins

Harlequins 29 Auckland 33

Auckland were forced to battle hard for a narrow victory at The Stoop yesterday. In their second match of their warm-up tour of Europe before they defend their Super-12 title, they twice trailed before their second row Richard Fromont went over in the corner for the ninth try of the match to put his side 30-29 ahead.

On a pitch that resembled a swamp, Adrian Cashmore was successful with two penalties and a conversion from seven shots, kicking the clinching goal in the final minute.

In an attempt to keep players fresh for their Pilkington Cup quarter- final against Saracens on Sunday, Harlequins changed seven players - including five at half-time.

By conceding 18 penalties, Harlequins put paid to their chances of an upset after Bristol had collapsed against the tourists last week. Auckland next face the European champions, Brive, before taking on the South African Provinces next month.

Joeli Vidiri pursued Lee Stensness's diagonal kick for an early try, but Harlequins established a 22-5 lead when Dominic Chapman scored on the blind side, Peter Mensah was given a soft interception and Gareth Llewellyn went over after a maul.

Thierry Lacroix converted twice and landed a penalty and Auckland were grateful when scrum-half Junior Tonu'u dummied over for a converted try in first-half injury time.

After the substitutions of Jason Leonard and Will Carling, Auckland clawed back from a 22-12 interval deficit to go ahead with tries by Brian Lima and Mark Carter.

Cashmore claimed a penalty in between, but Nick Walshe, the Quins scrum- half, scored a blindside try on the hour, but their four-point lead was just not enough.

Auckland: Tries Vidiri, Tonu'u, Lima, Carter, Fromont; Conversion Cashmore; Penalties Cashmore 2. Harlequins: Tries Chapman, Mensah, Llewellyn, Walshe; Conversions Lacroix 2, Corcoran; Penalty Lacroix.

Harlequins: Pilgrim; Chapman, Carling, Mensah, Luger; Lacroix, Walshe; Leonard, Billups, Mullins, Snow, Gareth Llewellyn, Davison, Cabbannes, Jenkins.

Auckland: Cashmore; Vidiri, Clarke, Stensness, Lima; Spencer, Tonu'u; Crawford, Roose, Brown, Fromont, Brooke, Lefaiali'i, Richelmann, Carter.

Referee: E Morrison (Bristol).