After a tricky few weeks for Quins they got back to winning ways last night.

They ran out 38-15 winners against local rivals London Irish.

Quins did not have it all their own way however as they went in 15-10 down at half time.

A huge turnaround in the second half meant that they won comfortably away from home.

Marcus Smith was the deciding factor in the match scoring two tries for the Twickenham based side.

Smith became only the third Harlequins player to pass 500 Premiership points when he scored his second try on Wednesday night.

Head of Rugby Paul Gustard said: ""It is an 80-minute game and I thought we were good value for the victory as we were the dominant side.

"We couldn't get our set-piece going in the first half and if you lose as much possession as we did then it's impossible to sustain pressure.

"When we get good field position we are a dangerous side, but if you commit hari-kari then you will come under pressure.

"We want to try and win our last three games and finish as high as we can but our next fixture at Gloucester will be tough as they have been playing well since the resumption."

This result means that Quins have risen back into sixth position - just inside the top half.

It is however a huge 13 point gap to 5th placed Bath.

Harlequins are away again on Monday as they play 8th placed Gloucester.