Harlequins travelled to Pool 3 toppers and the unbeaten Northampton Saints under the Tuesday Night Lights this week for some Round 3 action in the Premiership Cup.

Those fans that made the trip up to the Gardens for this mid-week clash did not have to wait long for the deluge of points to begin its downfall.

Quins struck first as win Cassius Cleaves collected a bobbling ball inside Saints' dead ball area after a cross-field kick from fly-half Will Edwards, with the latter nailing the conversion to hand Quins a perfect lead in the seventh minute.

Saints hit back and hit hard following Cleaves score, claiming three tries in eight minutes as they unravelled the Harlequins defence.

Wing Conor Oresanya struck back in the 22nd minute as Quins marched their way back up the field, manufacturing a huge overlap down the left touchline for Edwards to send along, bouncing pass to Oresanya for a sublime piece of footwork to evade the onrushing defenders.

A third Quins score came through some individual brilliance from inside centre Jamie Benson, kicking behind the Saints' defence before regathering his own kick and sending a perfectly weighted offload inside to fullback Connor Slevin for the score.

It was all Saints from here on out for the rest of the first half, with Saints running in three further first-half scores to claim a 42-19 lead at the break.

A few early changes for Quins in the second half, with Benson taking over the reins at fly-half as Edwards shifted to fullback, with Slevin moved out to the wing as Oresanya made his way to the touchline.

If the first half was a feast of points, the second half became closer to famine by contrast. A few early changes at the start of the second-half saw Quins cut the flow of Saints scores, with just a single try for the home side in the second 40 as scrum-half James sniped through the middle of the Quins defence.

Quins sent multiple assaults on the Saints' defence during the final quarter of the match, with number twelve Jamie Benson – shifted in to fly-half for the second 40 – a standout as Quins turned defence into attack on many an occasion. The pressure eventually paid off with seven minutes left on the clock, with Edwards skating his way down the right touchline on two occasions in the final seven minutes to secure five tries and a bonus point. Final score, Northampton Saints 49, Harlequins 29.

Next up for Quins, a home Gallagher Premiership tie against the reigning champions Leicester Tigers this Sunday in front of a sold-out Stoop.