Quins march on despite French scare

Harlequins must defeat Irish provincial outfit Connacht in the Parker Pen Challenge Cup semi-finals to keep their bid for European silverware alive this season.

Head coach Mark Evans breathed a sigh of relief as Quins reached the semis despite losing 36-20 at French side Brive, the club's 33-point winning margin in the first leg giving them room to breathe.

"It is difficult when you've got such a big margin in the first leg," said Evans after watching his side concede five tries.

"You're on a hiding to nothing because you've got everything to lose. It was a tough game. We wobbled a bit, especially when they led by 18 points.

"We haven't conceded that many tries all season and our finishing wasn't clinical enough."

Evans said the Brive players began to get frustrated as they realised they had no chance of going through.

"The last 10 minutes were a bit lively," he added. "They had a yellow card and a red card, and the crowd started going bonkers."

Six Nicky Little penalties earned Saracens an 18-14 home win over French side Montferrand but it was not enough to send them through to the semis as they went out 40-28 on aggregate.

England received a boost as Sarries flanker Richard Hill lasted the whole 80 minutes in his first match back from injury. Club-mate Kyran Bracken will report for Six Nations training with England this week despite having six stitches in a torn right ear.

Parker Pen Challenge Cup semi-final draw:

NEC Harlequins v Connacht; Montferrand v Bath Rugby (the two legs will be played on the weekends of 9/10/11 and 23/ 24/25 April)