Luke Gale force gives Harlequins victory over Catalans Dragons

Harlequins made a winning start under their rookie coach Rob Powell, with the former Doncaster stand-off Luke Gale scoring all their points in a gutsy win against the Catalans Dragons in the second game of Super League's Millennium Magic weekend. Gale scored two spectacular tries in the first six minutes, converting the second himself, but Quins spent most of the rest of the game defending their own line after making a number of handling errors inside their own half. They showed an impressive combination of organisation and desperation that reflected well on the impact made by Powell, a 30-year-old whose only playing experience came as a student in Newcastle, and who was a surprise choice to be promoted from the backroom staff when Brian McDermott joined Leeds at the end of last season. Gale chipped over a drop goal in the 62nd minute, ensuring that when the Catalans did finally crack the Quins defence with a Damien Blanch try it was too late to be anything more than a consolation. Gale had fooled the Catalans full-back, Clint Greenshields, with an extravagant dummy to open the scoring in the third minute, and then took a brilliant pass off the ground from the Quins full-back, Luke Dorn, to score his second.