Harlequins edge nine-try thriller at Exeter

Harlequins beat Exeter Chiefs 31-28 at Sandy Park on Saturday, in a Gallagher Premiership match that produced nine tries. The Premiership is England's top men's league, and this was Round 5 of the season. The win gave Quins back-to-back victories for the first time this season.

The game was level at 14-14 at half-time, and neither side looked like settling for a draw. Quins started quickly. Quins' match report says Cadan Murley scored in the third minute, and he was one of three Quins players who started the game.

Lucas Schmid was the standout attacker for the visitors. He scored two tries, and Nick David and Jack Kenningham also crossed the line for Quins. Kenningham came into the match as the league's leading jackaler, meaning the player who wins the most turnovers by competing for the ball on the ground after a tackle. He had four jackals going into the weekend.

Exeter answered through Harry Wilson, Nika Abuladze, Will Butt and Olly Woodburn. Their scoring was spread across the forwards and backs, and the home side kept coming back whenever Quins pulled ahead.

Kicking mattered as much as the tries. A try is worth five points, but the kick that follows it, called a conversion, adds two more if it sails between the posts. BBC Sport reported that Marcus Smith kicked three conversions for Harlequins, while Slade kicked four for Exeter. Those kicks were the difference between a narrow win and a narrow loss.

The final scoreline reflects that. Quins' five tries and three conversions added up to 31 points. Exeter's four tries and four conversions made 28. The margin was three points, and it came down to a handful of moments in a game with few quiet spells.

For Quins, the result adds to a good weekend's work, with a second straight league win. For Exeter, who play at home, it was a defeat after scoring four tries and conceding five. Both teams will need to tidy up their discipline and their kicking if they want to stay near the top of the table.

Quins' match report and BBC Sport both described the game as a tight, high-scoring contest. Nine tries in a single Premiership match is a lot. It showed how quickly a team can score when both sides keep running the ball and the defence is stretched.