Cloak and dagger stuff in the east Midlands, where Harlequins waited until mid-morning before they named their side for the only Premiership fixture of the day. This was the match that saw the return after his four-month suspension of the wing Tom Williams.

Those TV shots of Williams trotting off the field in a Heineken Cup quarter-final against Leinster last March with fake blood pouring from his mouth have been replayed more times than we have seen Thierry Henry's act of infamy last week. Bloodgate has overshadowed Harlequins' season and they must have known that when a physio tended to Williams for a first-half injury it would be to the background of ironic jeers.

The blood from Williams's nose this time was real enough, thanks to a meaty tackle on Chris Ashton and a subsequent swipe from the Northampton wing, but Williams had to play on with a piece of lint up one of his nostrils. He lasted 57 minutes in which he may have reflected that there must be easier ways of earning a living.

Williams left Northampton with a suspected broken nose. He appeared to have scored a try just before the break but it was ruled out by the referee Peter Allan for a forward pass, and his mood may not have improved when his replacement, Josh Drauninui, scored both of Quins' tries, including an interception of a pass from Bruce Reihana and 80-metre dash in the last move of the game.

Reihana had given Northampton an early lead with a try in the corner after a swift break by Stephen Myler and Ben Foden, and a chip by Jon Clarke, that eluded Strettle and sat up for the New Zealander to plunge over in the corner. The biggest cheer of the afternoon, though, was for one of the Saints' second-half replacements, the Scotland prop Euan Murray who damaged his ankle on the Lions tour.