McDermott beams after Quins snow show

Harlequins coach Brian McDermott's biggest problem on Friday night was finding a superlative to do justice to his side's 14-6 stunning victory at reigning engage Super League champions St Helens.

He need not have bothered. His players answered any questions about their pedigree with a performance of grit, determination and no little skill to open their campaign in style.

"The boys showed a lot of passion and endeavour," said McDermott. "And if the game had been rugby union I would say we got to the break-down a lot quicker than Saints. We exploited that and took our chances when they came."

Not many matches have kicked off with snow covering the majority of the pitch since the switch to summer Super League in 1996.

But, after the surface was deemed playable following two inspections earlier in the day, Quins adapted better to the conditions and returned to the capital having outscored Saints by three tries to one.

Former Wigan star Danny Orr claimed a long-range interception try early on and although Matt Gidley quickly replied for Saints, second-half scores by Lee Hopkins and Jon Wells handed the Londoners a memorable success, while Sean Long and Paul Sykes claimed a goal apiece.