A STIRRING second-half fightback secured a third successive Super League victory for Wakefield as in-form Harlequins ran out of steam on a breathless night at Belle Vue.

After being outplayed, outwitted and outscored during a one-sided opening half, Wakefield hit back with their most impressive 40 minutes of the season, scoring three tries without reply against opponents who found themselves thwarted at every turn.

Led by a powerful performance from prop Richard Moore and inspired by the kicking of scrum-half Danny Brough, the Wildcats dominated the second period from start to finish to grind out a victory that had seemed altogether unlikely at the halfway stage.

Wakefield started brightly and took the lead following a smart kick ahead by Brough, gaining valuable territory with a pinpoint 40:20 kick. From the resultant scrum, the home side moved play to the left for Jamie Rooney to link up with centre Ryan Atkins and take a return pass to dive in for the opening try.

Brough converted impressively from close to the touchline, but any early promise shown by the Wildcats appeared to vanish during the 10 minutes that followed and Quins scrum-half Danny Orr breezed through a fragmented defence to touch down for the equalising score with his captain, Rob Purdham, adding the goal.

Harlequins were quickly on the board again soon after. A tight pass out of the tackle by Scott Hill, the Australian stand-off playing his first match since suffering nerve damage in his arm against Bradford on Easter Monday, sent Matt Gafa through for an easy try and then Michael Worrincy finished off an incisive move begun deep inside his own half by Karl Temata.

The prop was 30 metres from his own line when he slipped a sweet pass to Orr, who raced upfield and released Worrincy close to the Wakefield line to score.

Rikki Sheriffe then scored the try of the match, rounding off a dazzling handling move involving seven players who, between them, ripped the Wakefield defence to tatters. Having missed the two previous conversion attempts, Purdham made no mistake with this one as the London side stretched their lead still further.

After spending long spells in defence — very few of them with any success — Wakefield were finally able to generate some pressure in the closing stages of the half, but Harlequins held firm to reach the interval with a 20-6 lead.

A verbal savaging at the interval from their coach, John Kear, had a profound impact on Wakefield, who emerged for the second half in defiant mood, ready to rattle the visitors with the quality of their attacking play and the tenacity of their tackling.

Brough’s inventiveness quickly brought about a try for Rooney. The scrum-half put in a delicious chip towards the posts and,

with two defenders caught in two minds, Rooney reacted quickest by darting in and throwing himself on the loose ball to score.

Trinity again went close only for Atkins to be denied a try for a forward pass by Tevita Leo-Latu, but the home side made no mistake on 66 minutes when Brough and Rooney created space for Tony Martin to step past David Howell.

Howell’s misery was compounded by a yellow card for a late, high tackle on Rooney as the half-back put up a high kick shortly after Wakefield had regained the lead with their third try of the half from Sam Obst.

Brough converted and landed the penalty which followed Howell’s transgression and Wakefield had done almost enough to complete a win, which was secured by a try- saving tackle by Leo-Latu, who forced Tony Clubb out of play as the winger headed for the corner.

Star man: Danny Brough (Wakefield)

Wakefield: M Blaymire, S Gleeson, T Martin, R Atkins, S Grix, J Rooney, D Brough, R Bibey, S Obst (capt), R Moore, D McGillivray, J Golden, J Pitts. Replacements: D Blanch, T Leo-Latu, O Wilkes, K Bibb.

Harlequins: J Wells, T Clubb, M Gafa, D Howell, R Sheriffe, S Hill, D Orr, K Temata, C Randall, D Ward, M Worrincy, R Purdham (capt), H Paul. Replacements: J Rinaldi, C Melling, G Haggerty, J Mbu.

Scorers: Wakefield: Tries: Rooney 2, Martin, Obst. Cons: Brough 3. Pen: Brough. Harlequins: Tries: Orr, Gafa, Worrincy, Sheriffe. Cons: Purdham 2.

Referee: S Ganson (St Helens)

Attendance: 5,460