Harlequins director of rugby John Kingston was fulsome in his praise of Rory Clegg after seeing the teenage fly-half kick a last-gasp penalty to earn his side a 9-9 draw against London Irish.

Irish looked as if they were about to nick a sixth straight Guinness Premiership victory when Peter Hewat stroked over a penalty in the 72nd minute to put the visitors 9-6 up but Clegg held his nerve to step up and land a three-pointer from 35 metres after Steffon Armitage was adjudged to have handled illegally at a ruck.

"It was tremendous for him," said Kingston, who selected Clegg after first-choice fly-half Nick Evans pulled out in midweek with a calf injury. "He is a very calm character. We believe in him hugely otherwise we wouldn't have invested the time we have in him."

He added: "We see him as the long-term future of the club and what better way to become a great number 10 than to work alongside someone like Nick Evans.

"He will have learnt a huge amount."