By Rugby Scot
November 18 2006

Quins extend their winning run to five with a solid victory against a well-beaten Worcester team still searching for a win. And probably now wondering why they got rid of Andy Gomersall.

On a wet and freezing Friday night Quins welcomed bottom club Worcester to the Stoop for arguably the most crucial match of the season so far. Confidence was high on the back of four straight wins, but conditions definitely favoured the heavier Worcester pack, and I took my seat with a distinctly nervous feeling.

For the only time I can remember, Quins lined up as per the programme. Keogh replaced the injured Ugo on the wing, lining up in a back three with Strettle and the ever-dependable Mike Brown. It was great to see Hal back in the starting line up, partnering JTH, with AJ at fly half and Andy Gomersall undoubtedly looking to prove a point. The only change in the pack saw Jim Evans start in place of Spanghero.

Shane Drahm kicked off for the Warriors, and the tone was set for the first few minutes as first Quins missed touch, and some scrappy play eventually led to a not-straight Worcester line out and a Quins scrum. The ball was evidently very slippy, and I lost count of the number of handling errors, mainly from the boys in white. After several missed touches from both sides, and some scrappy knock ons, a kick through from AJ into the Worcester 22 was picked up by Rasmussen, but before he could get the ball away Brown and (I think) Keogh were on him to bundle him into touch about 15m out.

From a secure line out a ruck in the middle of the field was formed, AJ smartly saw the Worcester defence drift across and, moving to the blindside, he placed a grubber in behind the Warriors line. With the Worcester full back turning with all the pace of an oil tanker, he was no match for the Strettle express, as the Quins winger hacked the ball on into the try area and scored. AJ added the points from just inside the touch line. 9 minutes gone, Quins 7, Worcester 0.

Worcester soon attempted their first catch-and-drive of the evening and despite my concerns about the weight of their pack, they made no ground; and when it came back to Drahm he lofted a high kick safely collected by Mike Brown and cleared away. After two Worcester lineouts, disrupted well by the pack, JTH conceded a penalty for not rolling away and Drahm knocked it over. 13 minutes gone, 7-3. 

After an exchange of kicks AJ tried to chip through the Worcester defence, but it was blocked Luckily, chasing back, the Worcester forward stopped him getting up and conceded the penalty. AJ just made touch 35m from the Worcester line on the West side, and a great line out and drive made 10m, before JTH took the ball and made another 10m on his own. Worcester infringed at the ruck and, with AJ’s pass to Easter going forward, the ref came back for the penalty. AJ slotted easily from 15m. 18 minutes gone, 10-3. 

My notes at this point say our forwards were looking very sharp. The line out was very efficient, with Kohn soaring to collect the ball regularly, and Worcester drives were being held without making ground. The scrum creaked once or twice, although the ref’s interpretation of what constituted good scrummaging seemed bizarre at times. 

From a Quins line out after Drahm kicked the ball straight out on halfway, Worcester stole the ball but, from the subsequent ruck Quins were adjudged to have handled. Drahm knocked the ball over from 50m. 20 mins gone, 10-6.

At this point Worcester brought on Havili for Tucker.

A Worcester line out allowed Drahm to make a huge kick, over Keogh’s head and into the Quins 22. Tani was down getting treatment on his ankle, which possibly explained a scrappy line out, tidied up by Gomersall who was bundled out 5m out. The predictable line out drive was held, then Worcester knocked on again, and after a series of kicks not making touch, and knock ons from both sides, Quins were penalised at a scrum and Drahm moved play into the Quins half.

From the line out, for the first time all evening, Worcester kept the ball in hand and moved it across the line. A long miss pass out to the left wing seemed to leave the Worcester 11 clear, but Strettle made his ground and held the player up. In the wait for players to move across field, the Worcester winger seemed to be playing with ball in his own personal game, but somehow the ref awarded a scrum to Worcester. From the scrum, just for a change, Drahm took the ball and kicked through, with Mike Brown making a goalkeeper like leap to mark on the left touch line.

Quins stole the ball from a subsequent Worcester line out about 30m from the Warriors line, but Ceri Jones knocked on at the base of a ruck. It was quite a clear knock on, but given the referee’s performance to that point I can well understand the many complaints coming from the stands.

On 33 minutes the Worcester prop was taken off with what looked like a shoulder injury, and the Welsh mountain that is Chris Horsman took the field. During the stoppage it was noticeable that the Worcester back row were conversing in less than polite tones with their half backs.

Another exchange of kicks led to Worcester making their first inroads with a drive, making ground into the Quins 22. When the ball popped out and Jim Evans went for the scrum half, Quins won a penalty for holding on. Brown cleared to halfway, and from another great line out the ball was switched out quickly, Hal broke through the Worcester line but tried to pick it up rather than hacking through, and knocked on.

From the inevitable Worcester kick off the scrum, AJ returned into their 22 and the Worcester 14 broke Strettle’s tackle to make good ground up the right wing. Good hands followed before a knock on, but a free kick against Quins from the scrum, and then a penalty for hands in a ruck, allowed Drahm the chance of a penalty about 25 m out. Fortunately for Quins, it drifted wide of the right post, and the ref blew his whistle to end the half. Half time 10-6

In the conditions you can forgive both teams a certain amount for the mistakes and the restricted game plan, but it certainly didn’t make pretty viewing. Too many kicks didn’t find touch, too many knock ons happened in the tackle. On the plus side, the much-vaunted Worcester pack had been held, our line out was efficient and we were making good inroads into theirs, and when the ball had been kept in hand we looked dangerous, Strettle was faster than anyone else on the pitch and both JTH and Hal looked dangerous, and very strong in the tackle.

AJ’s kick from the restart sailed straight into touch, and from the scrum the familiar kicking game resumed again. After Drahm had cleared the Worcester lines the Quins forwards drove forward off the line out and won a penalty. AJ’s kick drifted just right of the posts to leave the score 10-6.

Worcester won their own drop out, with no Quins player seeming to challenge for the ball, but the ball came loose and Strettle hacked it into touch inside the Worcester half. From the line out Quins conceded a penalty and Drahm cleared it out to half way, from where they built a good drive across field, ended when JTH smashed into his opposite number and the ball was knocked on in the tackle. 

A series of kicks from both teams stayed infield, until Worcester finally cleared out to halfway. From the lineout Quins took the ball crossfield, and gained a penalty when a promising forward drive was pulled down. AJ went for the corner and Quins won a great line out to set up another good drive. The ball came left but a chip over the defence was easily reached by the Worcester wing. 

Again, Worcester were allowed to collect their own drop out, but they opted to chip through and Mike Brown collected just outside his 22 before making ground. Quins then lost the ball in open play and the ball was quickly moved left before Worcester won a penalty for hands in the ruck, again… Volley went up to speak to the ref, and whatever he said the ref obviously disliked, as he moved the penalty forwards another ten. The Quins fans were rather frustrated at this point, until Drahm inexplicably missed from only 15m, in front of the posts. While all this was going on Tani was being treated for the third time that evening, for what looked like an ankle problem. 

The drop out was kicked backed, and JTH knocked on in the Quins half. Quins held the scrum well, but as Worcester broke off the back Keogh came in to tackle. I’m not sure how the next bit happened, but it appeared that Horsman came in from the side and stamped on Keogh as he tried to get up. After due consultation with the touch judge, Horsman went to the bin. Another example of the ref giving a yellow, and allowing the citing commissioner to deal with the proper punishment. 

At this point a giant shadow emerged from the Worcester bench, as the 25-stone pie-eater that is Gavin Quinnell took the field, replacing Drew Hickey. 

In the midst of all this, Quins had a penalty. AJ opted for the posts from about 45m – I was convinced it was right, my friend was convinced it was short, thankfully we were both wrong and after 58 minutes, Quins led 13-6. 

My notes for the next few minutes consist of scrappy line outs on both sides, and lots of kicking back and forth. Quite how Gavin Quinnell felt when he saw how much pointless running back and forth would be needed I’m not sure. 

A Gomersall box kick pushed Worcester back into their 22, and big hits from JTH and Hal drove them further, into their own try zone. Drahm managed to clear to halfway, and Nick Easter’s return and kick through went over the dead ball line. 

More scrappy play from the resulting drop out, and Quins gained a scrum on the left, near the Worcester 22. For the almost the first time the ball stayed in hand, JTH made another good break and a ruck was formed about 5m out. Hal picked up from the base, ran around for a while and finally straightened to drift past two ineffectual tackles to score. A good advert both for Hal’s fitness, and why Worcester badly need Phil Larder. 

AJ knocked over the extras, and with 68 minutes gone, Quins led 20-6. 

Drahm was substituted shortly afterwards, with James Brown taking the field to lots of good natured, if slightly embarrassing, “Sex Machine” stylings around the ground. Quins lost their own line out in the Worcester half, and a good break by Havili on the right took play forward. However, a huge Worcester overlap ran out of space and they had to settle for a scrum.

JTH had been feeling his shoulder for the last few minutes, and he was taken off to be replaced by a very sprightly looking Duffy. From the Worcester scrum another chip through was collected by Brown, and good hands moved play up to the Quins 10m. Good, quick recycling took the ball cross field, Nick Easter drove on and the ball went forward in the tackle. Chris Hala’uifa came on for Vos. 

Worcester tried to break off the scrum, but good tackles from Volley and Hal held them up. Worcester weren’t making any yards, but Quins conceded a penalty for not allowing them to release. The line out was taken about 25m from the Quins line, but the attempted catch and drive was driven back, and then out, in a moment that entirely summed up the forwards’ night. Quite simply, whatever anyone thought about it beforehand, this pack had fronted up, and more than held its own with one of the nastiest in the premiership. 

For the last few minutes both sides kept the ball in hand more, although knock ons were common. A Hala’uifa tackled simply flattened Lombard, and from the resulting scrum Quins knocked on, a fitting way to end a match strewn with knock ons from both teams. Final score Quins 20, Worcester 6.

At the press conference Dean Richards was unsurprisingly very happy and relaxed. He was very pleased with the forwards, especially the solidity of the line out, and about the defensive work as a whole. He reiterated that the team has always believed they could do it, it’s just nice to see the fruits of all the hard work coming out on the pitch. 

JTH is a doubt for Sale, the shoulder being the same one hurt against Newcastle. Abbot might be back, or might not, as Dean successfully covered all his bases on that question. Happily, Rogers and Lambert are in full training and Skinner is close to full contact training, although Spanghero may be out for another 2 weeks.

Anthony Eddy looked much less happy talking about the Warriors. He seemed sanguine enough about the game plan, but blamed the problems on a catalogue of errors and indiscipline. He also defended Horsman’s record, to a point, but said that many more yellow cards might jeopardise his place in the side.

This was a vital, and in many ways a comfortable win. Long before the end I thought Quins looked safe. The pack were superb, with the line out functioning smoothly, and it was impressive how they stood up to the Worcester pack. Given the game plan for the conditions, the back necessarily got less ball, but I thought that JTH again impressed with his strong tackling and good running. Hal looked back to full fitness, and Brown was always safe under the plethora of high balls coming his way. AJ seemed a bit off colour with the boot in the first half, but improved significantly in the second, while Gomersall was unsurprisingly as up for it as I’ve ever seen him, fully deserving his man of the match award. With hopefully a similar side available for next week’s game against a depleted Sale side, we can hope to emulate Newcastle and extend our run to six wins on the bounce. A final word for the groundstaff; the pitch stood up fantastically well this evening and just gave all Quins fans something else to be proud of.

Half-Time: 10-6
Full Time: 20-6
Attendance: 9,833
Referee: Barnes Wayne

NEC Harlequins:
Mike Brown, David Strettle, Hal Luscombe, Jordan Turner-Hall, Simon Keogh, Adrian Jarvis, Andy Gomarsall, Ceri Jones, Tani Fuga, Mike Ross, Ollie Kohn, Jim Evans, Andre Vos, Paul Volley, Nick Easter
Replacements: Jimmy Richards, Lorne Ward, Simon Miall, Chris Hala'ufia, Danny Care, Andrew Mehrtens, Gavin Duffy

Scorers: Tries: David Strettle, Hal Luscombe. Conversions: Adrian Jarvis (2). Penalties: Adrian Jarvis (2)

Worcester Warriors:
Lee Best, Thinus Delport, Dale Rasmussen, Thomas Lombard, Mark Tucker, Shane Drahm, Ryan Powell, Lee Fortey, Ben Gotting, Darren Morris, Craig Gillies, Tim Collier, Kai Horstmann, Tom Harding, Drew Hickey
Replacements: Chris Horsman, Chris Fortey, Phil Murphy, Gavin Quinnell, Matt Powell, James Brown, 'Aisea Havili Kaufusi

Scorers: Penalties: Shane Drahm (2)