Harlequins
Gone with the wind… Harlequins 22-16 Bath
By The Coop
March 18 2008
As a wise man once said: Always play with the wind. At half time it may turn around and blow the other way. Or not. As the case this time, just, was. As a Welshman, having come off the back of a big Saturday, Sunday was always going to be a struggle. Thanks to Just-Quin for providing transport, and the opportunity to relive Saturday several times over on the way to the game. He loved it. Really.
Once there, a quick tour of the ground revealed two things. It was wet. And it was windy. The dancers returned stand side, after their routine, to strains of Eye of the Tiger. Eye of the Storm wouldn’t have been far off the way the wind was kicking about.
Anyway. A couple of St. Patrick’s Day Big G’s in, the world was still looking rosy. Or at least it was until I realised the ‘notebook’ I had half-inched from home was indeed the missus’ recipe book. And said notebook was getting wet. The most recent entry, what looked like ‘Pumpkin and Cheese Muffins’, left me feeling slightly queezy for the first time in, ooh, an hour.
And so we got to the start. Late changes meant Hal was out and Ugo was across to 13, Charlie A taking up the vacant wing berth.
Bath kicked off with the wind at their backs and immediately the tone of the game was set. Hesitancy over the flight of the ball left in dropping into a muddle. And probably a puddle. The resulting immediate first lineout tested the wind and should have been an omen for all.
The first ten minutes were spent solely in Quins half. We struggled to work the elements with a kicking game until, someway in, Brownie launched the first and fullest statement of intent, with an against the conditions belter. What followed became a feature of the game.
Long re-set stoppages. Never good on a grey day.
In this first case - an age and a day for a throw in – Quins were penalised for pulling down, a penalty just on halfway and Barclay using the wind for a 0-3 advantage. Jarvo’s resultant drop re-start was as bad as it got for Quins for the rest of the game. Travelling a mere 5 metres (although still a full 15 metres further than Skrela’s the day before), maths needed to be worked out sooner rather than later.
Arithmetic came easy, and before long a couple of chipped penalties allowed us up to the 22. A slick handling move allowed DWB to bull for the posts and a penalty for not allowing release. 15 minutes in. First territory in the Bath half. Three points.
The sudden reversal galvanised the troops. Almost immediately back on the attack, Danny led the charge. Hesitation from the Bath back three was noticeable, as Brownie pushed us to 5 metres. Heads up, but with it rushes of blood to said appendiges. We lost the scrum against the head, and the resultant 22 lineout.
The ensuing action reflected much of the game. Quins running elaborate patterns, but with last (clinical) passes missing. Bath with plenty of running possession but crabbing to and fro, with no great mileage being gained. Several Bath wind assisted kicks out of hand to gain territory only just failed to go over the dead ball line, and their lofted cross-kicks ended up being aimless.
Then we got the biggest talking point of the half. The scrap. What started out as one set of handbags, ended up as three separate slap fests. And despite the Bath 7 delivering a left field corker, Tani found himself in the eye of the proverbial storm and was sent to graze for 10.
Barclay landed an easy penalty for 3-6.
Galvanised we came straight back. A longer flatter kick off was fumbled, and after several sterling drives Quins were awarded a penalty for hands on ground. Difficult into the wind, Jarvo landed a sort of hoofed hanger. 6-6.
In running down the card time, Brownie was fairly successful in clearing the lines – straight, spiralled and true. A succession of lineouts followed, with the Lexus Linesman making arbitrary touches five metres either side of halfway, so as not to have to stand in the rather deep well that had formed by the tunnel.
Tani arrived back with 2 minutes to go. Quins had got away with being a man down, into the wind and were 3 points to the better. The most telling statistic of the day.
And so ended the half for a woeful Bath. They needed go forward. But basics were bad. Quins had got their tails up and made light of the adverse conditions, forcing mistakes, coming away from Baths 22 generally with the scoreboard ticking over. Bath never really made it into Quins danger zone.
And so to the second half, with a game clearly there to be won. The first punt by Bath was exceptionally high and almost backwards. Immediately Quins were on the front foot. And there has never been a finer sight this season than Ugo’s legs pumping, several defenders hanging on, and yards being eaten up.
Bath found it difficult to make kicking yards back. With the ball not travelling, Quins were able to retain the ball in the backs keep Bath in their half. Despite losing the ball forward on an elaborate play, we gained a penalty for offside. Jarvo’s simple kick made it 9-6.
The restart not claimed allowed Bath to roll to the 22. A penalty for not rolling away allowed Barclay to slot for 9-9.
With wind still a problem, Bath (too) often tried to run out of their 22 and found themselves closed down. A Barclay chip to a Quins stomach, saw Brownie hack ahead and a footrace to the corner. Played out by the covering fullback, good lineout take nevertheless ended up with our rolling maul going backwards, respective pack sizes suggesting this was never going to be a great option. A resultant penalty against, punted up to the 10m line, a slow throw, a bad crash ball, and a lucky penalty to Quins for crossing. Jarvo for 12-9.
The restart was taken by Danny and Brownie launched another missile. Bath seemed stuck on plan B, run from defence, eventually settling for a kick to their 10m line. And then the pivotal moment of the day. We lost the throw, but scavenged the ball supremely, the ball went wide, Ugo was prominent in delivering the ball out of tackle on half way to SK, who whilst falling into touch hoofed the ball magnificently ahead. Danny won the race and his momentum carried the ball over for the game’s first try. 19-9 after AJ’s conversion.
It was about now that Bath woke up. With Quins generally in control and in their half, quick phases were clearly needed. They ran straighter and started to cause problems.
With eight minutes left it really started to kick off. The tempo increased and with a series of pick and drives missing from their first half performance. Bath gained ground. It took a try saving tackle by DWB in the corner, with the added bonus of a knock on, to relieve a series of cavalier raids.
Bath still came back and a free flowing ‘try’ was (correctly) called back for crossing.
It had taken Bath 75 minutes to warm up, yet it was all about to go cold again.
A Quins relieving kick to their 10m, a drive and subsequent penalty for pulling the rolling maul down. AJ’s penalty, 3 minutes left on the clock. 22-9
I said it all kicked off. Went mad too. Brownie catching a return and charging from 22 to 22 . You can forgive the exuberance of youth. Three minutes left, a two score lead, a muddy pitch. Time to die with the ball. Up close to the Bath line. Because in the face of a typhoon, Bath hadn’t looked good. And never looked like they could go 90m to score.
One speculative cross-field punt later and they went 90m under the posts to end the game with a converted try. And a bonus point for their efforts.
So that was that. The ref evened himself out. The TJ didn’t get his boots too dirty. We beat second place, pretty fairly. We played the elements better. We played cute, something missing at times this season. We learnt lessons quickly and adapted accordingly. We recouped lost ground when driven backwards by shipping it back out wide quickly again. We played go forward when we could, for which Danny takes some serious plaudits. The scrum stood up to the test well. Thirty seconds of collective team genius stretched and won the game. We still need to do the maths and stick it up the muddy jumper when the clocks ticking though.
And I need to find a recipe for Pumpkin and Cheese Muffins quickly. Or I’m in trouble.
Again.
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