Harlequins
C'mon feel the noise! Quins 24-20 Leicester, 18 April 2014
By poorfour
April 23 2014
In recent seasons, Quins have tended to visit Welford Road in November, and host the Tigers at the Stoop in April or May. The home fixture is one for which I always put my hand up. Tigers will be on their inevitable late season charge, the warm weather will have brought Quins out of hibernation, and both teams usually have something to play for. It is always an exciting prospect.
This year I was rewarded with a cracking game of rugby and perhaps the best atmosphere the Stoop crowd has ever delivered. Frequent pauses for the deliberations of Mr Wigglesworth failed to prevent the first and contributed considerably to the second. I will apologise in advance for the length of this report. It was a super match and worthy of a blow by blow account. If you don't want to read the whole thing, Quins won.
Rugby's answer to Phil Hellmuth made his presence felt immediately, as Quins were penalised for offside when Robson dived on a ball knocked forward from Leicester's kick off. Although the kick was out wide to the right on the 22, Flood made no mistake and Quins found themselves 0-3 down within the first minute of the game.
The next restart also resulted in a penalty, this time with the added excitement of a referral to the TMO, Sean Davey. After a long discussion, Scully was adjudged to have interfered with Easter as he jumped for the ball. This was a borderline call - both players had jumped and had eyes on the ball, Scully arriving fractionally later. It wasn't dangerous, and it wouldn't have been unreasonable to wave play on, but instead we had a long wait, followed by a penalty to Quins, followed by a successful lineout that was reset because the gaps had narrowed.
Really, sir? One of the first things you are taught on the Entry Level Refereeing Award is "materiality". Any contest situation in rugby will almost inevitably involve multiple infringements. If you blew up for them all, you'd never have a game. As a ref, you are actively encouraged only to stop play for things that are actually affecting either the game or the safety of the players. In my opinion, the gaps at that lineout affected neither.
As a result, clean ball off the top became, after the reset, a poorly formed maul from which Leicester deservedly won a scrum. This was, for me, a fascinating prospect. Both sides were fielding full strength back 5s, but makeshift front rows. For Quins, the late withdrawal of Joe Marler (later seen promenading the Etihad with Will Skinner, his partner and newly arrived Jasper) meant that we fielded 2nd choice Mark Lambert alongside Dave Ward and Kyle Sinckler, who would both have been 3rd choice at the start of the season. Leicester in turn had Mulipola, a loosehead, standing in at tighthead, the relatively untried Neil Briggs filling in for Tom Youngs and the now-retired George Chuter. But they also had Marcos Ayerza, one of the world's best, at loosehead, and a formidably chunky pack overall. Ward and Sinckler have seized their chances this season and there is serious talk that, with an itinerary that demands a big squad, both could travel to New Zealand this summer. Would Leicester's pack trample on their dreams?
Nope. The first scrum was stable for both sides, sir was happy with the feed (I wasn't), and the ball was cleared. Quins touched it in flight, too, so it was a Leicester lineout on half way. Deft running in midfield saw Slater break and allow Crane to release Goneva, who was in under the posts to score. Or was he? Once again, Mr Wigglesworth and Mr Davey conferred at length, mainly about the pass from Crane to Goneva (which looked flat) and hardly at all about the earlier pass from Slater, which looked less certain. Meanwhile, the Americas moved a tiny amount further away from Europe, the grass at the Stoop grew slightly longer and, somewhere, some paint got a little bit dryer. The try was given. 0-10 to Tigers with only 5 minutes gone.
Against a Tigers team who had not lost since Christmas, this was not the most promising start that Quins could have made, but they set out to make amends with real intent. Leicester knocked on from the kick off, and from the resulting scrum Quins won a penalty, Sinckler putting real pressure on Ayerza. Danny took it quickly and shot through the Leicester defence to score. Except sir called him back for not having taken the tap from the right spot. On replay it looked as if he had taken it behind the back foot of the scrum but in line with the ref and not the scrum itself. We'll come back to this point later. Anyway, the rejuvenated Nick Evans slotted the points. 3-10.
Quins continued with intent, Smith and Ward breaking from the kick off rather than kick it back, but were penalised for holding on. Leicester kicked to the 5m line and mauled from the lineout. Quins managed to stop the maul without being penalised, and a brilliant tackle by Molenaar on Blaine Scully led to a snatched pass that was knocked on. The scrum was once again solid, and NEv cleared but only to the 22.
Leicester adopted a repeated tactic of drifting wide and cutting inside from the lineout, but Quins didn't fall for it. Wallace felled Tuilagi in a manner that put one in mind of a lion taking down a wildebeest, and Care bounced off Goneva but not before forcing him to spill the ball. Lindsay-Hague was unable to field the ball cleanly and Quins won another scrum. It went down, Ayerza clearly unhappy. The reset was scrappy but Easter cleared for Smith and then Brown to break, with Mike's chip over the top forcing Manu to carry the ball into touch.
Quins attacked with real intent for several phases, but ended conceding a penalty to Leicester when camped on their tryline. The ball was clear at the base of a ruck and as Care reached to pick it up he was tackled by Allen. Play on, declared Mr Wigglesworth, the ball was out. Fair enough. Referees generally give the scrum half a little leeway to get the ball away as long as they aren't time-wasting, but it was certainly a permissible call. Where I had a concern (in the stands and confirmed on replay) is that Danny never had hands on the ball. Whether the ball is in the ruck or not, the laws are clear: you aren't allowed to tackle the player who doesn't have it. We're back to materiality. I would regard "checking the tackler is tackling a player he is allowed to tackle" as more material for the ref to attend to than "checking the gaps in the lineout", but maybe that's why I referee B finals in the Middlesex mini-rugby festival rather than the Premiership.
Leicester cleared, but Quins were back and attacking again having secured a penalty on half way for Tuilagi lying on the ball. Unfortunately, Smith knocked on as Quins attacked from a lineout inside Leicester's 22, Tigers won a penalty from the resulting scrum and kicked to Quins' 10m. Tigers attacked ferociously from the (reset for gaps) lineout but Quins' defence held firm. Recognising the danger of Leicester's runners, Quins had adopted a defensive system based around blindingly fast line speed and teamwork that meant Tuilagi and Goneva in particular were usually subject to the attentions of two tacklers. It proved highly effective, and on this occasion forced another knock on (and nearly another Dave Ward signature turnover). Before the scrum, from which Quins won a penalty, Jordan Crane limped from the field with a knee injury, to be replaced by Pablo Matera.
Unfortunately, Robshaw fumbled the ball at the lineout (when did that last happen?) and Scully broke to the 5m line, ultimately winning a penalty in front of the posts for an offside some distance from the ball. Flood restored the ten-point margin. 3-13.
Leicester gathered and cleared the kick-off, but Brown returned it to about half way and Quins secured a penalty for Matera's blatant hands in the ruck. A scrappy lineout on the 22 looked like a wasted opportunity, but Ward and Easter each broke the line and Salvi conceded a penalty which Nev converted. 6-13.
Unfortunately, Quins didn't take the kickoff cleanly, letting Leicester regather the ball (despite, erm, several of them being offside) and attack, with only a gang tackle by Molly and Ollie on Manu preventing a try. A Quins scrum inside the 22 came under pressure and both Easter and NEv failed to break upfield. Fortunately, Matera did not release and Quins were able to clear to half way. The lineout wasn't straight, so Leicester got the put in to a scrum and managed to get the ball away despite huge pressure from Quins. However, they were unable to make any yardage in midfield and when Brown cleared Youngs' smart kick ahead they won a lineout but swiftly conceded a penalty for crossing.
Quins took the lineout cleanly and went through multiple aggressive phases with advantage signalled several times. Evans put a chip through the Leicester defence and Wallace gathered and carried over the line. Once again, Mr Wigglesworth turned to Mr Davey, perhaps seeking the solace of companionship in the face of a frustrated crowd that was by now roaring Quins on. The decision was no try, and a scrum to Quins on the 5m line. At the third attempt it stayed up and Quins exerted so much pressure that the Leicester pack buckled like a stop motion version of the Tibetan plateau confronted with the relentless advance of the Indian subcontinent. Nick Easter broke from the base and with a clear run for the line, but Mr Wigglesworth had already made his decision, this time without the help of his friend in the darkroom of broken dreams: penalty try. While it's unusual to award one on the first offence, Leicester can in truth have few complaints. Their pack stood up rather than allow Quins to drive them towards the line, and Easter was on track to score anyway. 13-13.
With two and a half minutes to go in the half, Quins remained on the attack. It ended when Leicester claimed a ball that had been knocked loose by Kitchener standing up into the path of Care's pass. Hmm. Leicester secured the ball from the ensuing scrum and Flood gratefully kicked the ball away. Half time.
The second half began with the same breathless pace. Quins attacked when Tait fumbled the kick off and a smart grubber from Evans forced Youngs to concede a lineout on their 22, but a knock on gave Tigers a scrum, from which they won a penalty and a lineout near Quins 22. The throw went long and Wallace managed to flick it back. Quins went through the phases until Ward made a fine break and Sinckler, in support, carried it on. Evans chipped the ball through to the Leicester 5m. Tigers won their lineout and began a strong maul, but Ward got his hands on Youngs and forced a scrum deep in Tigers 22. However, a rejuvenated Ayerza won a second penalty from it, only to give Quins a kickable penalty on the Leicester 10m for offside at the lineout. Nev missed the kick but Quins were soon back on the attack, using a fleaflicker style pass in which the receiver immediately passed back inside. Nev chipped through again, Leicester failed to gather it cleanly and knocked it over their own line, the ball bounced behind the arms of the covering defender and Brown touched down.
Try? TMO! Mr Davey spotted Scully just managing to get a hand on the ball. He also recommended a 22 dropout, having missed that Scully had originally fumbled the ball over their line. Fortunately, Mr Wigglesworth reminded him, and a 5 metre scrum was awarded. After a reset, Quins won the ball but Sinckler was held up over the line. Easter broke from the back of the next scrum, passing to Care, who threw an interception - but fortunately Leicester knocked on. Quins won the ball again, this time for Mike Brown to knock it on, and get referred to the TMO after Flood clattered him off the ball and he replied in kind dumping the future French Foreign Legionnaire inelegantly on his backside rather than his back. Nothing doing, and rightly so.
Scrum to Leicester, this time with Quins winning the penalty and Ayerza visibly perturbed. Ben Kay disagreed, having spotted a knee down from Sinckler, but I'd argue that Ayerza had been boring in on the previous two scrums, so it's swings and roundabouts. This time, Nev was on target. 16-13.
Tigers, substituting Briggs for Hawkins, came back strongly, Manu breaking to 5m and winning a penalty which they took with a quick tap. Sam Smith intercepted a loose pass but had never been onside and Tigers were allowed to tap and go again, releasing Gibson to score out wide, which Flood converted. Wait. What? Having prevented Care from taking a quick tap earlier in the game, sir was quite happy for Tigers to take two a similar distance from the mark. Of all the decisions in the match, this one rankles the most. Two very similar situations, two different decisions by the referee, a four point swing.
Having swapped Flood for Williams and Kitchener for Parling, Leicester won another scrum and another penalty after Sam Smith was held up in the tackle, and another penalty following the ensuing lineout. However, as the whistle blew, a fight broke out. Close inspection by the TMO revealed that Matera had speared Ward, late and off the ball, and Robson had retaliated. Both saw yellow, Robson for a "swinging arm" that looked more like an attempt to clear him off the ball. The penalty was awarded to Quins, despite the retaliation. Everyone was left scratching their heads.
Quins weren't able to capitalise on the lineout from the penalty, but soon won a scrum on half way. Fa'asavalu replaced Wallace, and stepped up to the second row. It worked - Quins won a free kick. Brown broke and Quins won a penalty at the breakdown and a 5m lineout. Evans, who had apparently been carrying a foot injury, made way for Botica, who made his presence immediately felt with a blistering pass that enabled Brown to beat Scully and Tait in the corner. Botica missed the conversion, but Quins were back in the lead: 21-20.
Leicester got hands to their short kick off, but knocked the ball on into Manu who gathered. A scrum (not a penalty, sir, as in the opening minute?) was awarded to Quins, with Easter breaking from the base and passing to Care. Leicester stopped the run, but Salvi gave away one penalty too many and saw yellow. Youngs and Scully made way for Mele and Morris, and Quins were unable to capitalise on their penalty, a period of high intensity ending in a knock on after Brown and Smith had failed in sight of the whitewash. Despite putting pressure on the Leicester scrum, Quins conceded a penalty for a high tackle as Tigers tried to run the ball, only for Tigers to concede one back for pulling down in the lineout. Botica made no mistake this time 24-20.
There was still time for a final random penalty to Leicester at the breakdown. Aware of the clock and the need for more than 3 points, Tigers went quickly but Quins' line speed held them and then forced a turnover. Care cleared, and Quins forced a final knock on, won the scrum and found touch to end the game.
Reading my write up back it sounds like a comedy of errors, both refereeing and handling. In truth, it was a better game of rugby than that implies. The handling errors were often the result of defensive pressure and the refereeing, while pernickety, was on replay accurate apart from the inconsistencies already noted.
Quins can take a lot of positives from this game. Although Bath secured a late bonus point to pull them potentially out of reach, Quins contained a Tigers team who had been rampant since Christmas. Although the try count was two apiece, Quins crossed the line three times only to be denied by the smallest of margins, and were arguably denied another by a spectacularly idiosyncratic refereeing decision.
There were strong individual performances all round. Both Nicks continued to defy the ravages of age, Ward continued to defy the teams who let him leave and Ollie Lindsay Hague, while struggling to find space in attack did not get isolated and was very strong in defence. Perhaps most encouraging was Sinckler's performance against Ayerza. Kyle clearly won the first half, and though Ayerza had a long period of dominance in the second half, he adapted and was close to parity by the end. That ability to change things up and solve problems over the course of a game is genuinely impressive. There are many more experienced props who struggle to do this (Gethin Jenkins, I'm looking at you, boyo); that Sinckler is doing this in his first senior season, against top class opposition suggests (if we didn't know already) that we have a serious talent on our hands. England are going to need to dig deeper than usual to form their touring squad this summer, and if Wallace, Ward and Sinckler maintain their current form until the end of the season it is very plausible that one or more of them could join Marler, Robshaw, Care and Brown in the land of the long white cloud.
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The game's afoot;
Follow your spirit: and upon this charge,
Cry — God for Harry! England and Saint George
Well done poorfour
It means a lot to know that you appreciated it.
(By the way, the approach I took was to write up my notes first, and only then watch the replay and go back and amend. I toned down some of my views on the reffing - but not all - and changed a lot of "Leicesters" to "Scullys" and "Tuilagis". It worked pretty well as an approach so I might try it again.)
Quote:The ball was clear at the base of a ruck and as Care reached to pick it up he was tackled by Allen. Play on, declared Mr Wigglesworth, the ball was out. Fair enough. Referees generally give the scrum half a little leeway to get the ball away as long as they aren't time-wasting, but it was certainly a permissible call.
Although he then immediately penalised Quins for diving off their feet when going for the ball...
... even though he'd just said it wasn't a ruck...
O Fortuna, velut luna statu variabilis,
semper crescis aut decrescis
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