By steve_g
May 10 2004

Yes, if Dunne's conversion attempt, which hit the inside of the post, had gone over, Quins would have won! In fact, if Quins had won, it would have been one of the biggest travesties of justice for many a year. For those on Will's coach, the day started at 10 am. We were soon driving through pretty villages in the heart of England, like Olney and Boleat, which the coach driver liked so much, we went through twice. We saw a raging bull, (reminded me of Andre), a foal (not quite as quick as Ugo) and a black spot (with an uncanny resemblance to Jon Dawson). We were welcomed at The Bell at Odell where the Greene King was pretty good. 

We got to Franklin's Gardens which was the first visit for many of the travelling Quins fans since the new stand was built. It has a fantastic atmosphere and you are very close to the pitch. Well done to all those rugby clubs around the country who are investing in their own stadiums instead of lodging at football grounds.

Paul Burke had a quick word before the game. Paul is disappointed to be leave having been through so much with Quins, but Munster has offered him a 2 year contract and his wife was born there. Although Ronan O'Gara may be the first choice, at least he will have a proper challenger for the 10 shirt. We all wish Paul well.

Mark Evans spoke briefly about Sir Jase's retiring. Mark said he respected the decision of someone who has achieved so much. Mark said the Saintsmen to look out for were Mark Robinson, Andrew Blowers and Shane Drahm. On the injury front, Paul has a thigh strain and Shaggy has a shoulder strain. They both should be available for the Parker Pen Final. 

At the start of the game there was a one minute silence for Jeff Butterfield who won 28 England caps and went on two Lions tours. The silence was immaculate with the whole ground silent and still with an exception of one touch judge, who found it necessary to jog on the spot. Jeff Butterfield will be remembered for the swerve of his hips.

After 6 minutes, Quins had already received 3 penalties and the crowd was starting to get restless, but none were in range of the posts, and on 7 minutes Dunne had an unsuccessful drop goal attempt. From then on, Quins were defending for the rest of the half. Big tackles were being made and Dunne made some good clearances. By now the Saints scrum was clearly dominant. What we didn't know was that James Hayter had popped a rib cartilage but he didn't tell anyone. He was only replaced by the young Cameron Dott at half time. 

On 15 minutes, Saints took the lead with a penalty by Drahm as Quins were not releasing on the ground. There was more desperate defending as Dunne was the first to touch down after a grubber by Drahm with Cohen breathing down his neck. The Saints scrum pushed us back and they were given a second penalty on 23 minutes, which Drahm converted. 

From the restart, Dunne made a magnificent break from his own line but couldn't offload to Mel Deane who dropped the ball. Darren Fox picked up the ball and ran through the disorganized defensive line with no multicoloured shirts in sight to make the score 11-0. Drahm missed the conversion. 

The Saints scrum continued to dominate, but luckily for Quins, the referee repeatedly gave free kicks as he deemed that the Saints front row was infringing. By now the crowd was getting infuriated. 

At last, on 41 minutes Hayter limped off the field to be replaced by the hugely promising Cameron Dott. Hopefully things would now improve in the scrum and lineout. With Quins hanging on at the end of the half, a try looked certain as Nick Beal burst through with support either side on him and only Duffy to beat. Duffy tackled Beal who chose not to pass. What a let off! Somehow the half time score was only 11-0. 

Quins got off to the perfect start after the break. Drahm tried to clear from his try line, but he could not get the ball over the colossus Jim Evans who touched down with time to spare. Dunne's conversion attempt smashed against the inside of the post. 11-5. At last the marauding Quins fans in the corner of the ground had something to sing and dance about. 

Then the moment came when half the ground stood as Sir Jase came on. There were tears in many Quins fans eyes. It didn't stop the ref, who is clearly no sentimentalist, from awarding a penalty try moments later as the Quins scrum stood up as they were getting pushed over their try line. Drahm got the conversion to make the score 17-5. 

On 57 minutes, the less than Saintly George Harder was given a long lecture by the ref for using his shoulder illegally. Simon Miall replaced Karl Rudski and Scott Bemand came on for Simon Keogh on 62 minutes. Things didn't get much better for Quins as some of Dott's throws were well off centre. 

The very impressive Darren Fox came off on 73 minutes to be replaced by the Saintsman Mark Soden. Within seconds, Darren was back on as the unfortunate Soden came off with his nose rearranged around his face. 

Miall and Dippy, who had come on for Horstmann, both made brilliant turnovers. From the second one, Mel Deane burst through to set up a try for Gavin Duffy in the corner on 77 minutes. Dunne missed the conversion, 18-10. 

In injury time, Quins were given more penalties and after Ugo had tried to run through, Harder ran all the way to the line. The Saints crowd booed not so much at the Quins try, but at the referee's performance. Dunne got the conversion and the game finished 18-17. 

At the press match conference, Mark Evans explained how James Hayter had played through most of the first half with a popped cartilage and that Cameron Dott had not trained with Quins throughout the week as he was with the England Academy. Mark praised the resilience of the team. With a wry smile Mark pointed out that if the conversion attempt by Dunne which hit the post had gone over, we would have won. He said that that would have been a travesty. Mark proudly made the comment that Quins is the only team in the Premiership not to have conceded a four try bonus point this season. Evs said that there will be many players in the team against Leicester next week who will be trying to impress to get into the Parker Pen Final team. 

The Northampton coaching pair of Wayne Smith and Brendon Ratcliffe referred the Saints total domination but accepted they made hard work of it. Brendon described the referee's decisions at the set piece as a 'bloody disgrace'.  

All in all, Quins can have no complaints about the defeat. We spent most of the match defending heroically, putting in loads of big hits. Dunne's kicking from hand has improved immensely. Duffy was very solid at the back and also has a booming kick. Harder had the better of Cohen all match. Deane made several good breaks, although Ugo saw little of the ball. In the scrum, the front row struggled, although Sir Jase and Gomez brought some solidity. Rudski continues to mature and didn't annoy the referee. The back row worked tirelessly with Andre being outstanding as ever. 

And just think what it must have been like for young Cameron Dott, packing down alongside Jase facing Thompson and Smith in front of a sell out crowd - it's something he won't forget for a while!