By AlanQuin
December 19 2004

It is getting increasingly difficult to watch Harlequins play and to write about the event. I shall, of course, continue to do both but I can only hope it will not mean sitting through yet more spectacles as dire as the match at Bath... which saw Quins easily eliminated from the Powergen Cup at the first hurdle by 33 – 7 with the boot of Olly Barkley contributing 18 points.

In the years I have watched Quins they have beaten Bath only rarely at The Stoop, never in the Cup and only once at The Recreation Ground. The performances of the last two weeks against Ospreys did not bode well for the prospect at Bath. My forebodings were entirely justified as unforced errors, mishandlings saw the first ten minutes of considerable Bath pressure only resisted by some desperate tackling and the referee’s whistle.

Six penalties against Bath in that time eventually allowed Quins to begin to play in the Bath half of the field and a penalty attempt by Staunton from the half-way line had the distance but not the accuracy. Then, in the nineteenth minute, from a lineout in their own half Bath had clean ball moving quickly when Malone’s attempted long pass was anticipated by Jeremy Staunton, intercepted and run straight in under the posts. With the simple conversion Quins led 0 – 7.

Clearly encouraged by the score Quins began to try to add to the total. But once again poor handling and discipline stopped attacks developing or coming to fruition. A good attacking lineout resulted from a Staunton kick for the corner only to result in the attack foundering upon a knock-on when the ball came across the field. Then an excellent run by Tom Williams ended with a penalty to Bath as he was tackled and isolated.

The penalty count against Quins began to rise and Barkley’s kicking from hand was long and accurate so that a penalty conceded deep in Bath territory pushed Quins back into their own red zone. Another chance went begging when with the Bath defence in disarray the ball was dropped. It was only a matter of time before Quins conceded a penalty in their own half and finally the opportunity for Bath to put points on the board came when Barkley scored from the first of four such kicks.

With the half nearing its end Tom Williams was guilty of allowing a long kick from Barkley to bounce towards his line and was beaten to the touchdown by Higgins. Barkley added the points and Quins were 10 – 7 down. They sought to counter-attack and what looked a certain try went begging as a final pass was adjudged forward.

The pattern of the match continued its error strewn course. Barkley scored from another penalty after Quins went offside. Then a yellow card against So’oialo for pushing his opposite number gave Barkely his third penalty and a fourth for a foolish and obvious offside while Quins were still down to fourteen men.

Then the game went away from Quins as any possibility of recovery, slim at best, as Bath scored two late tries having now the majority of possession and territory hammered home their advantage.

The forwards did not have a good game although Maling won three or four line-outs on the Bath throw largely neutralising Borthwick so that Bath had to increasingly use the front jumper to secure line-out ball. The backs had mostly poor ball and Greenwood, replaced by Duffy due to a thumb injury, and Deane in the centre were both ineffective in breaking the Bath defensive line. James and Keogh on the wings were active but also with little ball. Williams’ game was marred by his crucial defensive error which gifted the first Bath try. The replacement of Staunton by Jarvis did nothing to improve the situation

It was a very subdued and disappointed Mike Scott who faced the press after the match with Mark Evans having left for a long-standing family engagement in Cardiff. They had made too many mistakes throughout the match and in the second half that continued so that despite being only 10 – 7 down at half-time, they never got back into the game.

“We have to pull it round, and we will do so.” said Scotty. He commented that the line-out went quite well but that you cannot turn the ball over so many times and win games. Asked about the players he said: “The players’ attitude is first class. They have worked very hard and are very close as a group” But more ominously he admitted, referring to the regression since the three wins in the Premiership, “We can’t put our finger on it”. Well, someone had better get the finger out and on it very soon.

Bath: Davis (Best 73); Higgins (Cheeseman 73), Welsh, Barkley, Daniel; Malone, Baxter (Alford 79); Stevens (Barnes 69), Humphreys (capt; Mears 34), Bell, Borthwick, Fidler (Grewcock 55), Scaysbrook, Lipman (Lewis 79), Fea'unati

Harlequins: Williams; James, Greenwood (Duffy 63), Deane, Keogh; Staunton (Jarvis 58), So'oialo; Worsley (Dawson 70), Fuga (Tiatia 50), Jones, Winters (Miall 79), Maling, Easter, Vos (capt), Diprose
Referee: N Owen.