A League: Quins enigmatic to the end

NOT EXPECTANT
By Barney Burnham
September 6 2005

Wasps began the new A League campaign with a disappointing 31-13 defeat at The Stoop. Harlequins outscored their visitors by four tries to two, securing a well deserved bonus point. To add to Wasps' woes, both their tryscorers - Thom Evans and Joe Mbu - picked up injuries.

Evans tweaked a hamstring while scoring his first-half try, and played no further part in the game. Mbu had been limping for some time before being substituted, and ended the evening on crutches, with an injury to his left ankle.

It was Evans who provided the first thrill of the evening, with barely 60 seconds on the clock. Wasps ran the ball from close to their own goal-line and the speedy winger rounded his opposite number to make 40 metres before being caught by the Quins defence.

A blistering burst by Quins scrum-half Simon Keogh then sent winger Tosh Masson deep into the Wasps 22, but Jeremy Staunton managed to both tackle him and steal possession, to snuff out the danger.

It was the Wasps fullback who opened the scoring with a straightforward penalty on four minutes, after a series of phases inside the home 22.

Quins flyhalf Adrian Jarvis levelled the score three minutes later, when the Wasps defence was penalised after a dangerous burst by Masson, down the left touchline.

Two minutes later, an inch-perfect Jarvis kick to the corner was gathered by right wing Kiba Richards, who beat the defence to go over for the first try of the night. Jarvis added the extra points, with a magnificent touchline conversion.

Staunton had the chance to narrow the gap with a long-range penalty, but his effort was just off target. He then missed a much easier kick after sustained pressure inside the Quins 22.

Wasps were struggling to impose any pattern on the game, with the Quins defence around the fringes keeping them constantly pegged back. A series of turnovers and handling errors did nothing to help the Wasps cause.

After 24 minutes, a powerful run by flanker Tom Guest took play to a few metres short of the Wasps line, but Quins lost the ball in trying to go over. It was the briefest of respites, as Quins took the resultant scrum against the head, and Keogh dived over for a try, which Jarvis converted to take his side 14 points clear.


Minutes later, Quins came within a whisker of a third try, when another deft cross-field kick by Jarvis found Will Greenwood on the right touchline, 40 metres out.The World Cup winner took play into the Wasps 22, but his inside pass to Richards was just forward, with the tryline beckoning.

Deep into injury time at the break, Wasps finally breached the home defence, after Greenwood lost possession on the halfway line. The ball was recycled quickly and spun out to the right wing, allowing Thom Evans to race away. Despite tweaking his hamstring, he had the pace to beat the defence and cross for a try near the corner. Staunton couldn't convert, and the interval came with Quins leading by 17 points to 8.

Wasps made a number of substitutions at halftime. Two of them saw Staunton moving from fullback to flyhalf and James Brooks coming in from flyhalf to scrumhalf. The changes had an immediate effect, as Wasps showed their best rugby of the night, dominating the first 20 minutes of the half. They came close to scoring after 49 minutes, when Staunton took a quick penalty inside his own 22. His jinking break created the space to send Rob Hoadley away on an angled run into the Quins 22. He found Mbu in support, but the powerful winger was stopped a few metres short of the line.

With the Quins defence under serious pressure, a series of offences at the breakdown led to the only yellow card of the night. Lock George Robson was the man sent to the bin. Brooks took the resultant penalty - from 30 metres out, in front of the posts - but his kick hit the upright.

The miss did not prove costly, as Wasps immediately stole a lineout on the 22. They took the ball through several phases before Mbu crashed over in the left corner. Brooks could not add the extra points, but Wasps were now right back in the game and looking increasingly capable of a win.

The killer blow came on the hour. After a clever grubber kick by Mel Deane took play to within feet of the Wasps line, a poorly directed clearance kick was gathered in midfield by Charlie Amesbury. He sent Guest clear to run in from 40 metres. The Jarvis conversion made it 24-13 to Quins.

Wasps came close to an immediate response, after another break by Staunton, but Hoadley was unable to gather a head-high pass which could have sent him clear.

Disrupted by further injuries and substitutions, Wasps were now playing catch up rugby, and the Quins' victory was sealed by another beautifully judged kick from Jarvis. This time it found Keogh on the right touchline. The defence appeared to have the scrumhalf covered, but he spun deftly out of a tackle to sprint 40 metres for the bonus point score, beneath the posts. Jarvis' conversion made it 31-13, which was how it ended, despite late pressure by Wasps, who were kept out by a combination of repeated infringements and stout defence.


Coach Shaun Edwards had no complaints about the result: "We had a very inexperienced team, compared to theirs, and we weren't helped by a series of injuries - but there were some encouraging performances. Both David Van Eyk and Peter Bracken did well, when they came on.
That bodes well for the future. And Rob Hoadley really stood out. I'm not too disappointed, as they had a really experienced side, and - for many of our lads - this was the first game of the season."

Forwards coach Craig Dowd was frustrated: "In the first half, we were beaten in just about every facet of the game. Then we made a few changes and showed some steel to come right back into the game - but we'd make 30,40 50 yards up the field by playing good rugby, with good phases, then we'd spoil it by doing something silly. They really fed off our mistakes. But it was the first game of the season - ball skills aren't where they should be yet, and some of the combinations were unfamiliar. Until we got our first try, the boys' heads were down, but that gave us a sniff and you could almost see the belief coming back. Their third try was the real nail in the coffin."

Wasps travel to Gloucester on Monday the 19th of September. The first home game of the season comes on the following Monday, when Bath are the visitors to Henley.