Harlequins Match Report
By Ozzy3213
March 16 2015
So at some point, clearly I agreed to write a match report for the Quins game. I'm not sure if it's age or beer on the day which has caught up on me, but I clean forgot, until reminded last night. What follows therefore is less of a match report and more the inane ramblings about our club which have circulated in my mind since the boys last took the field.
It was a decent game, but for the second time this season, I came away convinced that we had been the architects of our own downfall against our friends the multi coloured jokers. At Twickenham in September it was missed one on one tackles, and this time out it was ill discipline in front of our posts in the first 20 minutes. Now don't get me wrong, it wasn't an awful performance from us, not by a long stretch, but there were too many basic errors which meant that it was always going to be a tough ask to win the game. Missed lineouts, poor execution when kicking from hand and some sloppy passing, notably from Shane were the main issues that saw. On the plus side the scrum went well, albeit against not great opposition in that regard, and we looked very capable of making metres with ball in hand, even when Trev went off injured, which hasn't always been the case this season. Tom Guest was excellent in that regard, and the pacy backs we had on display also managed to get us over the gainline. Probably the biggest plus for me was Tom Fowlie, who without being spectacular, looked every inch a Premiership player. What impressed me most about him was his game awareness. For a young player, he seemed to take the correct option the vast majority of the time, and that inate decision making is something that is very difficult to teach. The step and the try were great, but I saw more from him than that which leaves me optimistic about his future.
The slight downside to this of course, is that it gives a selection headache. For me, he is an outside centre who can cover the wing, and realistically we have good enough out and out wingers for him not really to be considered there. That leaves him in a straight shoot out with Fergus Mulchrone for the 13 jersey for the two huge games we gave coming up. It is unfortunate that Tom and Fergus play the same position, as Tom will be a star, and Fergus has been arugably both our most improved player this season, adding attacking threat to his defensive qualities, and our most consistent performer, rarely turning in a poor performance. Glenn will have a tough choice to make come the resumption of hositilities in a week and a halfs time.
Other selection issues that arise in my mind out of the performance against Quins concern the front and back rows. Up front, Tom Court and David Paice are a given as starters, but the tighthead berth has a huge question mark over it. Prior to the Tigers game I think most of us would have agreed that Geoff should start, but he had a shocker, and against Quins, Halani looked fitter than he has for some time and I thought was good in both the scrum and the loose. Add in to that mix the fact that Leo has never let us down when he's played this season and again did well against Quins, and it really is a bit of a toss up. Personally, I'd start Halani, with Geoff off the bench and Leo covering the loosehead side, as neither Falcons or Edinburgh are great scrummaging units, and Halani's carrying could be far more of an asset than Geoffs usually more reliable scrummaging.
In the back row, Glenn made a huge call in putting Blair on the pitch against Quins, and leaving Conor out altogether. I thought that Blair was some way below his best in the game, and I would hope that he gets a week off after the 6 Nations, giving Conor the chance to re stake a claim to start the quarter final. Tha competition can only be a good thing, and I pray we have both available, along with Big Trev for the quarter final.
Other thoughts from the Quins game don't necessarily involve what went on out on the pitch. What struck me whilst at the The Stoop, particularly whilst I was in the bar, was that we do need our own ground. The debate over where has long been argued, and I really don't mind if it's Sunbury or Reading, but it needs to be ours, it needs to be a sensible size, so that we can fill it or as near as fill it most weeks. The MadStad is a great stadioum, but it's tough generating atmosphere when it's less than a quarter full. Now we are definitely louder than the pimms drinking jesters that I was sat near, so in a smaller ground we would undoubtedly create the sort of atmosphere that we all crave when watching or team play.
I could ramble on, but I've work to do, so I leave you as I most often do. We may be 10th, and we may have just lost to them, but one thing remains true, come rain, shine or anything inbetween, I'd rather be a Paddy than a Quin! Happy St Patricks Day to you all.
Harlequins Match Report
Posted by: The Craic www.londonirish.org (IP Logged)
Date: 17/03/2015 10:40
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Re: Harlequins Match Report
Posted by: Finno (IP Logged)
Date: 17/03/2015 10:54
Excellent report, particularly the bit about having our own ground. I always get a ltlle jealous when I go to an away match at a ground owned by our opponents. They may be smaller and the facilities not as good as the Mad Stad, but they have their own particular rugby atmosphere...maybe one day..
Re: Harlequins Match Report
Posted by: Ozzy3213 (IP Logged)
Date: 18/03/2015 11:48
I'm sure we will at some point get our own ground. I know the board are aware of the issues of playing at the MadStad.
Re: Harlequins Match Report
Posted by: MickeyMouse (IP Logged)
Date: 18/03/2015 12:55
As long as it's still in Reading, so us Not Nots don't have far to travel!
Re: Harlequins Match Report
Posted by: jekyll (IP Logged)
Date: 18/03/2015 16:41
And us from the south of Winchester as well
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