Ghost Strokes are very underrated: Quins Win
By Rob Drawn and Quartered
February 25 2008
Unaccustomed, as I am, to writing for the rugby fraternity I asked anyone and everyone for their suggestions as to how to approach this piece. Many responded, for which I am very grateful. Sky Sports coverage has, some believe, been the scourge of modern rugby, others argue that without them English club rugby would not be where it is today
(which in this writers opinion is where a great deal of the best rugby in the world is played). What it does mean is that most readers of this site will have seen the game. The national and regional press have written their summaries of the game and so it falls to me to bring to you, dear Comeallwithin reader my take on what many thought was going to be an absolute corker.
In his preview ahead of this game, Worried of Whitton noted that the previous weeks laboured win had shown signs of promise amongst Harlequins ‘flourishing green shoots’ picking out both Care and Skinner as having had exceptional games. And so it was with some anticipation that I made the long journey from my local pub, down the lane and making it to my sofa some 5 minutes later.
It was Sunday night, the Elliot Carver type that currently runs Sky had decided that this would be a good time to have the game, it was Watford, it was raining, and it was the chauffer’s night off. No way was I going to Vicarage Road. No disrespect to our Fez topped friends, but it is one hell of a journey around the 25 and on a Sunday night is not a decision to be taken lightly. I have been to the home of Watford FC many times having been a Junior Hornet and have many fond memories of the place. I have never attended a rugby match there, however and tonight I was not going to break with that tradition.
The quick intro from those coves on Sky advised of two late changes to the Saracens line up. Gordon Ross had replaced Glen Jackson at fly half, the latter having only made it part of the way through the warm up and Iain Fullarton replacing Ryder at Lock with Ryder having succumbed to illness. This meant Hugh Vyvian and Dan Scarborough made it to the bench. At just about every position Saracens looked formidable. HRHRH (that’s Fez speak for Richard Hill) was playing, Neil De Kock as captain has been looking very dangerous of late and a back line of Haughton, Leonelli and Russell are always a dangerous prospect.
The camera caught Quins in their huddle in the changing room. Your could clearly hear the rallying cry, “One, Two Three..QUINS!” and a chill went own my spine. Saracens on the other hand seemed to just wander out of their room and looking through my quartered tinted spectacles I had a feeling in my water that today was to be our day. The omens were good, my pre match ritual of a few pints of Guinness had ensured a warm glow, Quins were fired up, Dean Richards was looking suitably surly, and even a shot of the birthday boy himself as Prof made a cameo appreance seemed to point to a rare away victory for the chaps from South West London. 2 wins in 14 games is not a record to be proud of, but the mood around The Stoop has lightened somewhat after some striling displays recently and last weeks win.
The atmosphere was noisy as Saracens had their drums playing when Ross took the start. .
From early on Quins seemed happy to pass the ball through the numbers and so it came to Ugo who recived the ball and kicked through. His speed in the chase is still super quick but the rather slippery pitch meant that his kick went too far and Russell cleared his lines.
Moments later, Ugo went up for a high ball but was well challenged by Powell who was unlucky to knock the ball on as otherwise he would have been clear through for the try. Sarries pressured the Harlequins scrum throughout the match and one of the names that I kept hearing during most of these phases of play was Chesney. The man appeared to be involved in every physical aspect of Saracens play and it was noted that through him, Saracens were aiming to keep it tight and get themselves into a good position before unleashing the backs.
After 5 minutes Saracens scored their first points. Guest had failed to roll away at the tackle and Ross took the 3 points on offer. The drums started up again. My notes show that Sraracens were playing and passing well. But my attention was momentarily taken by the sight of Ugo’s hair (this is for you, Babs). My wife, a teacher at a school in South London assures me it is very ‘street’, but personally I yearn for the days of old when the backs being referred to as the Brylcream boys wasn’t just irony.
My attention returned as Saracens were piling the pressure on when an interception by Tom Williams, who was having some fun on his wing, was negated by a call for a knock on. Quins were defending positively but the resultant scrum collapsed and Tani was blamed. It was reset and I heard Mr Spreadbury call ‘use it’ four times before someone from Saracens broke away with the ball only to knock on and for Quins to be awarded the scrum.
When bought in to play the Harlequins backs were proving a handful and were being inventive. Masson was breaking the line, as was Luscombe, both Williams and Ugo were happily getting involved and Jarvis was showing a tacticle maturity you would only normally expect in someone with at least 5 more years experience at this level.
A huge Tom Williams clearance took play on to the Saracens 5m line where fantastic pressure by Quins resulted in a lineout steal. Monye was strong on his feet and although a chip through went awry Saracens were penalised for offside. Up stepped AJ for the kick, my heart rate quickened as I prayed he had bought the right boots this week. From some 45 metres out Jarvis struck the left upright and the ball went over 3-3. I breathed a sigh of relief and calmed my nerves with some rather splendid Rioja – now this was a civilised way to watch rugby on a Sunday evening…
Some tight play from both sides going through numerous phases was interspersed with some lovely stick work by the Saracens drum machine. How they keep their wrists so supple I can only speculate, and the noise they were making wasn’t grating in the slightest. Gaffney looked slightly glum as the heavens opened.
On 25 minutes the breakthrough we all wanted came. A Harlequins line out produced a move so audacious even the commentators were gob smacked and (thankfully) quiet for a whole two seconds. Tani threw deep, the Quins pack split the lineout in two and Percival went high and collected immediately feeding Care who seemingly sauntered through the gap created by the forwards. With Robshaw on his shoulder, the outcome was in little doubt. Care unselfishly offloaded just before he was tackled and Robshaw took the pass to score. AJ pushed the conversion attempt wide, but Quins were very much on the front foot. 3-8.
Harlequins almost scored within a minute of the restart. Care took a quick tap for some Saracens indiscretion and the ball went through three or four pairs of hands as Quins broke the line only for Guest to pass to Harley on the wing. After half an hour Saracens almost avenged the Harlequins try. A cross field kick and some excellent passing from Saracens saw some desperate Harlequins scrambling defence work. An overlap was only thwarted by Danny Care who tackled one player then got up and tackled Chris Jack forcing him in to touch just as he put the ball down over the try line. The TMO awarded in Harlequins favour and for my money, Care had just made the match winning tackle(s). It was a defining moment as it let Saracens and the crowd know our young guns weren’t going to be a pushover.
Leonelli left the field looking decidedly groggy and Scarborough replaced him to much applause. The battle on the wing was going to get interesting.
Minutes later Harlequins were once again attacking Saracens who seemed more than happy to allow Quins to run at, through and around them. Skinner, in an attempt to copy his try from the previous week, chipped over Haughton (I think) only to be tackled 5m short. The ball was recycled and Care kicked across the field having seen Ugo in space. Ugo had enough time to pull out a mirror, check his hair was perfect, pull up his socks and order a takeaway pizza before collecting the ball and crossing the line. He had the awareness also to go around the Saracens defence and place the ball near enough to the posts and do what he could to ensure the conversion. Adrian obliged and Quins were leading 3-15 after 35 minutes.
With approximately one minute remaining Ugo gave away a penalty for what was described by Barnes in the commentary box as a ‘squeeze ball’. Now this is a new one on me so if anyone out there could enlighten me I would be most grateful. What I did see was a fine tackle made and Ugo protecting and placing the ball between his legs for the support to gather. However, Mr Spreadbury thought otherwise and Saracens kicked for the line out. It was rather messy, although they secured the balll only for it to be knocked on. The scrum was won by Harlequins and Brown cleared for the half time whistle.
During the break, Will Greenwood noted that Harlequins were looking both sharp and comfortable. Michael Lynagh thought that Saracens were in some sort of ‘Sunday night malaise’ and it struck me how I had never heard and Australian use that word before, They’re not known for their eloquence in my experience. I think living over here agrees with Mr Lynagh. For me, the stand out names for both sides reflected the way both teams were playing. The work rate of Chesney and Jack was phenomenal, for Harlequins the lateral running of Care coupled with Ugo’s running summed up Harlequins approach.
Saracens were missing their playmaker, Glen Jackson and were trying to keep the ball tight. In contrast Care was looking to speed things up and supply the Harlequins backs quickly.
If you had to use one word to describe the second half, I would suggest ‘scrappy’. Saracens came at Harlequins with everything in their armoury, but a combination of deteriorating conditions, poor handling and poor kicking meant they were their own worst enemy. Harlequins defended resolutely to a man to hold on to their lead. But with the penalty count of 1 to 9 mounting against them is was only a matter of time before Saracens would score again and/or someone at some point was going to walk.
Step forward please, Mr Hala’ufia. A tactical substitution saw him and Chris Malone come on for Guest and Jarvis respectively.
From the moment big Chris stepped on the pitch Mr Spreadbury was watching him. His play at the breakdown reminds me of Saracens’ own Richard Hill, the glaringly obvious difference being that HRHRH doesn’t get noticed which is why he is so revered by all Englishmen and was the envy of all other nations in 2003.
At this point my notes take a different hue. Alas the wine on which I was supping got knocked over in a moment of excitement and I destroyed what was going to be the best bit of rugby writing in the world……ever……..you’ll just have to take my word for it. From the resultant blur I can decipher that Saracens went through many many phases of play and it took some tenacious defending and the odd illegal play to ensure the ball stayed on their side of our tryline. Ross also missed one penalty and scored one to bring the score to 6 – 15. Normally I would be frustrated at my inability to relate the course of the game to you, however the vast majority of you probably watched it either at the ground or on Sky so I won’t beat myself up too much over this.
It wasn’t until the 65th minute that Harlequins made it into the Saracens 22. Saracens needed the ball in hand, but Harlequins weren’t prepared to allow them to run in the same way Saracens had let Harlequins run in the first half. A Saracens scrum was seemingly turned through 90 degrees. Mr Spreadbury ajudged Harlequins to have pulled it around, but I feel this was somewhat harsh. I don’t recall us venturing that close to the line again in the game. Harlequins were not seeing much of the ball, but their defence was winning the game. The commentary was talking about an arm wrestle in the forwards, but personally I was reminded of Stags rutting such were the hits going in from both sides.
As the sands of time slowly went against Saracens Chris Hala’ufia was pulled up for slowing the ball in the ruck and was sent to the bin for 10 minutes to think about what he had done. He didn’t look too disheartened. I believe as far as he was concerned it was mission accomplished. Luckily for Harlequins, and for the second time that evening, Ross missed the posts with his kick.
With 2 minutes left of the game Luscombe came off and De Wet Barry took his place. Saracens too made a number of substitutions but it was too little too late.
The game finished at 6 – 15 and Harlequins returned to 6th place in the league.
Post match, Gaffney, who didn’t once crack a smile throughout the game (sound familiar?), talked of being ‘disillusioned’ and perhaps ‘not having the right people playing’. The Saracens fans also seem unhappy and some are writing off their season already. Surely the team selection is down to the head coach and perhaps he is already eyeing the door. From a fans point of view, I think Saracens have a lot to look forward to and the siginings already announced for next season will only help them. Very simply, they missed Glen Jackson too much. The 10/12 channel broke down far too often which allowed Harlequins the advantage.
Dean Richards was full of praise for Danny Care who also won the man of the match award, though he was also quick to praise the other youngsters. The defence was inspiring in some instances and Dean talked of ‘getting a buzz out of it’. WoW’s ‘green shoots’ had performed well with Jarvis, Care, Guest, Skinner, Masson, Brown and Williams all providing exciting play.
As for those drummers…well, there’s always next year.
This review has been bought to you with the assistance and guidance of barquin mad, clare_m, Heath Quin, DOK, Mr_B, E-Quin, rodders1, Quin Kong, Brown Bottle, Kiwi Di, Babs, Harley Quin, Grubby Quin, and by the numbers 6 and 15.
Maybe one or two a season from now on, but thank you for the compliment.
on on quins
- and you got to describe an away win! Talk about beginners luck...................Well done - looking forward to your next instalment.
I quite like Harley Quin's theory - maybe you should do these reports more often. Our first away win of 2008.
You could just be what Deano has been looking for Rob!
Was the lineout take for the first try not to Guest!
Thought Care was excellent. Pack went well especially in the first half, and Tom Williams is really growing in confidence.
You can put the ball between your legs, but it must not be guarded by your legs or body and has to be played immediately, otherwise it becomes a penalty offence.
Hope that clears that one up.
To add to QQQ's post, additional info (a copy and paste job) about the 'squeeze-ball' rule.
At U19s and senior level the player may go to a squeeze ball position immediately as he goes to ground.
But the ball must become available and not held under his body or legs.
If the ball is not played immediately then it becomes a penalty offence.
QUIN KONG
Hangover today?? Great report, RDQ. Really enjoyed reading that! Well done.
QQQ & Bez - thank you for clarifying the 'Squeeze Ball' ruling.
Many thanks for your comments, to all.
As for being linked to Quins change in fortune for away games, I would suggest to talk to my chums who blame me personally for both Wimbledon FC's demise from the Premiership and Harlequins relegation to ND1.
Quote:barquin mad
R_D_and_Q, I've never written a report, but I'd recommend that your report summarises a marvelous victory as it's always so much nicer to read about a win.
Glad you followed my advice. Great report.