Bristol Pay the Penalty

By 'Buffalo' William Field
February 26 2007

Adrian Jarvis kicked five penalties as Harlequins claimed a not unsurprising 15-8 victory over injury-hit Bristol in the Premiership. This meant Bristol missed the chance to go top after Leicester's surprising loss to struggling Northampton.

Both sides came out of the blocks quickly with a fine early break by Easter getting Harlequins going forward but he had patted down Brian O'Riordan's pass and play went back for a scrum. The home pack got the nudge against Bristol and forced a penalty which Jarvis struck from the 10 metre line for a 3-0 lead after just a couple of minutes play. Bristol hit back strongly, going through several phases, with Jason Strange and Neil Brew prominent. Quins infringed and the simple penalty chance was promptly put away by Strange to equalise the score at 3-all. Bristol were soon back in a good position when Quins kicked to touch from outside their 22. Brew again went through a gap and Bristol had an attacking scrum just five metres out. Bristol swept the ball wide and David Lemi looked to have scored in the corner, only for the touch judge to have seen a foot in touch. The Quins lineout appeared under some pressure and they were forced to kick defensively for touch. Bristol won the subsequent lineout and the ball went along the line, with Alex Clark popping up at one point, but the move came to naught as the Bristol players crossed in midfield. Harlequins swept into the attack via Monye but turned over possession as they got into the Bristol 22. Fortunately for them the referee was playing advantage and they went back for a well stuck penalty attempt that was just wide of the Bristol posts. Quins were back on the attack from the restart and went close. Gomarsall put Brian O’Riordan under tremendous pressure and it was touch in-goal. Quins then squandered good field position and possession by kicking and Bristol broke up field via Brew who fed on to Lee Robinson who capitalised on poor defending to take the ball three-quarters of the length of the pitch before finally being halted.

Bristol were then awarded a penalty when Harlequins pulled down the jumper in a lineout. Bristol went for touch and Roy Winters claimed the throw and the ball made it as far a Strange who kicked but failed to make touch. Quins returned with a kick of their own which made touch. It was Quins turn for a lineout penalty but this time it was Jarvis who failed to find touch with his kick. Bristol then attacked and the ball was again kicked ahead. Gomarsall latched on to the ball but miscued his defensive kick as he slipped on the greasy turf and the kick was charged down. Bristol seized the ball and Rob Higgitt looked to have gone in under the posts. Sadly the referee appeared to think the ball had been knocked on or possibly that a Bristol player had been in an offside position (or something). Play went back for the scrum and Harlequins took their chance to take play on ten or twelve metres. They continued to attack, until Easter carelessly flung out a poor pass that Lemi had time to read. He caught the ball and raced 80 metres, shepherded by defending Luscombe, to score a fine interception try in the corner. Strange was wide with his conversion attempt to leave the score at 3 – 8 with half an hour played.

Quins attempted to get back and Gomarsall launched a superbly weighted grubber that went down to the Bristol 5 metre line. Bristol, thinking quickly, took the throw speedily and Strange cleared the ball back to the 22 metre line. Quins were secure on their own throw and attacked again, but the Bristol defence, as so often this season, was solid. Quins, despite some awkward moments held on to the ball but failed to make a great deal of progress. Bristol eventually got their hands on the ball when Quins, running out of options, kicked the ball away to touch. Further kicking ensued and ultimately Josh Taumalolo knocked on as he attempted to gather. This handed a good attacking scrum to Quins. Fortunately for Bristol Harlequins made something of a hash from the scrum and seemed to have inadequate support runners and Bristol were able to clear well up field. Quins tried again to get back in to the danger area and Bristol gave away a very kickable penalty. Jarvis made no error and the gap was narrowed to 6 – 8 with just four minutes of the half left.

Bristol failed to get the ball from the restart and Quins attacked again, but play was called back for a forward pass. It was Bristol's turn to make a mess of the set piece and the opportunity went back to Quins. Gomarsall chipped ahead and Monye looked to have been taken out early to give Quins the penalty. A difficult penalty kick was made much easy when Bristol were promptly marched back 10 metres for back-chat by Joe El Abd. Jarvis was surprisingly wide with his kick to give Bristol a let off for poor discipline. Quins were still in a good position but the half petered out with a series of mutual knock-ons.

It was Quins who started the better in the second half keeping Bristol under pressure. However the defence remained resolute and Harlequins eventually knocked on as the attacking player became isolated. Strange found touch with his kick and the danger was over for the moment. The Quins lineout was getting on top of Bristol's and again secured tidy possession but the ball was knocked on almost as soon as it went to the backs. The scrum was won by Bristol but Brian O'Riordan's chip kick was too strong and it went out on the full. A rare lineout error from Quins saw the ball deftly thrown to no-one and Bristol were able to go back onto the attack. It was now Quins turn to show the quality of their defence.

Eventually Bristol turned over possession and Quins hoofed downfield. The ball was shifted out to Robinson who banged the ball from inside his 22 towards the Quins posts. The ball was well taken and they were awarded a penalty when it appeared that the attacking player had become isolated. Jarvis failed to make touch but Bristol conceded yet another penalty and, again, gave away a further 10 metres for talking back to the referee. This time it really did make the kick much easier and Jarvis put it away to take Quins in front at 9 – 8.

Bristol now tried to get back in front. The ball swept out to Robinson who was well tackled. Quins upped the pace and it was Bristol who spilled the ball as they tried to get hold of turnover ball. Yet another penalty went Quins' way as the Bristol defenders went over the top (or alternatively 'as the attacker held on to the ball when he became isolated'). More problematic was El Abd receiving the yellow card for kicking the ball away as Gomarsall went for it at the ruck. Jarvis made no mistake to extend the leas to 12 – 8. Bristol turned over possession again and Quins kicked back downfield. Lemi field and returned with interest. O'Riordan then kicked it dead. However, the touch judge intervened and Bristol had a penalty which was kicked to touch. Bristol just about won the ball and worked it down the line and drove into the Quins defence. The ball went back for a drop goal attempt which was easily charged down by Vos (or should I say knocked on?) and hacked away into the Bristol half. Quins now maintained the pressure on Bristol but the Quins scrum-half knocked on to give Bristol a chance to get back into the game which looked to be drifting away from them.

A kick upfield gave Quins the chance to regain possession via the lineout and they then drove hard into the Bristol midfield defence. A chip kick was just too long and Robinson was able to feed Taumalolo, who chose to kick to the dangerous fullback, Brown, which allowed him to make great run. As the ball came back inside, Brew put in a thumping tackle on Jarvis who was unable to fully control his pass and a knock on ensued. Monye then tried to break out and was well stopped but the ball was passed out of the tackle. As the ball went out Bristol infringed and it was a penalty to Quins. Jarvis cleared to touch. The ball still belonged to Quins and Bristol gave away another penalty in their efforts to stem the tide. Worse still, the back-row injury problems increased when Matt Salter was forced from the field by a nasty looking arm injury. The penalty kick was well taken by Jarvis and it was now 15 – 8 with Harlequins looking to be getting on top.

Bristol were finally awarded a penalty of their own and, unsurprisingly, went for touch. The familiar catch-and-drive went into operation but a knock on from replacement hooker David Blaney halted the play. Quins conceded another penalty and showed that they had failed to learn lessons from Bristol when they too gave away another 10 metres for unsolicited advice to the referee. The kick again went to touch with just six minutes remaining on the clock. Quins promptly stole the throw and the chance had gone begging. Bristol drove back from the Quins kick as they strove to at least get a draw from the game. Once again though it was Quins who were able to disrupt the Bristol lineout. Taumalolo received the ball well when Quins elected to relieve the pressure by kicking. He, in turn, kicked and Monye knocked on as he failed to emulate Taumalolo's composure. There were just three minutes left and Brew made another excellent break which took Bristol close to the tryline. Blaney took it on as the attacking side held on to possession whilst Quins defended stoutly. Brew broke yet again and was held up just a metre out. The ball went wide to Robinson who looked to be over but, cruelly, it was a forward pass and play was called back. Quins forwards took the ball on from the scrum and gave Jarvis enough space and time to clear 20 metres to touch. With but seconds on the clock Bristol secured the ball at the resulting lineout and drove on. Lemi attempted a mazy run but yet another turnover meant that the game was over.