Harlequins 19-25 Gloucester
By MHIAS
September 1 2002
It wasn't necessarily what we had hoped for, but it was a win none the less. Harlequins pushed all the way, But Trevor Woodman saved the Cherry-and-Whites leaving the final score Harlequins 19-25 Gloucester.
Ah, the new season and a new found confidence in the Gloucester ranks. No one felt that a loss was a real possibility, but Harlequins forced a reality check as they pushed all the way. Gloucester showed their typical lack of discipline, as they could find no way to gain control in the first half an hour.
Quins attacked pretty much from the start, and always looked as if they would be the first to put points on the board. It was Matt Moore with the first try of the game, after a clever worked move put him over. Burke, brilliant with the boot, added the conversion with ease. They streched their lead to 10 points with a penalty after Mark Cornwall was sent to the bin for repeated offenses, as everything Gloucester tried was too elaborate and usually ended in a confusing mess.
The fans knew that maybe everything wasn't so rosy, but continued to get behind their team. Thinus Delport looked shakey in his first game in the Zurich Premiership, but you could see that these were just simple mistakes, and he improved as the game went on.
I'm not going to dare say I told you so, but Henry Paul at fly half seemed to only deepen our problems. James Simpson-Daniel rarely got hold of the ball, as it was rarely passed along the line. Gloucester's attack seemed too linear and easy to defend. It was infact Henry paul who scored Gloucester's first 3 points as they tried valiantly to get back in to the game.
As the Gloucester pressure began to build, an opportunist try from Marcel Garvey levelled the scores after it was converted by Paul. The try seemed to come from nowhere as the youngster went straight through a small gap to stun the Londoner's defense, bagging his first premiership try of what will surely be many.
Gloucester took the lead for the first time when, yep you guessed it, Junior Paramore stormed over the line. He held the ball in the maul from an attacking lineout and was the person to take it over, however Henry Paul failed to convert, but a penalty just before the break left the half-time scores at Harlequins 10-15 Gloucester.
The second half again began with Harlequins pressure. The lack of discipline from Gloucester was evident as they gave away two penalties early on, both of which were converted by Burke, to leave Harlequins trailing by just 2 points. They looked like they had undone Gloucester, as the rapidly attacked the line. A clever drop goal from burke, towards the end of the game, gave them a one point lead.
It was Trevor Woodman who was the Gloucester savior. In recent games he has shown some real pace (for a prop) and was the unlikely man to break through the Harlequins line. The try was converted by Ludovic Mercier, who had come on at fly half. Henry Paul had dropped to full back, to his apparent disgust, and Delport was moved to the wing.
Read what the Quins think here: Harlequins View