Harlequins 35-29 Gloucester - Goodbye to ping pong

The trouble with Premiership rugby these days, is that it’s all just about penalties, aerial ping-pong and defences. And as all the scribes and commentators have frequently pointed out, English players, their coaches, and their league system are conspiring to create turgid, tryless games devoid of any entertainment for the fans…

WHOOPS! Looks like Harlequins and Gloucester forgot to stick to the script on Saturday and instead dished up a seven try thriller.

Thankfully for the home fans at The Stoop, quarters overcame hoops with Quins holding off a late fightback from the visitors to claim a bonus point win which moved them up to seventh in the table.

Lofty mathematicians on CAW recently put some perspective on Quins’ league position by calculating that they were only three points behind their haul from the corresponding fixtures of last season. The latest five pointer, comparing favourably with last year’s 14-9 win, now puts Quins only two behind. Wins over Leeds and Wasps in the next two matches would put the club in a great position for the second half of the season.

With a close to full strength side back on the field, and the 8-9-10 axis of Easter, Care and Evans in charge, the fast-running, high-scoring Harlequins of last year were back. And what a joy it was to see them.

My only gripe would be that Quins allowed Gloucester three scores which on a meaner day the defence might have stopped. But it was that sort of match. Gaps opened up and zippy players nipped through them, thank goodness. Fortunately for Quins, Care and co outstripped Simpson-Daniel and his teammates. There’s no shortage of runners in English rugby, if they’re given their chance to run.

From the kick-off, it was clear this match was going to be open and entertaining — if a little error-strewn and bizarrely-refereed. Quins vs Glos often produces high scoring matches and after the autumn international series across the road at Twickenham, how we wanted one.

But after Quins had made the initial attacks, it was the visitors who took the early lead.

Gloucester had already lost Will James, stretchered off after just five minutes, when Quins gave away a penalty from a scrum.

Freddie Burns hit it well from far out but it struck a post and the defence failed to clear the rebound. From further Gloucester pressure, Quins conceded a much easier penalty chance and Burns chipped it over.

On 14 minutes Gloucester extended the lead with Gareth Delve cutting through the defence and forcing his way to the line. Burns couldn’t convert but almost from nowhere the visitors were suddenly eight points up.

Swing Lowe…

Then the first bit of magic from Danny Care, who looked to take a quick tap and put pace on the game at every opportunity. This time he burst from the back of a scrum to make a clean break into space. Lowe was screaming for the inside ball and Care found him (with a hint of a forward pass?) to give the centre a run in under the posts.

But Glos scored again after 23 minutes when Mike Brown failed to deal with a ball hacked over the Quins line and Charlie Sharples got to the touchdown. Brown was hurt in the process but was back on his feet after treatment. Burns missed the extras again.

Two rapid penalties from Evans brought the scores level at 13-13 before Burns kicked another to put Gloucester back in the lead.

Then with the first half drawing to a close, Nick Evans scored a solo try but missed his conversion to take the sides into the break at 18-16.

Quins often struggle to come out firing in the second half but this time they were rapidly back on the scoresheet as Care again made use of quick ball to give Easter, who was majestic throughout the match, a canter over the line, and Evans another straightforward conversion.

Sweet and Lowe…

Five minutes later Lowe brought up the four-try bonus point after another lightning break from Care. The score was now 32-16 and surely the game was safe? But seasoned Quins supporters know that the team likes to put us through it, and there was still almost half an hour of the match left.

Gloucester came roaring back through a Nicky Robinson penalty and then, with Percival binned for killing the ball, a second Sharples try after neat work from Simpson-Daniel.

All of a sudden a 16 point lead was just six and the fingernails were back in play.

But Evans calmed nerves with another penalty to stretch the difference to two scores. Robinson replied but Quins were able to hold out, despite a frantic last Gloucester attempt to force a turnover at a ruck. In the end Care just about scrambled the clearance kick into touch to bring the final whistle and The Stoop could cheer a very important five point win at last.

Towards the end of the game there was almost a moment for all the headline writers when Tom Williams, on as an early sub for Mordt to a smattering of cheers, intercepted the ball with a possible 65 yard glory try ahead of him. The stands were on their feet willing him on but despite his jinking and twisting, he could not shake off the cover tackler for the redemptive score. Surely, with Harlequins back in try-making mode like this, his chance will come soon enough.

Highs and Lows

As a warm up for writing this report, I went looking on youtube to see if anyone had yet posted any of the highlights but found instead the excruciating last minutes of the October win over Bath which finally got this season into gear.

Contrast the fortunes of those two teams today. Bath now sit just three points off the bottom with one win from nine. If Easter hadn’t got over the line at the death of that crucial match, maybe the positions would be reversed. Losing, like winning, can become a habit and while Bath cannot seemingly buy a victory from anywhere, Quins have now landed three wins and two draws in their last six league matches, the only loss being at Franklin’s Gardens which will not give up many away wins this year.

Performances like this one should trigger an upsurge in confidence in the team. If they can keep the 8-9-19 axis fit and firing, and maintain this wonderfully welcome return to last season’s vintage of free scoring rugby, then this may yet turn into a pretty good season.

Lo and behold!

Sorry, what was that you said? Did I forget something?

Well since you ask… with 39 minutes on the clock Easter delivered one of his trademark feeds off the back of a line-out to Care who quickly released Evans.

Now, he’s had his doubters in recent weeks but surely they started eating their words after what happened next.

A show, a shimmy, a burst through the defence and then a mazy run into the Gloucester 22…

Then, deliciously, with the support runners not quite available, and with about four defenders trying to work out which way he was going, another look, another shimmy and a brush-off and he was in for one of the very best solo tries you could ever hope to see. Pure genius, as the sponsors might put it.

It takes over as my personal Evans favourite from the screamer he scored against Wasps last season. Not least because this time he came over to our side of the ground to do it. Thanks Nick, that was a total gem.

More of the same please Quins.

Tries:
Harlequins: Lowe (2), Evans, Easter. Gloucester: Delve, Sharples (2)
Conversions:
Harlequins: Evans (3). Gloucester: Robinson
Penalties:
Harlequins: Evans (3). Gloucester: Robinson (2), Burns (2)

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