The Good & The Bad: Quins v Sale

So, the villains have been out of paradise, and rightly so (according to one "paper"). And what do I think?

GOOD -

1). The spectacle -

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Sky get their money's worth out of Quins. Two teams who looked to run when they could and one team (see below) showing how tactical kicking is part of the game.

2). The scrum -

Despite some mystifying decisions from Chris White, we looked good against Sale's scrum, although them playing two locks who weighed less than I do may have helped.

3). George Lowe -

Missed a tackle or two, but for a small child playing out of position he did really, really well. He carries the ball far harder than his frame would suggest, he finds gaps and even in the short time he's been in the team he's developed immensely, but he he does need to go back to 13 long term. I was rather confused as to why he came off.

4). Strettle's try -

What a try! Forget Evans' solo effort or Sale's excellent kick return try where Tait created space to shift inside, this ws a try started in our own 22 which the whole team played a part in.

5). Youth development -

Seeing the likes of Lowe and Brooker plus all the established ex-Academy types and young players we've taken on and developed (e.g. Strettle) is a nice sight.

BAD -

1). Horror show of decision making once Dickson went off -

When we were camped on their line, several times the backs had an overlap or a chance to try something different. So'oailo didn't look away from the fatties once. Terrible play.

2). Our kick chasing vs their kick chasing -

Ours - rubbish for the most part, look at Peel's try, three players converged on McLeod, no one even challenged, one pass took all of them out of the game.

Theirs - Spot on every time. Try time.

3). Breakdown problems -

Their backrow, plus their hooker who is a flanker, plus speedy Gaskell helped to wreck our ball.

4). Lineout -

Sometimes good, sometimes bad. So the same complaint since...well, since I've been watching Quins.

5). Passing and handling -

We play an up tempo game so you expect knock-ons at times, but we were passing as though the recipient was at Twickenham. Sadly, they were in The Stoop. Nick Evans was particularly culpable at times. Which made it even more frustrating given the back row to hooker to winger offloads for Strettle's try.

But ultimately, we weren't going to get out of this group after the first couple of games so it was nice to see a game where people wanted to do something with the ball other than kick the leather off it.