Aviron Bayonnais 16-12 Harlequins

Their traditional quartered shirts rather than the expected new away shirt appeared.  They ran onto a sodden pitch with much surface water and a number of large puddles. The rain continued with increasing intensity throughout the match and played a major part in the result as Bayonne emerged victorious by 16 – 12.

It has to be said at once that these were conditions in which a match of this importance to both teams ought not to have been played.  The pitch was not fit and neither team were able to play any real rugby. There was a high premium on error, as was later shown by the Bayonne second try. The game was effectively a lottery.

It was Quins that opened the scoring, an early penalty for obstruction as they chased a high ball giving Nick Evans the opportunity to score three points. A few minutes later the Bayonne fly half, Boyet, created an overlap on the right wing for Elhorga and Pietersen easily to outflank and outpace Mike Brown and score a good try. Boyet failed to add the conversion.

Almost immediately Bayonne went off their feet at a breakdown and Nick Evans regained the lead and increased it three minutes later when Bayonne were offside. Oyet, too, had a further opportunity to score but kicking against strengthening gusts his attempt fell short.

Then as the end of the first half hour approached, a yellow card for a Bayonne forward and a consequent penalty on the half-way line produced a fine kick from Evans to further increase the score to 5 – 12. He had a further opportunity a couple of minutes later but the kick drifted wide. Boyet, however, given another opportunity, closed the gap.

He, too, had a further opportunity but the kick fell short. However, to evade the onrushing Bayonne pack, the ball was passed back to Mike Brown standing under the posts where, to  the accompaniment of a howl of glee and derision from the crowd, he knocked on.

There followed several minutes of great pressure from a Bayonne pack that was edging Quins at the scrum. After a couple of resets Quins were penalised and another scrum was called. Once again there were a number of resets and eventually another penalty for Bayonne and , naturally, another scrum.  By the time this had been reset more than once, a penalty try was becoming a distinctly likely outcome.  Consequently the howl of anger and derision which greeted the referee’s decision that Quins had turned Bayonne through ninety degrees continued as he decided that time had run out.

The crowd were not to be placated and Tim Hayes, a Welsh referee, was loudly booed when he arrived for the second half.  The weather had further deteriorated and so had the pitch.  The puddles were even larger and one of them brought about Quins’ downfall within three minutes of the resumption.

A cross kick from Boyet was hacked on towards the Quins’ line. As Mike Brown went to intercept and collect it, the ball stopped dead in a pool of water but the full back slid on beyond the path of the ball as Sam Gerber followed up, hacked forward and fell on the ball for the try.  Slapstick comedy such as this should not determine an important European fixture, but it did. Despite Boyet missing the conversion, Bayonne regained the lead at 13 -12.

To counteract the growing dominance of the Bayonne pack, first Jones replaced Marler and shortly after the rest of the front row and the locks followed.   But the penalty count against Quins began to rise. They produced a fine rolling maul only to be penalised for, presumably, joining in front of the ball.  Another offence saw Boyet attempt to increase the Bayonne lead only to scuff the ball along the waterlogged turf.  As Quins were pressing on their opponents’ line, another penalty against them relieved the pressure. More blasts of the whistle resulted indecisions in favour of Bayonne.  Fauque replaced Boyet, but almost immediately, with Quins on the attack, the French went offside but Evans’ kick missed.

A yellow card for Robshaw for a late tackle allowed Fauque to increase the lead with only thirteen minutes remaining. Thereafter a strong Bayonne attack was well cleared and Quins mounted a determined attack which saw them camped on the French try line only for a lapse of discipline from Easter to result in a penalty to Bayonne. The offence was compounded by a little vocal from Care that first produced a ten metre march back and then a second penalty.

It was a relief to hear the final whistle, tempered only by the need to brave the elements to return to one’s hotel and try to get dry. The conditions were almost as bad as a remembered match against Ulster at Ravenhill.  Only the wind was less.