Harlequins 13 Saracens 16 - After the party, the hangover
By Sundance
May 8 2011
Perhaps it was too much to expect Harlequins to produce another performance like the Munster game but against Saracens they could not find the requisite grit or nous to prevent yet another narrow defeat.
Of 11 Premiership losses this season, five were by four points or fewer, and three more were by seven or under. Add to that two winnable draws and the sense of what might have been only increases. A possible 13 missed opportunities.
The table rarely lies and if Quins look up they will see six teams above them.
Below are only the new boys Exeter, the struggling Wasps and then the three northern clubs. Quins must be honest with themselves and accept that in the league they have achieved no more than would have been expected of them this season. Seventh best feels about right.
So where next? Onwards and upwards, or yet more frustration next year as more streetwise and better resourced squads continue to shut them out of the Heineken Cup places and the playoffs.
Top tier European rugby next season is vital to the team’s progress. As Quins showed against Munster, the players can rise wonderfully to a big occasion and after missing out on 6th place, which they could have snatched from London Irish yesterday, the Cardiff final is now a must win game. The silverware would be great but the bigger prize would be a Heineken place. Being stuck back in the Amlin next season would induce a strong sense of here-we-go-again.
The Harlequins philosophy of fast, attacking rugby is admirable but when it comes to eking out precious league points, it is also naïve. Yes there will be occasions when everything clicks and a side as good as Gloucester will be taken apart. But in between there will be many more what-ifs and could-have-beens.
Playing attractive rugby will win admirers but won’t get results against teams as well organised as Sarries. If they are going to move up the pecking order Quins will have to learn when to be less ambitious and more pragmatic. In short, the team needs to start finding ways to win games like these.
Contrasting fortunes
Two years ago, Saracens had a huge player clearout which prompted a lot of discussion in rugby circles. Since then they have been runners-up to Leicester and now stand a good chance of becoming top dog. It goes to show that a winning formula can be bought and installed, more or less overnight.
Meanwhile in those two seasons, Quins have undergone soul searching and rebuilding of their own but the results have yet to come. Conor O’Shea has built on Dean Richards’ blueprint of a homegrown squad and there are many reasons to back that plan.
However, Quins do not yet have the players or the game management to match the likes of Saracens, particularly when one or two first teamers are missing. Seeing the likes of Brits and others persistently offside yesterday and getting away with all manner of stuff at the breakdown becomes extremely frustrating. Quins don’t have the enforcers or wherewithal to stop their opponents doing it. If the referee chooses not to see blatant offsides, the pack need to sort it out themselves. On top of this, Robshaw, while a tremendous player, has yet to add referee-influencing to his captaincy. He’s no Dallaglio on that score. Mr Wigglesworth took 76 minutes to remember he had some cards in his pocket and send Burger to the bin. Far, far too late to affect the game.
Opposition teams know that if Quins can’t secure quick ball and get their fast game flowing then they won’t win. They really don’t have a plan B, or the set-up to execute one, even if they did.
Anyone watching Quins yesterday would have seen their last two seasons’ performances in a microcosm. A bright start, followed by frustration as the opposition stopped them in their tracks, legally or not. Then a few individual moments of brilliance but little cohesion or consistency. Then the scrum let them down once again and cost them a soft try after some impressive defence just moments earlier. Then there was the lack of enough muscle to boss a dogfight. Finally, with the match lost, came the desperate scramble to claw it back. Yes, I felt like I’d watched this game quite a lot over the last couple of years.
Quins want to entertain and to win playing exciting and stylish rugby. The trouble is, there are quite a few opposition teams who really couldn’t care what they look like as long as they get the result. Saracens are as ruthless and successful as they come, in this regard.
If Quins produce their Munster/Gloucester form in Cardiff then the season will end on a high and the club can rightly feel they are on the right track. A loss will be a big setback.
On top of that, with the departures of Ceri Jones, Comacho and a few others, it will be crucial that O’Shea strengthens his squad this summer. Another Fa’asavalu-type revelation would be wonderful. Another academy promotion like Marler would be equally fantastic.
This match report contains little detail on the game itself but frankly there wasn’t an awful lot of rugby to write about. Robshaw’s consolation try came from a forward pass. Monye caught a couple of high balls. Care had some bright flashes. Saracens got the win. Brits was named man of the match but he spilt the ball three times in contact and spent half the game either mouthing off to anyone who’d listen, or sitting down twiddling with his shoelaces, so he isn’t perfect. He is a winner though.
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Quins must find a way of playing more consistently with the intensity they found against Munster.
CoS's recruitment this summer will be critical. A youth policy is all well and good but this needs to be mixed with some seasoned campaigners who are used to winning.
If CoS is serious he must really beef-up the front 5 - and get some experienced options at 12 and 13.
Quote:SUNDANCE
Playing attractive rugby will win admirers but won’t get results against teams as well organised as Sarries. If they are going to move up the pecking order Quins will have to learn when to be less ambitious and more pragmatic. In short, the team needs to start finding ways to win games like these.
Quins want to entertain and to win playing exciting and stylish rugby. The trouble is, there are quite a few opposition teams who really couldn’t care what they look like as long as they get the result. Saracens are as ruthless and successful as they come, in this regard.
After the Munster match a large percentage of the team and coaching staff turned up at the pub alongside of The Shannon in Limerick. It was an opportunity to chat to some of them and I talked at length to one of the coaching team. He voiced the above sentiments and said it was something that they were working on with the players. He also pointed out that (ironically) the appeal of the Harlequins philosophy of play and team spirit goes against this type of cynical play. However, they have to learn that occasionally that is required.
Yes the players are young and naive in this respect but lets not lose all of that at the cost of winning Sarries style. I'd settle for the occasional cynicism.
You summed up the game and the season all in one..
Let's hope we can finish on a high next week..
Thanks for your reports this season, I look forward to more of the same next season
See you in cardiff
Jobs
It's pretty clear that Quins have enough in their all-round game to be competitive with pretty much any other team in Europe. The setpiece is vulnerable against some sides, or at least some opposition/referee combinations, but even then we some how find enough in attack to stay in touch.
The big thing that's lacking is a mechanism for ensuring points from the red zone. There are two big problems here: 1) goal line defence has improved dramatically in the last few seasons, and Quins don't have a reliable way to draw in enough opponents to create the space to score - basically a lack of real power forwards. 2) we don't force enough red zone penalties to make sure we at leat get three points. Too often our attacks end in turnovers. That's partly down to style of play, but I think it's also related to (1).
Will it improve? Probably. Marler, Gray, Browne and Robson are likely to develop in power and technique. Fairbrother will bring Super 15 style physicality and may make a contribution. But Quins need to find something that forces the opposition into infringing.
I think we should also cut the team a little slack for the decisions that went against them this year. Two close home matches against top class opposition (Northampton and Leicester) were decided by refereeing decisions that were at the very least arguable. A further match, Leicester away, was determined by a sequence of marginal calls and errors that verged on bizarre.
We also had a period during the international window, where we might have been expected to do well, where the squad were down to their second choice 6, third choice 8, third choice 9, second choice 10, and fourth choice 13. We were still picking up losing BPs.
A little more luck with injuries and decisions would have seen a very different season.