Report: Bath 13-26 Harlequins

To slightly misquote the good book, “Tell it not in Bath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon” but Harlequins departed the Roman city with a rare victory and a tenth successive win in all competitions this season.  The score of 13 – 26 reasonably reflected the overall superiority in performance and execution of the visitors.

Bath started with an attempt to play at pace and had two kickable penalties in the first four minutes. Vesty hit the post with the first and was wide with the second and had to watch, a minute later, as Nick Evans accurately slotted a penalty from the Bath ten metre line to give Quins the lead. Bath continued to attack and gained territory and position and were eventually held up over the line by Lowe and Robshaw’s combined efforts.  The subsequent scrum allowed Bath to continue to press and eventually Attwood scrambled over for a try which Vesty converted.

It took Harlequins just three minutes to respond.  A break from Brown took play into the Bath half and a penalty at the breakdown allowed Evans to find a good touch in the Bath twenty-two on the left. A catch and drive from the lineout made ground but was halted and then Robshaw was driven over by Fa’asavalu and Johnston for a try which Evans converted to restore the lead.  Another successful penalty kick from Evans a few minutes later increased the lead to 7 -13.

During the remainder of the half both sides sought to attack.  The Quins’ scrum began to overcome their opponents more regularly and the penalties flowed but were mostly aimed for touch.  One Quins attack found them with a scrum five metres from the Bath line but they went offside and the opportunity was lost. Half time arrived without further score.

Harlequins continued to exert control despite Bath’s attempts to attack and as in the first half unforced errors and indiscipline allied to a creaking scrum allowed Quins to prosper.  Evans and Vesty exchanged penalties and then further indiscipline allowed Evans to increase the lead.  He might have done so still further had he not slewed a kick wide and then dropped short from a wide fifty metres.  Vesty was fortunate that another kick bounced through off the post and the final ten minutes started with Quins leading 9 – 13.

Then came the score that settled the match.  Quins attacked and Brown was stopped and apparently buried at the bottom of a ruck.  Improbably he managed to extract himself and getting to his feet picked up the ball and headed for the Bath try line.  Easily leaving Abendanon and Biggs in his wake as he crossed for the winning try, Mike Brown put the result beyond recovery with six minutes remaining. Evans added the extras for a match total of sixteen points.  Despite Bath throwing everything into getting at least a bonus point, Quins held out. The final score remained 13 – 26.

After the match Conor O’Shea repeated the mantra that is now heard weekly, saying his side are keeping their feet on the ground, and that they will be taking things a game at a time.

"We have not set any goals," he said. “Obviously we have goals to win matches and goals to win silverware but we don't need to come out and say that. We look more for a good performance and a clarity in the style we want to play. There are things you can't control in games, but you can control your performances."

"This is our eighth straight win on the road across last season and this season so it's not bad, because we did struggle away from home," he added. "The win in Munster, you can't say how much that meant to the players, and then how we won against Stade in the final where we hung on and won the game.”

"We lost 10 games last season by less than seven points, so we knew we were a good side. When you come here there is going to be a contest but the confidence is there now, we have stuck to our processes home and away but what happens between the white lines is all we can look after."