Surely we are safe now? (Leicester 27 - Harlequins 22)
The loosing bonus point Quins secured at Welford Road this evening takes us to 39 points, one more than the highest points total of a relegated team (Quins in 2004/05). Surely with Worcester 18 points behind us that must mean we are safe in reality, if not mathematically.
Five games, and five defeats, into the season if you had told me that we would be in this position now I would have bitten your hand off. It is a measure of how far we have come then that instead of celebrating a bonus point won on the bus home we were mourning three points lost. This is a game we could have won with a bit of luck and a bit more of a cutting edge behind the scrum. Harlequins dominated territory and possession in the first half, helped by a Tigers line out who looked they had never been introduced to each other. Unfortunately twice Harlequin runners were brought down inches from the whitewash, and a couple of loose defensive kicks leading to penalties meant we actually went into half-time 9-6 down.
Unfortunately for the second half the cavalry came charging over the hill for Leicester in the shape of George Chuter and Martin Corry coming off the bench. Immediately the tiger lineout started functioning and the Quins' scrum started going backwards at a rate of knots. For that point on it was simply a question of whether Leicester would run away with it. Thankfully they didn't, thanks to some tenacious defending, another decent kicking display from the tee by Adrian Jarvis, and some questionable refereeing decisions (I would like to see Jordan Turner-Hall's try again).
Five games, and five defeats, into the season if you had told me that we would be in this position now I would have bitten your hand off. It is a measure of how far we have come then that instead of celebrating a bonus point won on the bus home we were mourning three points lost. This is a game we could have won with a bit of luck and a bit more of a cutting edge behind the scrum. Harlequins dominated territory and possession in the first half, helped by a Tigers line out who looked they had never been introduced to each other. Unfortunately twice Harlequin runners were brought down inches from the whitewash, and a couple of loose defensive kicks leading to penalties meant we actually went into half-time 9-6 down.
Unfortunately for the second half the cavalry came charging over the hill for Leicester in the shape of George Chuter and Martin Corry coming off the bench. Immediately the tiger lineout started functioning and the Quins' scrum started going backwards at a rate of knots. For that point on it was simply a question of whether Leicester would run away with it. Thankfully they didn't, thanks to some tenacious defending, another decent kicking display from the tee by Adrian Jarvis, and some questionable refereeing decisions (I would like to see Jordan Turner-Hall's try again).
posted by Bernard at 11:23 pm
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