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NEC Harlequins 21 - Gloucester 31 |
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| Quite what DR said to his players at half time we will never know, but it probably could not be printed in this family column. A bundle of possession was squandered in every imaginable way and, somehow, a completely useless Queens outfit (yes, the hosts were absolutely clueless) enjoyed what seemed an insurmountable 16-6 lead at the break. Whether there was broken crockery (*) or one enormous hairdryer during the break, it did the trick almost immediately (* in my original draft I wrote cutlery, for some reason. Now that really would have explained the change in application!). WW added an early penalty and when the resultant restart from Mehrtens didn’t go 10 metres, Glaws took full advantage. Although the scrum on halfway was not perfect, Forrester managed to shovel the ball to Richards who exploded on an audacious curving run that took him close to the left-hand touchline and over for a quite breathtaking score. Yes, the Queens defence was appalling but you’ll go a long way to see a better individual try. WW added the extras and Glaws were back level banishing all thoughts of the abject first half performance. It was now pretty much one-way traffic, although Glaws had to wait almost a quarter of an hour before adding to the score. The main reason for this was that the home team transgressed time and time again – and got away with it. Quite how none of their players were sent to the bin was a mystery. Jimmy Richards’ cynical play that lead to Glawster’s next score was so blatant that we will have to assume that Maybank left his cards in the dressing room. This score really got the boys going and after an excellent run and recycling by Anthony Allen and the supporting players, a quick ruck put Olivier Azam away down the left hand touchline – his considerable bulk giving him the momentum to reach the line. This was followed up shortly by a Forrester try from the base of a 5-metre scrum and the game was now safe. With more than 10 minutes left the bonus point seemed a real possibility, but when Richards was withdrawn some of the vigour went out of the Glaws play and the Queens finished the stronger scoring a late consolation try through the winger, Simon Keogh. After the scare of the first half this was a comfortable victory. So what have I got to whinge about? Well the basics were terrible in the first half (and at times in the second), and Glaws attempted to play far too much rugby in the wrong areas of the pitch. The set-piece scrum struggled throughout. After an excellent first half, Roy Maybank was truly terrible in the second – see my full rundown of this in our new “You Don’t Know What You’re Doing” competition – details to follow soon. But like many that travelled to the Stoop, I’ll happily settle for the 4 points, especially after the debacle of the first half. And even getting out of the car park onto the A316 wasn’t too much of a drag...so all in all, it was a very pleasant day out. Send this page to a friend |
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