Premiership Review - Leicester Tigers 16 - 23 Harlequins

Every side has a ‘bogey’ team – a side which seems to create a mental block when it comes to winning every time the teams face one another.  To be a championship-winning side, you really shouldn't have many of these – the definition of a bogey-team is consistently losing to a side you are more than capable of winning against.  So when you hear Harlequins have won 3 out of their last 5 against Leicester at Welford Road heading into their latest fixture, you get a sense that the sight of the Quins team bus hurtling up the M1 is enough to cause many a squeaky-bum amongst the Tigers faithful.

Of course, several of Harlequins' wins have been in situations just like Saturday's – in the international windows.  That's not to put a dampener on Quins achievements though, as any win at the Welford Road fortress is worth its weight in gold, no matter which Leicester line-up you face - and these days Harlequins are more than capable of turning over anybody on their day.  Perhaps what set this fixture apart from the rest, though, was that both sides were in exactly the same boat – riddled with injuries, struck by international call-ups.  The ultimate double whammy.

With both sides fielding rather mix-and-match line ups, and a swirling wind at Welford Road, it was perhaps no surprise that both sides were struggling for fluency in the opening 10 minutes.   Owen Williams, the young Welsh fly half, belied the conditions though with a superb kick from halfway to put the Tigers 3 – 0 up after a scrappy start to the match.  But then the Quins engine began to purr.  With many, including myself, doubting whether or not the pack could withstand the Tigers’ power, the spine of the Londoners side stood up and yards alarmingly easily through Leicester’s defence, with Nick Easter, Tom Guest and George Robson leading the way executing the powerful offloading game that makes them such a joy to watch.  However, scrappy play and some good last ditch defence from Ed Slater and Niall Morris denied the visitors the reward their play deserved, and instead the hosts found themselves an unlikely 6 – 0 lead after another well-struck Williams penalty, thanks to a dominant scrum led by Logovi’i Mulipola and Marcos Ayerza.

Despite the lead though, it was all one way traffic.  Despite playing with a strong breeze mostly at their backs, Leicester couldn’t get out of their own half – although this wasn’t helped by the hammer-booted Owen Williams missing touch and finding the dead ball line from his own 22 metre line.  Worryingly for the Tigers, the Quins backs were also starting to fire, with Matt Hopper, Nick Evans and the electrically talented Charlie Walker all make real inroads into the Tigers’ defence.  They laid siege to their line and were rewarded when Julian Salvi was penalised for hands in the ruck, and the Aussie received a yellow card for his troubles.  I took issue with this – not because it wasn’t worthy of a yellow card, but the fact that it was only Leicester’s second penalty, whilst the count stood at nine for the visitors.  Referee Tim Wigglesworth had shown plenty of leniency in the scrum for Quins, and it was surprising to see him take such a harsh line on Salvi.  Evans, of course, couldn’t care less, and slotted over 3 points before, on the cusp of half time, Easter crashed over from close range to give the visitors a 4 point lead at the break.

Things didn’t get any easier after the break for the home side as the cost of Salvi’s sin binning continuing to spiral.  With players missing basic tackles – Jordan Crane in particular was putting in efforts that Bambi would have been ashamed off – the visitors had no problem in building momentum, and when Matt Hopper received the ball on the left wing, he expertly stepped inside the covering Scott Hamilton, Ed Slater and Niall Morris to touch down beneath the sticks.

Salvi then returned to the fray, and Leicester began to return belatedly to the game.  With Ed Slater, Mulipola and Graham Kitchener making good yardage, it looked as if the Tigers pack would claw the hosts back into contention.  But every time the ball went wide, the cohesion disappeared – on account of Leicester being down to their second choice 12 and fourth choice 13, perhaps.  But the main factor that was keeping them away from the Quins line was outstanding defence.  Sensational cover defence from Evans and Walker kept Adam Thompstone out, before Ugo Monye weighed in with a couple of punishing hits.  With Steve Mafi on for the ineffectual Louis Deacon, the men in green were well on top – but with nothing to show for it.  Instead, Evans slammed over another kick with 10 minutes to go to take the game well away from the Tigers.

The problems got worse for the hosts, as they were forced to watch Matt Smith and Dan Bowden follow Terence Hepetema off the field with head injuries, meaning the Tigers packed down for the final scrum of the game with the unusual backline of full back Blaine Scully and winger Thompstone in the centres, and scrum half Sam Harrison and prop Fraser Balmain on the wings.  Luckily, the hosts’ scrum had been the sharpest object in their armoury, and the pack earned their long overdue reward by grabbing a penalty try with the last play of the game.

It earned the Tigers a bonus point at 16 – 23, but it proved once again that Quins are the Tigers’ bogey team – no matter which side takes the field.

 

What else was happening in the Premiership at the weekend?

 

Worcester Warriors 6 – 21 Bath:  The Warriors misery continued as they limply fell to defeat at Sixways on Friday night.  Bath deserved their win and picked up two tries though Anthony Perenise and Horacio Agulla.

Sale Sharks 16 – 18 Exeter Chiefs:  The Chiefs continued their fine form with a narrow victory at the AJ Bell Stadium, despite the hosts scoring the game's only try though Mark Cueto.  Gareth Steenson was the man on target with the boot for the visitors, nailing 6 penalties.

Gloucester 30 – 32 London Wasps:  Wasps picked up a crucial win as the Cherry and Whites fell to yet another disappointing defeat in a thriller at Kingsholm.  Shaun Knight, Sione Kalamofoni and Rob Cook (2) picked up the 5-pointers for the hosts, whilst a sensational double from Chrisian Wade and tries from Nathan Hughes and Guy Thompson sealed a dramatic win for the visitors.

Saracens 40 – 3 Newcastle Falcons:  Sarries coasted to victory over the Falcons at Allianz Park, picking up a try bonus point in the process.  Scores from Charlie Hodgson, David Strettle (2), Jamie George and Marcelo Bosch made it a comfortable afternoon for the Londoners.

London Irish 14 – 19 Northampton Saints:  Saints ruined James O'Connor's debut for Irish by grinding out a tight win at the Madejski Stadium.  Sailosi Tagicakibau scored for the home side, with James Wilson responding for the East Midlanders.