Harlequins demolish Castres but too late for their Cup hopes
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Version 0 of 1. They did all they could, but in the end it is last Saturday’s match that will haunt the every waking hour of Conor O’Shea and his charges for the foreseeable. Their mission in the Midi-Pyrenees was to win and rack up as many tries, or, more specifically, points as possible. On that front they were immaculate – seven tries and an improvement of their points difference. It would have been precisely enough to put some pressure on Saracens in Clermont on Sunday, but events in Coventry conspired against them. The draw that their nemesis last week, Wasps, managed to secure against Leinster was just about the worst result possible for Quins and condemns them to third place in Pool 2. No one gets out in third, no matter how many tries they score. “Last week cost us,” admitted O’Shea, “but Europe’s about learning, and we have some young players who have learnt a huge amount in this tournament. We’ve gone out by inches, but we’ll use the hurt to drive us on till the end of the season.” O’Shea had advised a handful of his senior players that 28 was the magic figure, and it is poignant that to win by that margin was exactly what they did. Roared on by their travelling faithful and no doubt delighted by the vociferous outrage of the home fans at every peep of Leighton Hodge’s whistle, they played as they tend to every week – high tempo, multi-phase, somewhat loose at times. But this was the kind of assignment that suited them. They have always enjoyed away trips to France, where their smash-and-grab style flummoxes the locals. Of the young players O’Shea cited, Jack Clifford enjoyed the best afternoon, starting to develop a fine combination with Chris Robshaw and Nick Easter, both excellent again. But it was the return of Nick Evans that made the most telling difference. His string pulling is a class above that of the alternatives at Quins, and he seems to have a steadying influence on Danny Care beside him. The Quins scrum-half was the usual bundle of energy but darted more tellingly at the opposition weak spots and even kicked for position with some composure. Which was sensible, whatever the directive on the scoreboard, in view of the conditions. Don’t go thinking, though, that this was ever an exercise in wet-weather rugby. It was bitingly cold, with a snow cloud hanging over the higher ground to the east before kick-off. By the end of the first half the snow had come down to join the party. These were not ideal conditions for sides who favour a handling game, which is Harlequins at the best of times, but when chasing a try bonus point … Perhaps running around relentlessly appealed all the more in this weather. The tries were quick to follow – for both sides. Quins seemed intent on reversing received wisdom by securing the bonus point first and only then turning their attention to the win. Their first two tries were swiftly followed by Castres replies. All three Quins scores in the first half arose after penalty shots at goal had been turned down, a tactic that failed so horribly last week. This time they were chasing tries, rather than the game, a mindset they are happier with. The first try was a finely executed lineout and drive finished by Joe Marler; the second came after Care had taken a quick penalty and Charlie Walker beat his man to the line. Castres’s swift replies stemmed from Quins handling errors, the first a howler by Mike Brown behind his own line. The England full-back was beaten from the scrum by Antoine Dupont, Castres’s lively young scrum-half. But the game swung when Brown jinked through just before the break. His pass to George Lowe was never collected, because the centre was taken out by Thomas Combezou, who saw yellow. The card was issued after a TMO consultation, so you could hardly describe Care’s subsequent tapped penalty as a quick one, but he was over a couple of phases later for try number three. Number four, scored by Clifford, followed 10 minutes into the second half, and the game was truly broken open. Two more tries followed just before the hour, and Harlequins thought they were on their way. As it was, O’Shea and his staff were forced to watch the dying moments of the game in Coventry on a laptop. Ian Madigan’s kicking prowess deserted him, and so the thread of Quins’ fate was cut. But the damage to that had been done the week before. CASTRES Dumora; Grosso, Combezou, Cabannes (Lamerat 60), Garvey; Talès (Kirkpatrick 51), Dupont (Garcia 58); Forestier (Fa’anunu 49), Rallier (Mach 49), Herrera (Lazar 49), Gray, Samson (R Capó Ortego 60), Faasalele (Bornman ht), Caballero (capt), Beattie Sin-bin Combezou 40, Grosso 54 Tries Dupont, Cabannes, Beattie Cons Dumora 2 HARLEQUINS Brown (Botica 76); Yarde (Lindsay-Hague 63) Hopper, Lowe, Walker; Evans, Care; Marler (capt; Marfo 72), Gray (Buchanan 67), Collier (Lambert 9), Matthews (Twomey 67), Robson, Clifford (Trayfoot 70), Robshaw, Easter Tries Marler, Walker, Care, Clifford, Lambert, Yarde, Lowe Cons Evans 6 |