By Poorfour
May 7 2013

And so we come to the final match of the regular season, with 4th visiting 3rd to decide, well, not much really. Both teams had already secured semi-final places, but barring deeply unlikely upsets at Allianz Park or Welford Road, the victor would be travelling to meet Tigers and the loser to meet Saracens. On a day when every result went with home advantage – though often by the narrowest margins – this game was about bragging rights, the choice of semi-final opponents and – perhaps most importantly – the chance to build a bit of momentum. 

The game started with a few moments of ineptitude, Myler kicking off straight to touch, Quins’ pack engaging early and Monye and Brown failing to handle Myler’s long drop into the Quins 22 before ultimately clearing. Lawes claimed the resulting lineout, but Robson stopped a maul forming and Quins turned the ball over. When Saints tried to run back the clearance, Robson and Easter again forced a turnover with a choke tackle that left the ball inaccessible to Saints when the maul ended.

Quins began to move the ball about, but couldn’t quite find the penetration and were lucky when a deflected grubber by Lowe was passed into touch by Hartley. From the lineout, Care tried a chip through of his own, and Kohn was penalised for being offside – though apparently it was OK for Foden to tackle Williams off the ball.

Nonetheless, Quins won a third turnover in seven minutes when Burrell got isolated, but lost the lineout that followed and gave away a scrum in chasing the ball down. The Saints scrum looked solid but Quins exerted enough pressure that Saints could not get the ball away cleanly. Burrell attempted to tidy up but was felled by a brave tackle from Evans, and the ball ping-ponged along the Saints backline until Williams and Easter made an interception. Quins were on the front foot and Manoa charged out of the line early to slow them down, conceding a penalty that Evans converted. 3-0 with 12 minutes gone.

Quins began to build some momentum, with Casson, Evans, Monye and especially Marler all showing some real intent. Unfortunately, promising play was frequently undone by a lack of organisation, as when a good break by Monye was turned over because no-one arrived to protect the ball at the breakdown. Saints’ scrum was by this time getting an upper hand, earning a free kick against the head for early engagement and then a penalty when they opted to take the scrum again.

However, Quins’ defence was high tempo and supremely committed, containing the powerful forward drives and forcing the Saints’ backline backwards until Care took an interception. Evans’ clearance was returned with too much interest by Foden and went into touch in goal. Quins delivered a stable scrum and what followed was a thing of beauty – and worth analysing in a little detail. There was a long way to go to the try line - the scrum had been set just inside Saints’ half - but Care broke to the blindside, fixed the defence and put through a grubber, kicking the ball down into the ground to make it bounce. Williams chased it, timing his run carefully. Foden sprinted across the pitch to clear, but the ball bounced past him and he ran in to touch. Williams waited for the next bounce, scooped the ball up and ran in to score. 10-0 in the 25^th minute.

Saints very nearly struck back moments later when fast ball from a ruck and straight running to fix the defence released Ken Pisi to cross the line, but Tim Wigglesworth suspected and the TMO confirmed a block by big brother George. It didn’t take long for Saints to try again, with a chip of their own. Foden fixed Care and Williams with his run and weighted the ball nicely for Jamie Elliott to run it in. Myler was unable to convert – 10-5 with 10 minutes to go in the half.

Saints were on the attack again when they won a penalty shortly after the kickoff, but the Quins defence – narrow, but very committed and fast off the line, forced a turnover and Brown chased his own kick to take down Elliott within the 22. The support was strong enough to drive Saints off the ball but with no-one to pick it up, Dickson stepped in (from the side, having never been onside) to claim the (apparently) loose ball (that Elliott was still, erm, holding onto). A few scrappy phases ended with a scrum to Saints. Quins had the edge, but Saints got the ball away and won a penalty for Evans being offside. Myler was unable to convert, though.

Evans’ dropout led to a loose pass from Saints that Clarke failed to gather, and Wallace, whirling like a dervish, claimed the ball and regained his feet in a single movement. Quins were back on the attack, with the forwards – Marler and Buchanan in particular, making good inroads into Saints’ half. But another breakdown where Quins did all the work but had no-one to claim the ball led to a turnover and Saints spent the dying minutes of the half testing the Quins defence.

The second half began with a bang. Jamie Elliott carried Evans’ kickoff into touch, Robson recovered the ball from a bobbled lineout, and Buchanan made up for the wobbly throw – first by driving forward with Guest and Wallace, then, when Wallace broke and offloaded, driving through three Saints players to ground the ball against the posts. 17-5

Another good attacking sequence ended with Evans pushing a penalty wide, then Saints won a penalty from the dropout and earned a lineout on the 22, but knocked on. Quins secured the ball – Easter doing more stirling work to deliver usable ball. Evans cleared, and smart breakdown work by Williams and Guest secured a penalty against Lawes for holding on. Quins claimed the lineout, earned a penalty, went quickly via Care and worked it wide to find Williams and Casson waiting for it. Casson had the stronger grip and claimed the try. Evans’ conversion again looked true but drifted just wide. 22-5.

At this point, Quins exchanged Buchanan for Gray and Guest for Fa’asavalu. They also, briefly, exchanged discipline for silly penalties, Evans and Robson giving Saints good field position, from which they finally got their maul working and drove over for a try. 22-12 in the 57^th minute.

Foden made an excellent break from a quick lineout, but a tap tackle from Care forced him to pass and Williams made a crucial interception. Quins struggled to clear their lines and as the game opened up Saints made another good break through Pisi, but Quins turned over. The pattern repeated itself several times, with Quins forcing turnovers but struggling to clear the ball far enough to create breathing space. Eventually, the pressure had to tell and Saints found sufficient numbers to get around the tight Quins defence and put Day in to score. Myler converted to put the score at 22-19 with nearly 20 minutes to go. It would prove to be the final score of the game.

At this point, both sides began to empty their benches, the ESPN commentary team explaining that with one eye on the semis the DoRs may have been trying to strike a balance between giving key players game time while not risking injury any more than necessary.

There were chances for Quins to score in the last quarter of the game. Dickson and Brown released Monye with one man to beat, but he slipped while sidestepping. He also narrowly failed to claim an up-and-under from Botica that would have seen him with a longish run-in but the tryline at his mercy. Two extended passages of play near the Saints 5m line came to naught. But Quins controlled possession and territory, and Saints never really looked like finding a winning score. Their one promising break ended with a forward pass as the clock reached zero.

Both teams can be relatively happy with their day’s work, though I think Quins have more to be pleased about. There are still vulnerabilities to deal with – occasional defensive lapses, a failure to secure the ball having won it, an inconsistent scrum – but this was a step forward from the Worcester game and much more like the Quins of old. Saints never had the lead and, in truth, never seriously threatened to win. Both teams will travel to their respective semi finals more in hope than expectation, but knowing that they have ended up with the opponent best suited to their gameplan.

So next week Quins’ good recent record against Tigers will come up against the Tigers’ own rock-solid record in semi-finals. The unstoppable force meets the immovable object? Bring it on.