Quins were lead out by Mike Brown in his 100th game for the club.

Quins were on the attack from the off. Recycling the ball quickly and forcing the Saints to concede two penalty advantages. They weren’t needed however as the quick hands found Botha who went in at the corner after just 3 minutes. The difficult touchline conversion was slotted over by Evans and Quins were up by seven.

The following play was fragmented with both sides knocking on as well as giving away penalties. The next chance of scoring fell to Saints but they decided to tap and go rather than take the points. The attack was repulsed and a penalty was awarded to Quins and the danger was adverted. A penalty to Quins in the Saints half saw the decision to go for the points which Evans duly converted for ten point lead after 18 minutes.

Another penalty to Quins saw Evans going for the points again unfortunately the kick went wide. Quins again had the more dominant possession with a good break from Guest and Robson, the chip ahead being dabbed down by the Saints for a 22 drop. The next chance of points though went to Saints with a penalty just inside the Quins half. Myler missed and Quins cleared and broke up field. A kick ahead went over the try line which the covering Lamont picked up, the chasing Strettle went for the tackle after the Touch judge agreed the ball had not been touched down and the pressure was on the Saints in their 22. Unfortunately the attack petered out with good defence from Saints and giving them a penalty to clear.

Again both teams attacked and both made mistakes and there were a number of knock-ons. Quins looked the more dominant team especially in the scrum; however Saints were stronger in the line out. This showed when with 2 minutes left for the half Quins took a penalty with a kick to touch, Quins lost the resulting line out. However a bad clearance by Saints Led to Quins turning on the pressure again and Quins got another penalty on the Saints 22. Evans converted to see Quins into half-time lead 13 - 0.

The second half started with Saints gaining a penalty after 3 minutes. The kick from the half way line was missed by Myler. Quins then went on a strong attack only ending after Brown was bundled into touch. Further Quins pressure lead to a penalty to Quins which was kicked to the corner. From the line out the ball made its way along the line and Botha went over but because the referee was in the way the try was not given for the obstruction but Quins got the scrum put-in. A massive push had Saints going backwards at a rate of knots, an infringement by Saints saw the referee run under the posts to award the penalty try. The conversion was made and Quins were up 20 – 0 with half an hour to go.

Saints were starting to look desperate and the high emotions showed with handbags almost immediately from the kick-off. 3 minutes after the re-start and Saints were awarded a penalty, Myler converted to put the first points on the board for Saints 20 – 3. Four minutes later after a scrappy scrum Saints were once again awarded a penalty which Myler duly converted 20 – 6.

Further scrappy play littered with handling errors followed. Thankfully the referee tried to keep play flowing and was consistent with his decisions to both teams. Quins going again on the attack continued to play a lovely off loading game. The ball eventually finding Jim Evans, who saw a gap through the centre and touched down under the posts. NEv converted to make the score 27 – 6. Despite several attacks there was to be no more scoring.

Man of the match went to Will Skinner for another outstanding display. Tackle of the match went to Tom Williams who had another excellent game until he was taken off after being knocked unconscious when making one of his trade-mark tackles.

After the match Jim Mallinder said that he was very disappointed and that the only small positive was that the bench made a small impact. He said his team was not mentally right for the game, Quins managed to slow the ball well and there were too many mistakes in both attack and defence. He had hoped this would be the Saints first away win and was disappointed with their away record. He denied that the team was missing Foden but said it was up to those players chosen to step up and do the job.

Dean Richards said that the concentration had been on their players and where they posed a threat. One area was the scrum which had been seen as a problem and was now fixed. He said that this was as big a game as any especially with the return of Botha and Strettle from long term injury. He pointed out that the line out could be better and suffered from a key absence although both teams had very good defensive line outs. He believes that the team is starting to compete and that the two experiences at HQ and at Paris had matured the young side. The enjoyment factor and even more importantly the coaches had had a huge influence. When asked about JTH he said that last season he had suffered too many injuries and this season he was managing to get more games together and so had shown great improvement. On Tom Williams he said he was one of the most consistent performers week-in week-out. On Northampton he said they are well respected and it is not how low they will finish but how high, they have a very strong side and a far better than given credit for.

Attendance: 12,332

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

Related Articles:

• Quinssa 6 Nations Dinner, Tuesday 10th February