In truth, this was a match which Quins could and should have won as at least three good chances were squandered by infringements which turned over possession.  Newcastle is a notoriously difficult place for Harlequins.  They have rarely come away from the north-east with more than a losing bonus point so two points, which takes them off the bottom of the table, is better than nothing.

Despite a missed penalty kick in the second minute, it was Harlequins that opened the scoring as Nick Evans slotted the first of four successful penalties a couple of minutes later.  But then a rapid running attack by the Falcons found Tom Biggs break through the defence and although stopped he was able to offload to Gopperth whose pass put Tu’ipulotu through for the first try.  Gopperth added the conversion and Falcons led by 7 – 3.

Newcastle were playing with considerable determination and only a fine last ditch tackle by Monye on Biggs prevented a certain try.   Falcons began to exert considerable pressure on the Quins’ defence and eventually the home forwards successfully drove over the line for Swinson to score.  Gopperth converted.

Harlequins tried hard, perhaps too hard, to reply but all too often a knock on or turn over of possession thwarted the intention. Typical of this situation was a fine flowing backs move involving Care, Strettle, Easter and Monye which ought to have produced a try but ended in a knock-on.  But the momentum was beginning to swing as Harlequins held the score for the last twenty minutes of the half without going further behind and looked ever more threatening.

It took just three minutes of the second half before a penalty allowed Nick Evans to add another three points to Quins’ total. Another penalty a few minutes later, taken quickly by Danny Care set the ball moving in attack and ended with Monye crossing in the corner for a good try.  Evans missed the conversion from the touchline.  Quins were now within three points.  Then a rather foolish foul perpetrated by Camacho allowed Gopperth to add to the Falcons’ lead.

Another sniping run by Care almost brought a try, but he was stopped short of the line and knocked on in the tackle. An attacking lineout and a catch and drive might have brought a further score but determined defence kept Quins out and eventually turned over possession.  Evans missed with another penalty attempt as the game entered the final quarter.

But now Quins were in the ascendant and two further penalties allowed Evans to kick Quins level, the second coming with five minutes remaining as Vickers earned a yellow card and reduced Falcons to fourteen men for the remainder of the match.  Quins strove hard for the win and  getting Evans into position for a long drop at goal with the last kick of the match but it drifted wide.

At the Press Conference after the match John Kingston was more than usually forthcoming.  “The background with which we have come into this season has been obviously unique and something that nobody would ever wish on anybody frankly," he said.  "All we want to do now is kick on and play rugby. I hope people watching are thinking Harlequins are quite a positive side.”

"It (the scandal) has been sitting around me about 30 per cent of my time; therefore I would have to say that could you question whether I could operate on 70 per cent of what I should be thinking about.  So that is probably an accurate analogy of everyone at Harlequins. But we want to kick on now."

"There has been an impact and the players have fought valiantly and will continue to fight valiantly to come through that situation," he said.

Turning to the events of the evening, "What really pleased me about it was when I went into the changing room at half-time they were extremely calm and very positive and focused," he said.

"The belief that they have which has been a huge part of what they have achieved last season was all there to see. As far as we are concerned that is a big step forward. The guys showed an awful lot of courage and commitment."

"A draw was the absolute least we deserved without wishing to be rude about the opposition. We played some great rugby and we were the better side but it is a draw and it is a start. "It is mixed emotions but we are actually pretty disappointed we did not end up nailing the game."

Newcastle: A Tait; C Amesbury, R Vickerman (rep: M Sorenson, 73), T Tu’ipulotu, T Biggs; J Gopperth, M Young; J Golding, M Thompson (rep: R Vickers, 56; sin-bin, 75), M Ward (rep: L Ovens, 35), J Hudson, T Swinson (rep: Thompson, 78), P Browne (rep: G Bobo, 73), B Wilson, F Levi (rep: A Balding, 59).

Harlequins: U Monye; D Strettle, G Lowe, T Masson, G Camacho; N Evans, D Care; C Jones, G Botha (rep: T Fuga, 62), M Lambert, L Stevenson, J Evans, C Robshaw (rep: T Guest, 62), W Skinner, N Easter.

Referee: T Wigglesworth. Attendance: 5,714.

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