By Semper Scorchio
February 20 2006

Coundon Road, Coventry in the 1950s and the Twickenham Stoop 2006, the connection? My Father, originally from Coventry, who was at the Stoop for his first Quins game and grappled with conflicting emotions when trying to work out which team to shout for.

Fortunately there was enough adventure and passion on display from both sides that he was quite within his rights to shout for whichever team was pressing its attack at that given moment.

 
Tom Guest on the hoof ©Prof

The opening seconds of the match set the tone for the rest of the game. Indeed the first two words in my notebook are “Ugo Try” as Quins won the ball from their own kick off and some slick handling put Ugo over in the north east corner. To give you an idea of how quick this try was, the debate around me consisted of whether I should record it as occurring 10 or 12 seconds after the whistle! Jarvis did not succeed with the conversion, though to be fair it was about as close to the sideline as it gets. 5 – 0.

 
Ugo Monye blazing down the right wing ©Prof

The next few minutes showed that neither team had based their match tactics on dour percentage play, as play ranged backward and forward rapidly between both 22 metre lines. Coventry knocked on but a free kick was given against the Quins front row at the resulting scrum. As play continued Quins had a lineout and sought the pushover try after a Miall catch and drive, and some good mauling and marshalling by So’oialo, Quins looked to have scored but the referee thought otherwise and awarded Coventry a scrum, though it was unclear at least from where I was sitting what the nature of the Quins offence was. Coventry kicked for touch but only as far as the 22.

 
Vos well supported by Ugo Monye and Simon Miall ©Prof

Quins went long at the lineout to Vos but were then penalised for holding. Coventry worked their way upfield by kicking for touch but the lineout throw was not straight, but they regained control of the ball immediately as Nebbett was penalised in the scrum. Coventry gained more territory and pressed their attack in the Quins 22, but a textbook Vos ‘wrap up and turn’ tackle in midfield, led to a turnover and Guest broke the line. But it was ‘end to end’ stuff as Cov turned over the ball and pressed their attack into the Quins 22 again, but then knocked on. This was most definitely not one-way traffic.

 
Two Coventry forwards try and fail to lift Ceri Jones' right leg ©Prof

The Coventry loose head prop was penalised at the scrum, but the penalty kick did not find touch and the Coventry kick in response lead to a dangerously bobbling ball just in front of the posts, So’oialo picked up the ball on the run, and with the support of Jarvis, Easter and Williams the Quins players turned defence into a rapier-like attack. Jarvis was involved in the move again, drew the defence and made a great pass out of the tackle to Vos who made sure that Ugo went over in the corner. Try. And a definite contender for try of the season, I hope the management has a tape of this game. 10 – 0 after 15 minutes. Jarvis didn’t make the conversion.

 
So'oialo spreads the ball left ©Prof

Miall made an impressive, lifted, catch to claim the restart ball and Quins constructed an effective maul to move play from their own 22 to the halfway line, but as the ball was passed away from the maul Easter knocked on. Coventry had the scrum but before it could form their loose head Kisi Pulu was substituted. Coventry then made a good break from a ruck and the Coventry fullback Apoua Stewart evaded the defensive attentions of Tom Williams tight on the east touchline and scored. Try. 10 – 5 after 22 mins.

 
Easter secures the ball in the lineout ©Prof

Coventry were running strongly from the restart and Quins defence was having penetrating questions asked of it, until Coventry knocked on. At the scrum Quins were awarded a penalty for the Coventry prop slipping his binding. After kicking for touch, Quins took a short throw to the front of the lineout but Coventry were penalised for being offside. Quins lineout on the Coventry 5m line, the catch and drive broke down as Coventry infringed at the maul, the referee played advantage, and allowed play to continue as the ball was passed down the line but the last pass went forward. The referee brought play back across the field to the site of the maul infringement. Another Quins lineout, this time the catch and drive was successful and Ceri Jones, as so often this season was the last man with his hands on the ball, Try to Quins and Jarvis converted 17 – 5.

Jarvis with try scorer Jones ©Prof

 
Jarvis converts ©Prof

From the restart Coventry again sought to attack and Quins were forced to shepherd the ball into touch and Coventry had a lineout on the Quins 5 metre line. But Quins managed to turn over the ball and Tom Williams made a kick for touch under pressure. (Much to the misfortune of the spectator in the East stand who, as they had a mobile in one hand and beverage in the other, were unable to catch the ball, got hit, and as a result got covered in their drink!)

 
Tom Williams kicks for touch ©Barquin Mad

Coventry lineout on Quins 22 and they threw to the tail but strong Quins tackling meant that Coventry were penalised for holding on, this was followed by a cross kick to Ugo who set off up field at speed but his pass to Duffy was intercepted. As Coventry attacked again their chip kick was ‘marked’ by Williams who kicked for touch, the Coventry lineout was not straight and their LH was penalised at the next scrum.

 
Keogh breaks and is well supported by Guest ©Barquin Mad

At this point the referee had seemed to make his mind up that Quins were being ‘more sinned against’ than ‘sinning’ at the scrum, though he did seem to be applying a rule of thumb where he was pinging the attackers when they had a scrum in or near their opponents 22. Of course we all know that defensive scrums have no interest in making life as difficult as possible for their opponents…

 
Guest breaks another tackle ©Barquin Mad

The next passage of play was all Quins with some smart inter-passing and steady, unselfish support play in a patient build-up, only the last pass let the effort down, as it proved too hard for Williams to gather at pace as the try line beckoned. Coventry had defensive scrum because of the knock on, the referee reset it twice before pulling out both front rows for a chat, after which he immediately gave a penalty against Quins.

 
Jim Evans looks to offload to Simon Miall ©Prof

Coventry were running the ball out of their half but knocked on and at the scrum So;oialo just about got the ball away and Duffy broke the line a speed, a ruck formed only a few metres out right in front of the Cov posts and they were penalised for hands in the ruck. Quins kicked for the corner, threw to Vos at the tail and drove over the tryline. Ceri Jones again proved to be the man at the centre of things and Jarvis converted. Quins 24 – 5 and a four try bonus point at the 40 minute mark.

 
Ceri Jones is driven over ©Prof

Cov progressed upfield from the restart and Evans was caught holding on but their attack again faltered because of a knock on. 

Half time. In the first half Quins first line defence seemed a little too porous but when going forward at speed Quins looked very good.

After half time Greenwood was substituted for Masson. Keogh made a good break but the ball was eventually turned over but Coventry’s clearance kick didn’t go out and was returned. Quins gained a penalty as Coventry went offside at the ruck, but Coventry turned the ball over at the lineout with some strong driving play. At this point there was an altercation between both sets of forwards which took sometime to resolve, helped perhaps by the audio accompaniment of the Blues Brother’s cover of ‘Rawhide’. Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’ indeed. The referee gave both sides a stiff talking to. 

Harley Bear in Blues Brothers mode ©Barquin Mad

Coventry again attacked with purpose into Quins half only to knock on again, Easter broke from the base of the scrum and a penalty was given against Quins at the ruck. This incident was in slap bang in front of the Sages ensconced in the Lexus Stand, and their chant of ‘Lander!, Lander!’ at the referee gave a good impression of their appreciation of that particular decision by the man in yellow.

 
Tom Guest breaks again ©Barquin Mad

Coventry attacked and yet again, after a great break by the No. 7 knocked on with the try line within reach. Coventry were penalised at the scrum, it appeared for pushing early though it was hard to tell. Coventry subbed the hooker Protherough for Rudi Blitz. So’oialo box kicked and, though it didn’t gain much yardage, Masson hammered the Coventry player who caught it into touch. Quins lineout on the halfway line but they were driven off the ball by a strong Coventry effort and the ball was then spun wide, the move broke down as there was unintended crossing by the Coventry backs.

Coventry centre Dave Tiueti was subbed for, David Harvey, a Quins triallist of last season. Quins pressure in the scrum caused Coventry to knock on at the base, at the Quins scrum the Coventry loose head was penalised. Coventry no 6 Henno Venter was replaced by Brett McNamee.

 
Steve So'oialo on the charge ©Prof

Quins won quality lineout ball and Duffy made a strong break from the centre, leaving Coventry players in his wake to score. As he touched the ball down, three Coventry players were flat on their backs having failed to stop him. Jarvis converted 31 – 5 

Coventry prop Bucknall was replaced by Niall Treston. Quins made three changes: Vos, Richards, and Nebbett were replaced by Fuga, Ward and Sheriff.

 
Easter offloads ©Prof

From the restart there was a carbon copy of the opening few seconds of the match, the replacements may have had an effect but whatever the cause Quins were caught napping, as Coventry won back the ball and James Moore went over in the north west corner, and duly converted his own kick. 31 – 12.

 
Easter scores at the base of the posts ©Prof

Ugo Monye went off and Harder came on. Quins restarted and got a penalty as Coventry had hands in the ruck. The resultant lineout was scrappy but Miall tidied up the ball on the floor and Nick Easter stormed through to score. From where I was sitting it looked like he touched the ball to the base of the left upright to ensure that he scored. Jarvis converted 38 – 12

 
George Robson comes on for his first 1stXV game ©Prof

Coventry kicked off after replacing their centre and scrum half, also George Robson came on for Jim Evans. Play became somewhat disjointed because of all the replacements and Tani Fuga was penalised for holding on. The final Quins replacement introduced with ten minutes to go was, Andrew Mehrtens newly returned from his wedding and honeymoon. George Harder was doing what he does best, going straight through the middle of defenders rather than round them. Tani went down with a damaged right shoulder and was forced off the pitch so Jimmy Richards had to return. 

Quins had the ball going forward and some great hands and patient recycling led to another try for Easter converted by Merhtens 45 -12

 
Tom Williams scores ©Prof

Again from the restart Tom Williams made a great break, so fast that he had to slow to wait for the supporting runners. Mehrtens displayed his class and vision by pulling the defence to put So’oialo through who gave the final pass to Williams finishing off in style the move he had started. Mehrtens converted 52 -12.

The matchday attendance was 8915. 

What did us punters get for our money this week? Apart from a selection of pork pie hats and sunglasses from the Blues Brothers theme day we saw a good spectacle of attacking rugby from both sides. In many ways Coventry were the architects of their own downfall as they repeatedly knocked on in promising try scoring situations or let Quins off the hook by not throwing straight at lineouts in promising field positions and so on. But they played with adventure and great application and were determined to run the ball wherever possible.

Harlequins can be pleased with large elements of their performance too, especially going forward with the ball in hand and the rapidity of turning defence into attack. The team is growing in confidence with the ball in hand and it seems to me that there is great team spirit at the moment. There were many unselfish passes and high quality passes out of contact both of which I believe are good indicators that a team is playing for each other in order to achieve collective success. Duffy had a good game at centre and made more line breaks in this game than the others in which I have seen him play in this position. I noted before the game that the speed in the back three of Keogh, Williams and Monye was a mouth-watering prospect and so it proved. Ceri Jones had another good match up front and, at least this time was properly credited for the tries. There are a couple of areas for the coaches to work on though. The all round defensive performance that the team is striving for is not quite there yet, and Coventry were able to break the first line of defence on a large number of occasions. One particular aspect where Quins might look at their tactics was in the lineout where Coventry succeeded on at least three occasions to push Quins off their ball and win the turnover.

But to sum up this game one can only go back to the first two tries: the first which has to rank as one of the fastest ever scored; and the second score, the epitome of running rugby, as it was started by So’oialo under the Quins posts and went the length of the pitch through many hands to be finished by Monye. Mission accomplished.

NEC Harlequins
15. Tom Williams, 14. Simon Keogh, 13. Will Greenwood, 12. Gavin Duffy, 11. Ugo Monye, 10. Adrian Jarvis, 9. Steve So'oialo, 1. Ceri Jones, 2. Jimmy Richards, 3. Ricky Nebbett, 4. Jim Evans, 5. Simon Miall, 6. Tom Guest, 7. Andre Vos (Capt.), 8. Nick Easter
Replacements: 16. Tani Fuga, 17. Lorne Ward, 18. George Robson, 19. Luke Sherriff, 20. Andrew Mehrtens, 21. Tosh Masson, 22. George Harder
Scorers: Tries: Ugo Monye (2), Ceri Jones (2), Nick Easter (2), Gagin Duffy, Tom Williams. Conversions: Adrian Jarvis (4), Andrew Mehrtens (2)

Coventry
15. Stewart, 14. Millard, 13. Geraghty, 12. Tiueti, 11. Moore, 10. Higgins, 9. Walls, 8. Rheeders (c), 7. Johnson Buckingham, 6. Venter, 5. Clapham, 4. Campton, 3. Bucknall, 2. Protherough, 1. Pulu,
Replacements from: K. Johnson, Harvey, Chrystie, Treston, Pale, McNamee, Brits
Scorers: Tries: Stewart, Moore. Conversion: Moore

Match Officials:
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth
Touch Judges: Gareth Copsey and Paul Dickens