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| Saracens 31 - Harlequins 17 |
If
the first leg of the Aviva Premiership semi-final on Friday night was
anything to go by, surely the second leg would give fans just such a
treat? Well the game didn't prove to be quite the contest the
Harlequins had hoped for. Quins entered half time with a six point
lead but Sarries subsequently racked up twenty unanswered points
after the break to comprehensively claim their rightful place in the
Aviva Premiership final!
A
sea of red and black flags flew proudly at Allianz Park as 9,962
supporters arrived to revel in the sunshine and witness this crucial
clash between the two London teams. The home side were welcomed onto
the pitch by the pulsating power of music, fuelling the full-on
intensity and anticipation that swirled round the stadium in a
sun-lit stream. A fantastic yet emotional spectacle as captain Steve
Borthwick cradled his child on his home pitch - for the last time.
An
air of caution saw the first phases of play proving quite
conservative; you could have sliced through the tension with a knife
and early penalties from both Nick Evans and Owen Farrell opened up
the score board nicely.
But
controversy followed when what appeared to be a spear tackle by
Schalk Brits on Kyle Sinckler ground the game to a halt. The TMO,
Graham Hughes, was consulted and Brits was exonerated to cries of
disbelief from the Quins supporters.
Referee
Barnes later awarded Saracens a penalty but Farrell unexpectedly
missed with the ball rebounding off a post.
Karma
was knocking on Saracens' door!
And
payback time came swiftly, when a massive hit from Sinckler on
Jacques Burger heard the Harlequins army roar with delight. It was
clear the Harlequins momentum had gone up a notch or two.
This
game was proving to pack a punch!
Pivotal
moments came when Marcelo Bosch was sin-binned for a tip-tackle on
Evans and the second yellow card of the afternoon saw Matt Stevens in
the bin for deliberately knocking the ball forward..
With
Sarries down to thirteen men, surely Quins would score?
Of
course! It was Ugo Monye who easily crossed the try line, seven
minutes shy of half time, and Evans finished it off.
No-quitters-Quins had earned their place in this semi fair and square
and were vying for victory and a place in the final!
The
16th
man didn't hold back either, when 'Stand Up for the Saracens' became
altered to 'Stand up for the Harlequins'. And slowly but surely,
Harlequins supporters around me began to sing and stand up. It was
intuitive and humorous; this London header was proving provocative
and entertaining!
But
this didn't prevent the Saracens from re-grouping and attacking with
a victory hungry vengeance and Billy Vunipola bashed down the Quins
defence, enabling Kelly Brown to roll over in the corner.
Nervous
or off-form however - Farrell missed - yet again. And that was
shortly followed by another miss from the boot of Bosch from the
halfway line.
Any
danger Saracens?
Yes.
A rebound off Alistair Hargreaves saw Mike Brown do the business,
showing off his sizzling fancy football skills, he chased down his
own kick, grounding with a flourish. And with Evans delivering the
conversion with composure, the Harlequins had taken an unexpected
lead going into half time.
HT
11-17
Back
out and flaky Farrell became shaky as his penalty kick went wide and
Bosch was no better. Between the boot of Bosch and Farrell they had
missed 13 points so far. Whoa!!
But
after a handful of heavy crash ball attempts, Brad Barritt muscled
his way through the Quins’ defence to add the points. Harlequins'
hopes looked to be diminishing and an off-the-ball tackle from Luke
Wallace on Farrell aided the fly half to finally find his feet and
slot the penalty.
It
was a gruelling last quarter for the Harlequins, as the Saracens tore
up their defence. Quins really looked exhausted and in disarray now
and a fantastic offload from Kelly Brown enabled Chris Ashton to
swallow dive across; Farrell’s boot obeyed and Saracens soldiered
though to an eleven point lead.
But
even when Farrell's conclusive penalty kick took the Saracens out of
sight, the Quins fans were still in ‘forte voce’ and resorted to
singing,
'Oh
When the Saints, go Marching in!'
...You
would only get that at a rugby match!
FT
31-17
Saracens
went in for the kill with a resounding victory in the second half,
20-0.
I
spoke with Mark McCall after the game and he reiterated this;
“I
thought our second half performance was outstanding; we won the
second half twenty points to nil and could've won it by more ... I
thought we fought unbelievably hard, scoring Kelly's try when we were
down to fourteen men”
The
Saracens are rightful winners and an exceptional side to watch. They
demonstrate dangerous, dominant, clinical and concise skills, in all
phases of play.
Unfortunately
the Harlequins just lacked that spark and finesse to edge it, but
nevertheless an indisputable and very positive end to the season, as
Conor O'Shea reflected after the game;
“I'm
unbelievably proud of the way our guys fought out there, even at the
end.”
“I
look back at this season and the two best sides are in the final. I
think ourselves and Leicester have fought tooth and nail to get
ourselves into that position but I suppose the combination of
everything …we just ran out of a bit of steam ... We'll dust
ourselves down and be back next season.”
Saracens
play Northampton Saints on Saturday 31st
May in the Aviva Premiership final at Twickenham.
What
a final this will be!