Leicester fightback ‘feels like a loss’
Geordan Murphy said this draw “felt like a loss” despite Leicester overturning a 14-point deficit to salvage a draw and two valuable points in their attempt to claw their way out of trouble at the wrong end of the table.
A try seven minutes from time by full-back Telusa Veainu and then George Ford’s conversion against Quins, who were down to 14 men following the yellow card shown to replacement prop Will Collier, denied the hosts another important win.
Head coach Murphy, whose side are now 19 points above bottom-placed Saracens, admitted: “It feels like a loss. They were down to 14 men for the final 10 minutes and I felt we would press on and win. But a big decision went against us and we could not capitalise on our superior numbers and pressure. The team is playing well and it’s now just about putting a string of results together to climb the table.”
Quins director of rugby Paul Gustard was unhappy with referee Matthew Carley’s performance and complained his team were extremely hard done by.
He insisted: “Some of the interpretations by the referee around the breakdown I could not understand. They were constantly offside and I feel frustrated at that.”
Marcus Smith kicked the hosts ahead with an early penalty when Dan Cole was penalised for a high tackle on Chris Robshaw, even though the Harlequins flanker appeared to be falling.
Quins lost centre Michele Campagnaro to a knee injury. He was replaced by exciting prospect Gabriel Ibitoye.
It was the last thing Quins needed as they were already without other key players in that position, and now Campagnaro may have sustained ligament damage. Ford levelled matters with his first kick after Quins were caught offside. The visitors were relieved neither Ford nor Sione Kalamafoni sustained a bad injury when the two collided going for Ross Chisholm’s high kick. No 8 Kalamafoni came off worse, taking Ford’s sliding knee into his midriff as he fell.
Indiscipline prevented the contest from sparking into real life while Ford punished a Kyle Sinckler high tackle by nudging Tigers ahead in the 25th minute with a long-range penalty.
Sadly for the visitors the lead did not last long. Danny Care took the ball at the back of a scrum 10 metres from the line, fed the incoming Paul Lasike who used his power to break through Kyle Eastmond’s attempted tackle and force his way across for the opening try. It was Lasike’s first Premiership try and the New Zealand-born player, who represented the USA Eagles in the World Cup, celebrated as Care added the conversion. Quins had taken a stranglehold, and their pressure was rewarded again when Tigers gave away another penalty and Smith made no mistake.
Tigers trailed 13-6 at the break, but a quick strike from Eastmond revived their hopes early in the second half. Sinckler was left ruing, throwing a fairly hopeful and carefree pass in the centre of the field, and Eastmond was alert to grab the opportunity and the ball with both hands. He raced clear and avoided Smith’s attempted tackle to cross for a try converted by Ford. But Tigers relaxed too much and paid the price as Quins crossed the line again.
Another finely worked scrum led to Smith shrugging off attempted tacklers before weaving his way over near the posts and then adding the conversion for a 20-13 lead. Robshaw used his muscle to get the third try from close range and Smith converted.
Tigers responded with flanker Jordan Taufua using his power to score. Ford converted and added a penalty to reduce the deficit to seven points going into the final 15 minutes.
Quins replacement prop Collier was yellow carded for consistent foul play.
The visitors suddenly sensed they could snatch victory. And when Ford created a fine try for Veainu, the game was left in the balance.
The England man chipped through and the bounce was perfect for his fullback team-mate to grab it and surge behind the posts to give Ford an easy conversion to level.
However, despite both sides throwing caution to the wind and trying to get that elusive final blow to clinch the points, they had to settle for a share of the spoils.
Although Tigers are 19 points above Saracens, that gap could close if the champions beat Exeter today, and they need to start winning soon to ease their worries and problems. Scores 3-0 Smith pen, 3-3 Ford pen, 3-6 Ford pen, 8-6 Lasike try, 10-6 Smith con, 13-6 Smith pen, HT 13-11 Eastmond try, 13-13 Ford con, 18-13 Smith try, 20-13 Smith con, 25-13 Robshaw try, 27-13 Smith con, 27-18 Taufua try, 27-20 Ford con, 30-20 Smith pen, 30-23 Ford pen, 30-28 Veainu try, 30-30 Ford con. Harlequins R Chisholm; C Murley, M Campagnaro (G Ibitoye 5), P Lasike (S Garcia Botta 70) V Goneva; M Smith, D Care; J Marler, E Elia (J Musk 64), K Sinckler (W Collier 56); S Lewies, M Symons (T Cavubati 56); J Chisholm (A Dombrandt 57), C Robshaw, T Lawday. Yellow card Collier. Leicester T Veainu; A Thompstone, J Taute (G Worth 70), K Eastmond (N Reid 54) J May; G Ford, B Youngs (B White 64); E Genge F Gigena 70), T Youngs (T Polota-Nau 54), D Cole (N Leatigaga 70); T Lavanini, C Green; S Lewis (H Wells 66), J Taufua, S Kalamafoni (T Reffell 11). Referee Matthew Carley.