Quins and Saints on the march in Europe
TWO English clubs are through to the semi-finals of the Champions Cup after stunning victories against high class opposition yesterday.
Harlequins fought all the way to overcome Bordeaux-Begles 41-42 in a thriller in France while Northampton Saints beat the Bulls from South Africa 59-22.
Quins will face the winners of today’s clash between Toulouse and Exeter in next month’s semi-final. They faced the Top 14 champions in the group stage at The Stoop in December and lost 47-19. Northampton will take on Leinster who easily beat holders La Rochelle 40-13 in Dublin.
Quins captain Stephan Lewies is confident there is more to come from his side after yesterday’s stunning win. “There is more in us and we will keep going,” he said. “The job is not done yet and there is so much room for improvement. Days like this do not happen very often. A few beers now and then we will be back in, knowing that there is more in the group.”
Billy Millard, Quins director of rugby., said: “I am just so proud of the players, not surprised because I knew what they were capable of. It was quite emotional for us. This competition gets tougher as you progress. We will enjoy this result and then get back into the grind.”
HARLEQUINS reached their first Champions Cup semi-final after shattering perceptions of a free-running side with a soft underbelly by taking on a team that had twice overpowered Saracens at forward and destroying their scrum.
Quins won five penalties and a free-kick at the set-piece. They turned two into tries and a third, with less than a minute to go, allowed them to run down the clock as replacement Jarrod Evans went for goal. He missed from wide on the left, but it was all about making sure the ball went dead.
The home players were as stunned as their supporters. The previous week they had pulverised Saracens for the second time this year three weeks after the Premiership champions had put 52 points on Quins to make it 90 in the season against their London rivals.
It was not so much that there was complacency in the Top 14 side’s ranks as a belief that the danger they faced lay out wide. The first eight minutes showed what they were really up against as the excellent Will Porter’s try was followed up with a penalty try when Mateo Garcia denied Tyrone Green a run-in by swatting away Marcus Smith’s pass with his left hand.
Bordeaux-Begles found themselves 14 points done without mounting an attack. They had bossed the gainline against Saracens, using their bulk to rock tacklers, but they found themselves having to deal with the rampaging Chandler Cunningham-South.
The England flanker was making only his fifth start for Quins and if in the 29 degree heat he was burnt out after 50 minutes, he had done his job. The Top 14 side generated more forward momentum after the break, but they lacked their expected foundation.
Key to that was the Quins front row. Will Collier’s pedigree as a tighthead has long been established, but on the other side of the scrum Fin Baxter announced himself against Ben Tamefuina, the nearly 24st Tongan, and his equally heavy replacement on 47 minutes, Carlu Sadie.
Joe Marler, along with Danny Care, was left at home because of injury, but the old hands could not have been more influential than the younger pair. Porter scored two tries and made a number of crucial tackles while Baxter gave Tamefuina a scrummaging lesson and was one of Quins main carriers.
Baxter and Collier remained on the field for 73 minutes, a credit to their stamina given the conditions and the opposition, and the replacement front row won the penalty at the end that nailed the victory.
Quins were ahead after less than three minutes when Porter finished off Andre Esterhuizen’s blindside snipe and Oscar Beard laid the platform for the penalty try.
Bordeaux, missing Damian Penaud, wasted their first chance when Cunningham-South stole a lineout but, after taking a water break under a number of umbrellas to keep out the sun, scored two tries in six minutes through Maxime Lucu and Romain Buros, their enterprising full-back.
The crowd found its voice, braced for the tsunami only for Quins to roll back the tide with tries from Porter, after
an Alex Dombrandt burst, and Will Evans, who scored from a driving maul from a lineout formed after a scrum penalty.
Quins took a 16-point lead into the interval and they needed every one as their hosts responded to a dressing room dressing down. Nicolas Depoortere took a pass from Ugo Boniface off his boots to score before Lucu kicked a penalty to reduce the arrears to six points.
Bordeaux-Begles had made four changes at forward but their scrum
woes continued. Dombrandt scored from another driving maul but back came the home side through Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Madosh Tambwe to take the lead with 16 minutes to go.
Quinn’s responded through Tyrone Green only for Tambwe to elude Cadan Murley and Stephan Lewies to give Lucu the chance to regain the lead with the conversion. The by now outside-half missed, leaving time for one more scrum for Quins to make history. and swing the bat,” said Millard, Quins director of rugby. “We were aware we had to play. The one thing you know about this competition is that it gets tougher each game you progress. Whoever comes next will be another step up.”
Quins face the the winner of today’s encounter between Toulouse and Exeter and yesterday was their second win in France this season after starting their Champions Cup campaign with a 31-28 success at Racing 92.