An “A game” but what is the EDF for?
By Jon_r43
October 26 2008
There are several ways that I could report this game. I could just ask the editors to re-run the report from the Premiership game earlier in the season with Irish playing poorly and behind by 10 points towards the end of the first half, scoring a try just before half time and running out winners (this time rather easily) ...
October 26 2008
There are several ways that I could report this game. I could just ask the editors to re-run the report from the Premiership game earlier in the season with Irish playing poorly and behind by 10 points towards the end of the first half, scoring a try just before half time and running out winners (this time rather easily) ...
but I don’t want to draw your attention to Cormac’s report in verse just before reading this report as it won’t be in the same league!
I could quote Dean Richards programme notes “Last time we played LI at the Stoop, we threw the game away in the second half. We learnt our lesson from that match and we will certainly not be doing that again today!” Well half right as I think we probably won the second half this time without too much help from Quins.
I could use the title Déjŕ vu but I have done that one before as well!
Anyway, despite feeling the EDF doesn’t matter we headed off to the Stoop because having missed the trip to Connacht (our first missed game since Treviso last year) we couldn’t miss another game.
To the pre match warm up. It was good to see both Warren Fury and Kieran Roche involved - maybe they will be a part of the side soon and with the number of players off on international duty in the next few weeks we may need all hands on deck. We also saw our new trialist Alfredo Lalanne who was later to have a good debut in the second half of the game.
We took our seats in the north stand and looked out on to the pitch There was a white pillar holding up the roof directly in my way so I missed most of the first half kick offs. In the second half we moved to the front row of the west stand and I missed two tries because I couldn’t see past the Irish coaching staff so the usual slightly gappy match report is coming up.
Having arrived on a bright sunny day just before kick off the cloud rolled in and it became windier. The first two phases of play lead to penalties against us for offside The young referee (Greg Garner), who was later to take a lot of criticism from the Quins support, seems keen to become involved early. From the second line out Quins take possession and pass the ball across to the right but one of the passes is given as forward (For those at the premiership game it was a bit like the last few minutes of that game in September with Quins marching down the field and then making a mistake!)
Next phase involves a kick through by Quins leading to a 5 metre scrum which is reset twice before the referee gives Quins a penalty, they take a tap quickly and George Robson crosses for a try, the conversion is missed (The minis in the South Stand heckle the kicker, something familiar there!)
The next 5 or 6 minutes is scrappy with knock ons and forward passes from both sides. 15 minutes in and Quins make a break to half way, the ball is moved to the left and Peter Hewat is left defending 2 on 1. Quins fix Hewat’s position and the ball goes wide to Amesbury who scores, this time the conversion is made. (12-0 Quins)
Lots more scrappy stuff, including losing some of our own throws, which leads eventually to a scrum to Irish centrally on the Quins 22. The referee converts the scrum into a full penalty. “Take the 3” I say and we kick to the corner (a theme develops here) Play from the lineout is not successful.
3 minutes later and another penalty to us 30 metres in front of the posts and guess what, we kick to the corner again! Could have been 12-6 I think, what are we doing? “Maybe we don’t want to win and are treating it like and ‘A game,” I say. “We’re going for the bonus point,” says LKR with an unusually optimistic response!
Jon Fisher is replaced by Richard Thorpe due to injury
6 minutes to half time and Quins are defending, the ball is hacked out by Quins under Irish pressure. Irish take a quick line out, the referee calls it back, consults with his assistant who awards the line out to Irish!
4 minutes to go, Irish earn another kickable penalty and go for the corner again! Quins knock on at the line out giving Irish a scrum about 7 metres out, Richard picks up off the back of the scrum and Irish drive over - the conversion is missed (12-5)
With 7 seconds to go there is an injury stoppage near to half way, the referee allows the clock to start so that time has run out. It would have been a long kick to the post but again Peter chooses to kick for the corner. bit of a waste really as the referee calls an end to the half.
The second half starts with a change at Hooker, Buckland off for Paice.
After 50 minutes an Irish kick towards touch is missed, Quins kick back and win a line out on the Irish 5 metre line. Quins win the ball and a maul moves towards the line. It is eventually pulled down by Irish but unfortunately too late so we helped Quins to ground the ball (17–5)
Tom Parker is replaced by Alfredo Lalanne. From the restart Quins knock on and Irish earn a penalty at the scrum again in front of the post and we kick to the corner. The line out is won and the ball released to the centre. Peter Hewat takes the ball and runs a great line through the Quins defence to score a try which he converts. (17-12)
The next note I have refers to a penalty to Irish for holding. At this point Shane takes over the kicking duties (aiming for touch as you would now expect!) We win the line out and a backs move is started. Adam Thompstone takes the ball and disappears from my vantage point behind the Irish coaching team who leap into the air. Try number 3 to Irish. Shane misses the conversion and Peter Hewat is down injured (17-17)
Next phase of play leads to the ball going out on the other wing, James Bailey crosses for his first try for Irish 22-17 and the bonus point secured! (LKR was right!) Shane hits the post with this attempted conversion.
The next play of note was right in front of us in the West stand and I still missed it! The first thing I saw was Richard taking a swing at one of the Quins props. I think this was the first thing most of the Quins support saw as well as they were calling for a yellow card, which they got. Unfortunately for them we all missed what is reported elsewhere as the prop rucking Thorpe’s head which explains why Quins had to play the next 10 minutes with 14 men.
With 18 minutes to go Irish were awarded a kickable penalty for an infringement at a scrum again and for the first time in the game an Irish player (Shane) accepts the kick (25-17) to take us safely two scores ahead. Tom Homer replaces Adam with Dominic Shabbo switching to the wing.
Quins are making several changes but their form is not improving. They kick the ball dead from the restart resulting in a scrum back. With 10 minutes to go Dan Murphy and Bob replace Gary Johnson and Faan.
Quins manage to create some pressure but the attaching player is tackled into touch by Richard Thorpe. From the line out we are awarded a free kick which is used to clear our line. This is almost the last pressure from Quins but not the end of the scoring. With 1 minute 12 on the clock Quins have possession but pass the ball to Hewat who runs the ball under the posts to make the final score 32-17, a slightly flattering score ,and the Quins support certainly blamed the referee who was booed off the pitch. However Irish’s second half performance clearly from this reporter’s viewpoint justified both the win and what may prove a vital bonus point if we are to stand a chance of getting out of the pool
So an A game that we didn’t think matter may have been important after all. We are still in with a chance in this cup depending on the result tomorrow.
For the future what does the EDF need to make it matter? If you ask me, a quarter final stage with group winners at home and moving the pool stages to the international periods would, with the prize fund available, mean that along with most English clubs we would be more interested from the start. Although I know many supporters would either scrap it or replace it with a knockout competition.
I could quote Dean Richards programme notes “Last time we played LI at the Stoop, we threw the game away in the second half. We learnt our lesson from that match and we will certainly not be doing that again today!” Well half right as I think we probably won the second half this time without too much help from Quins.
I could use the title Déjŕ vu but I have done that one before as well!
Anyway, despite feeling the EDF doesn’t matter we headed off to the Stoop because having missed the trip to Connacht (our first missed game since Treviso last year) we couldn’t miss another game.
To the pre match warm up. It was good to see both Warren Fury and Kieran Roche involved - maybe they will be a part of the side soon and with the number of players off on international duty in the next few weeks we may need all hands on deck. We also saw our new trialist Alfredo Lalanne who was later to have a good debut in the second half of the game.
We took our seats in the north stand and looked out on to the pitch There was a white pillar holding up the roof directly in my way so I missed most of the first half kick offs. In the second half we moved to the front row of the west stand and I missed two tries because I couldn’t see past the Irish coaching staff so the usual slightly gappy match report is coming up.
Having arrived on a bright sunny day just before kick off the cloud rolled in and it became windier. The first two phases of play lead to penalties against us for offside The young referee (Greg Garner), who was later to take a lot of criticism from the Quins support, seems keen to become involved early. From the second line out Quins take possession and pass the ball across to the right but one of the passes is given as forward (For those at the premiership game it was a bit like the last few minutes of that game in September with Quins marching down the field and then making a mistake!)
Next phase involves a kick through by Quins leading to a 5 metre scrum which is reset twice before the referee gives Quins a penalty, they take a tap quickly and George Robson crosses for a try, the conversion is missed (The minis in the South Stand heckle the kicker, something familiar there!)
The next 5 or 6 minutes is scrappy with knock ons and forward passes from both sides. 15 minutes in and Quins make a break to half way, the ball is moved to the left and Peter Hewat is left defending 2 on 1. Quins fix Hewat’s position and the ball goes wide to Amesbury who scores, this time the conversion is made. (12-0 Quins)
Lots more scrappy stuff, including losing some of our own throws, which leads eventually to a scrum to Irish centrally on the Quins 22. The referee converts the scrum into a full penalty. “Take the 3” I say and we kick to the corner (a theme develops here) Play from the lineout is not successful.
3 minutes later and another penalty to us 30 metres in front of the posts and guess what, we kick to the corner again! Could have been 12-6 I think, what are we doing? “Maybe we don’t want to win and are treating it like and ‘A game,” I say. “We’re going for the bonus point,” says LKR with an unusually optimistic response!
Jon Fisher is replaced by Richard Thorpe due to injury
6 minutes to half time and Quins are defending, the ball is hacked out by Quins under Irish pressure. Irish take a quick line out, the referee calls it back, consults with his assistant who awards the line out to Irish!
4 minutes to go, Irish earn another kickable penalty and go for the corner again! Quins knock on at the line out giving Irish a scrum about 7 metres out, Richard picks up off the back of the scrum and Irish drive over - the conversion is missed (12-5)
With 7 seconds to go there is an injury stoppage near to half way, the referee allows the clock to start so that time has run out. It would have been a long kick to the post but again Peter chooses to kick for the corner. bit of a waste really as the referee calls an end to the half.
The second half starts with a change at Hooker, Buckland off for Paice.
After 50 minutes an Irish kick towards touch is missed, Quins kick back and win a line out on the Irish 5 metre line. Quins win the ball and a maul moves towards the line. It is eventually pulled down by Irish but unfortunately too late so we helped Quins to ground the ball (17–5)
Tom Parker is replaced by Alfredo Lalanne. From the restart Quins knock on and Irish earn a penalty at the scrum again in front of the post and we kick to the corner. The line out is won and the ball released to the centre. Peter Hewat takes the ball and runs a great line through the Quins defence to score a try which he converts. (17-12)
The next note I have refers to a penalty to Irish for holding. At this point Shane takes over the kicking duties (aiming for touch as you would now expect!) We win the line out and a backs move is started. Adam Thompstone takes the ball and disappears from my vantage point behind the Irish coaching team who leap into the air. Try number 3 to Irish. Shane misses the conversion and Peter Hewat is down injured (17-17)
Next phase of play leads to the ball going out on the other wing, James Bailey crosses for his first try for Irish 22-17 and the bonus point secured! (LKR was right!) Shane hits the post with this attempted conversion.
The next play of note was right in front of us in the West stand and I still missed it! The first thing I saw was Richard taking a swing at one of the Quins props. I think this was the first thing most of the Quins support saw as well as they were calling for a yellow card, which they got. Unfortunately for them we all missed what is reported elsewhere as the prop rucking Thorpe’s head which explains why Quins had to play the next 10 minutes with 14 men.
With 18 minutes to go Irish were awarded a kickable penalty for an infringement at a scrum again and for the first time in the game an Irish player (Shane) accepts the kick (25-17) to take us safely two scores ahead. Tom Homer replaces Adam with Dominic Shabbo switching to the wing.
Quins are making several changes but their form is not improving. They kick the ball dead from the restart resulting in a scrum back. With 10 minutes to go Dan Murphy and Bob replace Gary Johnson and Faan.
Quins manage to create some pressure but the attaching player is tackled into touch by Richard Thorpe. From the line out we are awarded a free kick which is used to clear our line. This is almost the last pressure from Quins but not the end of the scoring. With 1 minute 12 on the clock Quins have possession but pass the ball to Hewat who runs the ball under the posts to make the final score 32-17, a slightly flattering score ,and the Quins support certainly blamed the referee who was booed off the pitch. However Irish’s second half performance clearly from this reporter’s viewpoint justified both the win and what may prove a vital bonus point if we are to stand a chance of getting out of the pool
So an A game that we didn’t think matter may have been important after all. We are still in with a chance in this cup depending on the result tomorrow.
For the future what does the EDF need to make it matter? If you ask me, a quarter final stage with group winners at home and moving the pool stages to the international periods would, with the prize fund available, mean that along with most English clubs we would be more interested from the start. Although I know many supporters would either scrap it or replace it with a knockout competition.
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