1st XV
Matches
Sat 15 Nov 2014  ·  Herts/Middlesex 2
Ickenham
0
67
Harlequin Amateurs Rugby Club
1st XV
Tries: A Smail (3), J Walker, M Rees (2), M Lovelock (3), P Hibbert, D LoveConversions: G Jaques (6)
Harlequins brave the monsoon for the win

Harlequins brave the monsoon for the win

Simon Rowland16 Nov 2014 - 13:25
Share via
FacebookTwitter
https://www.harlequinrugby.co.

After a week off Harlequins travel away to Ickenham in horrendous conditions to get their first shut out

Travelling away to bottom of the table Ickenham Quins were looking for a bonus point win to keep the pressure on those above us in the table, especially as the top four were all playing each other.

After making the long walk from the changing rooms to the pitch, the heavens opened up and it absolutely hammered down and soaking everything and everyone, this was a bit disconcerting as a wet slippery ball doesn't play into Quiins' expansive game.

The opposition who have been struggling all season, started the match with only 13 players and so Quins looked to take the game away as quickly as possible.

It didn't take long for Alec Smail to exploit the 2 man advantage as he went round the outside to score with only a few minutes on the clock, George without his tee missed from the touchline. 0-5.

Jake Walker who has been struggling with injuries and yet to score this season, scored a fantastic individual effort, collecting the ball on the wing, stepped inside to beat one player, then again to beat another defender and then handed off the final defender and ran the try in to double Quins lead, George added the extra points, 0-12.

The extra men was making the game quite easy for the Quins backs as all they had to do was draw and pass to create and overlap, the recipient of the third try was Morgan Reece who touched down in the corner, George uncharacteristically missed a second kick, 0-17.

The forwards not wanting to miss out on the points, were next up to score, with Mike Lovelock deciding to ignore the move called and run the ball in from the half way line, much to George's happiness, Mike touched down under the posts, George's kick was successful, 0-24.

It didn't take Mike Lovelock to get his brace as he did his normal thing of breaking a couple of tackled and using his pace to beat the covering tackler, another try under the posts another good kick from George, 0-31.

The last play of the half was very reminiscent of the first, with Alec Smail finding himself in space on the outside and ran in unopposed , George missed the conversion and the half finished, 0-36.

With the game and bonus point secured, the key word was focus, we wanted to keep shut out. Alec Smail completed his hat-trick very early on in the second half, shrugging off two tackles and running it in from well inside our own half, George kicked the extras, 0-43.

Not to be outdone by his old University team mate, Mike Lovelock then completed his hat-trick from around the half way line, George adding the conversion, 0-50.

Then came the closest point to Quins conceding as Luke Nugent was pinged for not releaseing after some clever play on the floor, the kicker just pushing the ball wide, a let off for Quins.

With some interesting interpretation of when the ball was deemed out, Paul Hibbert was having a relatively quiet game, that was until he made a blistering break down the blindside, out pacing any defenders to score, George couldn't get the kick, 0-55.

Ickenham then had some possession for the first time in the match, and clever kick through from their 10 was very sharply collected by Jake Walker to stop a try.

Quins then found themselves in the Ickenham 22, the ball was like a bar of soap (that's my excuse anyway), Si Rowland reprising his role of fly half, tried a long pass but only managed to throw it on the floor in front of George Jaques, who with some clever thinking hacked it on the half volley, where Morgan Reece beat their 13 to touch down for his brace, the kick was missed, 0-60.

And now the highlight of the match, if anyone can recall Steve Thompson's try for the England Legends, then this was better, after bringing himself off, but then having to come one again due to injury, Dave Love found himself defending against the 10 and 12, he tried his hand at something he always does and training and went for the intercept, it came off, then the sheer delight turned to horror as Dave Love realised he had 70m of open space to run. Paul Hibbert and Mike Lovelock were running on his shoulders, causing Dave to check over each shoulder every second, a clever blocking line from Mike Lovelock allowed Dave to complete a fantastic intercept try, and a definite contender for try of the season. George added the extras and with it the final whistle, 0-67.

A big thank you to Ickenham for their hospitality, stick at it, we were in a very similar position a few years ago.

Next week we are back at home, hosting Mill Hill. We have a 100% record at home and we really want to turn it into a fortress, this means we need numbers at training and need to know your availabilitys as soon as possible.

Match details

Match date

Sat 15 Nov 2014

Kickoff

14:15

Meet time

13:00

Location

Instructions

13:00 meet at Ickenham or meet at St Mary's for 11:15, please let us know if you are going direct or need a lift

Competition

Herts/Middlesex 2
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Sponsor - MYCO
Club Sponsor - Savills
Club Sponsor - Norman Rourke Pryme LLP