London Irish v Harlequins

[SVT Rick]

Will be going to the game tomorrow.
Early drinkies in the Hotel next to stadium.
Then after watch rest of Wales v England at Fightning Cocks, Bagshot followed by Curry.

Maybe see a few of you guys there?

Just for Kinky - match preview from the Quins supporters site
http://www.rugbynetwork.net/main/s98/st140090.htm

[Kinky]

SVT Rick said:

Just for Kinky - match preview from the Quins supporters site
http://www.rugbynetwork.net/main/s98/st140090.htm

That's a nice write up

[SVT Rick]

Kinky said:

SVT Rick said:

Just for Kinky - match preview from the Quins supporters site
http://www.rugbynetwork.net/main/s98/st140090.htm

That's a nice write up

Yes thats what I thought.
The points are there for the taking.

May the Best Team Win.

[SVT Rick]

9 - 14 Thanks for the Points

[TimmerTVR]

Enjoyed it today, close game although I think the ref was trying to make up for the red card in the second half by giving most things to Irish - doesn't matter as Quins won.

[SVT Rick]

TimmerTVR said:

Enjoyed it today, close game although I think the ref was trying to make up for the red card in the second half by giving most things to Irish - doesn't matter as Quins won.

My view was.

Place throws a punch and gets a yellow.
Sorry but a punch is a Red Card no if's or butt's It's a Red.
However he gets off light with the yellow and 10 yards from the Ref he gobbs off
so gets another yellow which equals Red - early bath my son.

He is a proffesional player and playing in a proffesional league of top flight rugby.
Learn the laws of the game as this cost his team, LI a win today.
Quins should have scored at least two more trys and gone for the bonus point, however were not on top of their game my a mile today - bugger.

England at least took the game to Wales and can be proud of that, however disipline cost them today too.



Quins match report not quite a St Valentine's day....

Harlequins strengthened their case for a Guinness Premiership play-off spot as they defeated high-flying London Irish 14-9 at Madejski Stadium on Saturday.

Toby Booth's men, playing with 14 men for almost an hour after hooker David Paice was sent off, displayed impressive spirit to hold their London rivals to within seven and achieve a potentially vital losing bonus point.

Paice was sent off in the 22nd minute after an exchange of punches in the Irish half, and a show of dissent persuaded referee Tim Wigglesworth to show the hooker a straight red card.

Opposing hooker Gary Botha scored the only try of the afternoon to rub salt further into Paice's wounds.

The visiting team's Kiwi playmaker Nick Evans had missed a straightforward-looking penalty opportunity in the seventh minute, after an aggressive start by the visitors.

Irish's first concerted attack produced fluent running from full-back Peter Hewat and wing Adam Thompstone to put Quins under pressure.

Hewat calmly slotted a penalty to gain some reward in the 11th minute, then Evans made up for his earlier miss to level the scores after 17 minutes from in front of the posts after an Irish offence at a scrum.

More inspirational galloping from Hewat led to the returning Topsy Ojo having a first sprint up the wing, but his attempt to out-pace fellow England tourist Mike Brown foundered when his kick ahead went straight into touch.

With Paice off the field, Evans further punished Irish with the ensuing penalty, to howls of derision from the Exiles' fans.

But the home side showed guts to mount an immediate counter-thrust which produced a penalty for Hewat in the 27th minute.

Soon after the half-hour, impressive Quins centre Jordan Turner-Hall almost barged his way under the posts, and the fortunes of Irish went from bad to worse when points machine Hewat was forced to leave the field with a leg injury, following an accidental collision with Ojo.

The half finished with the 14 men controlling proceedings, England reject Steffon Armitage making his presence felt with a rampaging run.

Roared on by their passionate supporters in the 12,000 strong crowd, Irish showed they would not allow numerical disadvantage to make them shut up shop, forcing Quins to be penalised on their 22 just after the restart.

Argentinian scrum-half Alfredo Lalanne took over the kicking duties and nudged the men in green into the lead.

There was a derby fervour at the Madejski, as these traditional London rivals went toe-to-toe. Irish somehow held out for a five-minute spell with Quins camped on their line but eventually Botha was mauled over the whitewash on 49 minutes for the first try of the afternoon.

Evans, however, missed another kick he would normally convert.

South African Botha was relishing the extra space available and a crafty dummy and sprint down the blindside led to Quins mounting another assault on the Irish line.

The Exiles were hanging on, with player/coach Mike Catt having an off-day with his kicking game, unable to relieve the pressure, and with their under-powered scrum creaking.

A desperate attempt to run from the shadow of their posts fell victim to Wigglesworth's whistle at a ruck and Evans knocked over a penalty to seal victory three minutes from the end, despite a frantic last-gasp Irish attack.

The scorers:

For London Irish:
Pen: Hewat 2, Lalanne

For Harlequins:
Tries: Jones
Pen: Evans 3

London Irish: 15 Peter Hewat, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Elvis Seveali'i, 12 Seilala Mapusua, 11 Adam Thompstone, 10 Mike Catt(c), 9 Alfredo Lalanne, 8 Chris Hala'Ufia, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Richard Thorpe, 5 James Hudson, 4 Gary Johnson, 3 Tonga Lea'aetoa, 2 David Paice, 1 Clarke Dermody.
Replacements: 16 Alex Corbisiero, 17 James Buckland, 18 Matthew Garvey, 19 Jonathon Fisher, 20 Charlie Gower, 21 Peter Richards, 22 James Bailey

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 8 Tom Guest, 7 Will Skinner (ca), 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Robson, 4 Ollie Kohn, 3 Mark Lambert, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Ceri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Chris Brooker, 17 Peter Bracken, 18 Jim Evans, 19 Neil McMillan, 20 Jnr Polu, 21 Chris Malone, 22 David Strettle.

Referee: Tim Wigglesworth
Touch judges: Andy Watson, Alan Hughes

Edited by SVT Rick on Sunday 15th February 08:25