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Harlequins boss lauds 'unbelievable professional' Chris Robshaw after final game
Harlequins boss Paul Gustard paid a glowing tribute to former England captain Chris Robshaw after the flanker led Quins to victory over Leicester in his final game for the club.
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The 34-year-old ran out for the 300th and last time for Quins and he guided them to a hard-fought 32-26 win in their Gallagher Premiership season finale at Welford Road.
The future for Robshaw now lies on the other side of the Atlantic as he joins USA Major League outfit San Diego Legion.
Quins head of rugby Gustard said they would miss the 66-times capped back row, who announced in February that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season – a date delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Gustard joked: “It is the longest, drawn-out retirement from the club of all time but he deserves all the accolades he gets.
“To win a Grand Slam, the first Six Nations title he has ever won, and to play 300 games for Harlequins, it is just an incredible achievement.
“The week itself (leading up to his final game), emotionally he felt it and today, when he first jogged onto the field, he could feel a heavy kind of burden as it was his last game.
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“Chris is an unbelievable professional, takes things seriously when he plays and enjoys the game with a smile on his face.”
Under Robshaw’s leadership, Quins secured victory thanks to tries from number eight Alex Dombrandt, two from wing Joe Marchant and a fourth from centre James Lang, along with 12 points by fly-half Brett Herron.
Quins ended the season in sixth place in the table, and Gustard said: “Over the course of the season, we had the sixth amount of wins, not counting Saracens of course, but we are where we are.
“We have evened out to where we should be because we haven’t played well enough. We definitely had a lot of injuries at the start of the season which battered out confidence, battered our rhythm and we never really recovered from having two or three disappointing defeats.
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“But we managed to get some big wins along the way – Exeter and Saracens – and kept ourselves in the hunt. There is lots to work on for next season, for sure.”
"Until we know, or the people know, what has happened, saying whether it should or should not have been postponed is an impossible question to answer."https://t.co/ufFOiQz5tY
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 4, 2020
Leicester, for their part, ended a season which will not last long in the memory. The former European Cup and Premiership champions ended second-bottom of the table with six wins and a draw from 22 games.
But they almost snatched this one. Tries from skipper Tom Youngs, wing Nemani Nadolo and centre Mike Scott, plus three penalties and a conversion from stand-off George Ford, took them close but not close enough.
Leicester director of rugby Geordan Murphy admitted the match had been disappointing.
He said: “We wanted to finish the season on a high. We didn’t play very well in the first half and found ourselves down and Harlequins are a very strong defence and stifled what we tried to create.”
Murphy also felt there was a lot to work on after a very poor campaign, adding: “You can’t shy away from the fact that this has been a really disappointing season for us for numerous reasons.
“The pandemic does not help but, from us, we feel we are on the start of our journey and we have to be better. I live in the county of Leicestershire and I see fans on a daily basis. It means so much to everyone who is around this club.
“It is a very big club and the supporter base is really important to us. The players understand that. We want to build a team that will make those supporters proud.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
4 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
6 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
11 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
11 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
4 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to comments