'We'd 500 Harlequins ultras, stockbrokers and lawyers turned into these crazy fans'
Veteran scrum-half Danny Care has saluted the atmosphere generated by the 500 lucky Harlequins fans who were able to roar their team on as they fought back from a 0-28 deficit at Bristol to force Gallagher Premiership semi-final extra-time before going on to win 43-36.
A restricted attendance of just over 6,500 was allowed to attend the Ashton Gate semi-final and while the Bears supporters were scattered in a socially distanced way throughout the stadium, the travelling band of Harlequins were located in the same area and the noise they generated helped swing the momentum of the occasion the way of the London club.
Trailing by 28 points in as many minutes, you’d never have believed that a trip to Bristol rather than a possible away day at Exeter or Sale was what Harlequins had wanted in the weeks leading up to the semi-finals, but they felt that a particular black mark team statistic against the Bears could ultimately work in their favour.
Harlequins had led the league over the course of the season in terms of the number of turnovers won by any team and with Bristol said to be the side that lost the most turnovers, the scene was set for the London club to keep believing they could win against the odds, faith emboldened by Alex Dombrandt profiting from a Max Malins error to score their first points just before the interval.
“We absolutely loved it,” said Care, looking back on the incredible Harlequins comeback that now has them preparing for their first Premiership final since they lifted their one and only league title in 2012. “We couldn’t say it in the build-up but the team that we wanted to play was Bristol but we didn’t want to fuel any fire.
"At half-time we had two emotions, agony and ecstasy. One team was just so far out in front that you worried for Harlequins that they might be humiliated"#BRIvHARhttps://t.co/Ynq4ldO57T
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 19, 2021
“They didn’t need any fuel on the fire because the first 20 minutes we couldn’t get a finger on them, but we did want to go down to Bristol because the stats showed us that they do concede the most turnovers in the league and we feel like we are very good off turnovers so we thought if we have got a chance away at one of those teams it might be Bristol and it turned out we were right.
“The first 20 minutes I have never seen a team like it, they were absolutely unbelievable. Charles Piutau, Semi Radradra, Max Malins were unstoppable. We couldn’t get a finger on them but we finally took a bit of a step back, got a foothold in the game and got that first try towards the end of the half.
“At half time generally people would think you’re mad thinking you’d come back from this but we said if we get one try here you never know, if we two they are going to start getting worried about us and we all said if we get three tries this game is ours and we managed to do it,” continued Care, the veteran Harlequins scrum-half whose exceptional form this spring had him touted as a possible Lions tour pick.
“The fans, I have never known an atmosphere like it. We only had 500 of our fans there – we should have had a few more but Bristol did something with the other tickets. But it was like we had 500 Harlequins ultras, the stockbrokers and lawyers turned into these crazy fans and it just shows, I have talked about this so many times how I need fans to play.
“I’m 100 per cent convinced that if fans weren’t in that stadium Bristol are in the final this weekend and we’re not but our fans were unbelievable from start to finish. They are the reason we got over the line and we got them to a final which is what we really wanted to do.”
"I try and keep God on my side so he looks after me on the field"
– Premiership player of the year nominee Marcus Smith talks about his faith, his Asian roots, his rejuvenated form and his enduring love for @Harlequins#BRIvHAR https://t.co/zGVufoSIVu
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 17, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
This is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.
21 Go to commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
1 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to comments