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#Post#: 70815--------------------------------------------------
Harlequins combine swagger and steel to win Premiership
DIR By: DOK
Date: June 27, 2021, 10:25 am
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Inside Line: How Harlequins combined swagger and steel to win
epic Premiership final
HTML https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2021/06/27/inside-line-harlequins-combined-swagger-steel-win-epic-premiership/
Nine years after their last title victory, Harlequins delivered
the ultimate team performance at Twickenham
By Charlie Morgan, RUGBY REPORTER 27 June 2021 • 11:04am
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Marcus Smith excelled for Harlequins as part of a superb team
performance CREDIT: Getty Images
An epic final at Twickenham represented a fitting climax to
Harlequins’ compelling season. Their extraordinary resurgence,
culminating in the most glorious fashion with a first
Premiership title since 2012, has been down to many factors.
Many of them shone through in what was – and had to be – an
exceptional team performance to beat Exeter Chiefs. Rob Baxter’s
reigning champions did not lie down. Harlequins beat them with a
display that combined courage, conviction, skill and sharp
strategy.
Tone-setting half-backs
Danny Care would admit that defence has not been his major
strength over a long career. However, his early harrying, almost
channelling Faf de Klerk, carved out Harlequins’ first
try-scoring opportunity.
Exeter’s midfield three – Joe Simmonds, Ollie Devoto and Henry
Slade – are all fine distributors. Here, in the third minute,
Chiefs have a chance to outflank Harlequins with runners loaded
towards the far touchline.
Care’s one-man press allows him to rush Simmonds and Devoto, who
starts behind Richard Capstick:
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This angle tracks the scrum-half for two phases, showing how he
times his run to beat the offside line and causes Devoto to
throw a poor pass that bounces into touch:
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Interestingly, Harlequins were fairly direct in attack early on.
With their respective first touches, Marcus Smith had a dart
from first-receiver and Care sniped around the fringes.
At this lineout, André Esterhuizen carries. Next, Care feeds
Smith behind Scott Baldwin. Right wing Louis Lynagh and
full-back Tyrone Green loop around their fly-half…
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…and the latter receives a pass before jinking inside Alex
Cuthbert:
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Care tracks across to the ruck. Then he just pauses slightly on
the ball. The shrewd move, effective against aggressive
defences, encourages Jonny Hill to jump the gun. He creeps
offside in midfield:
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Harlequins’ clarity of thought is obvious. Hooker Baldwin
immediately points to the corner:
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And Smith’s touch-finder is perfect, setting up a five-metre
lineout:
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Skipper Stephan Lewies in the target and a powerful drive can
only be stopped by Hill’s illegal side entry:
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A penalty try results and Harlequins have the blistering start
they would have craved. Their ascendancy did not last though.
Thriving in chaos
Exeter’s muscular reply comprised two tries, with Smith also
yellow-carded as a result of concerted Chiefs pressure.
This next passage begins with 14-man Harlequins throwing into a
lineout on the edge of their own 22:
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They stay calm, claiming the throw and eking out metres with a
driving maul. Care hoists a box-kick that is chased by Lynagh…
[img]
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…who rises above Tom O’Flaherty to claim:
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Lynagh, just 20, had committed an error that led to Exeter’s
second try. This response was resilient.
He barely put a foot wrong over the rest of the match and his
claim presented Harlequins with a broken-field transition
situation. Via Care, Esterhuizen, Joe Marchant and Green, the
ball is spread to Cadan Murley.
And, even though the left wing’s offload does not go into
Harlequins hands…
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…the outstanding Marchant tackles Devoto. Green and Jack Nowell
are pitted in a race to the breakdown…
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…and Care arrives to help his full-back force a penalty:
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They go to touch once more, and earn two more penalties. From
the second one, in the absence of goal-kicker Smith, they opt
for a five-metre scrum.
Despite looking slightly frantic without their fly-half to steer
them, they eventually score through Wilco Louw’s barnstorming
shunt:
Wilco is a unit
HTML https://twitter.com/i/status/1408840399553273860
(Ensure your twitter settings allow "Display media that may
contain sensitive content")
The scrummaging of Louw and Joe Marler then incited more
momentum.
Set-piece power and slicing runs
The sight of Exeter’s scrum creaking felt jarring, and was also
testament to the form of Marler and Louw. Here, in the 41st
minute, the former causes Chiefs tighthead prop Harry Williams
to pop up:
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Harlequins surge through, earning a penalty, and go to touch.
This time, there is a different strike-move on the back of a
strong maul. Esterhuizen pulls the ball back to Smith behind
Marchant…
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…and Green is sent on an arcing run. Follow Care and openside
flanker Jack Kenningham:
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Green jinks inside Slade and offloads to Lynagh out of Devoto’s
tackle:
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Care scampers across and, once more, Harlequins bounce back in
the opposite direction:
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His pass sails across Esterhuizen to the tireless Kenningham.
Meanwhile, Care is calling for an offside penalty because
Exeter’s forwards have not managed to retreat behind the back
foot of the previous breakdown:
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Referee Matthew Carley obliges, and Lewies wastes no time in
calling for a scrum:
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Watch Alex Dombrandt’s try:
HTML https://twitter.com/i/status/1408839677084418058
Now we will rewind. He had peeled himself away from the previous
breakdown, initially heading to the far side. Look at Exeter’s
defence. Devoto has spotted Smith lurking behind his forwards
and is heading beyond Alec Hepburn:
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This angle shows the hole, between Williams and Jack Maunder,
that Devoto is trying to plug.
The presence of Louw and Baldwin ensure that Hepburn and
Williams have to stay narrow, but Smith is demanding the ball
and Dombrandt knows that his fly-half will suck in defenders.
The number eight hunts Smith’s right shoulder…
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…and is rewarded with a try as Smith lures Devoto out of the
defensive line to create a huge hole:
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Surely it is time to see if Dombrandt’s intelligent support
running can cause problems in the Test arena.
Scanning for weak spots
There is a ruthlessness to Smith’s playmaking that was in
evidence for Harlequins’ fourth try. Here, in the 44th minute,
James Chisholm carries into Williams and Hill. Louw is on hand…
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…and clatters Hill in the clear-out:
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The collision leaves Hill reeling:
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Smith and O’Flaherty then exchange kicks. Watch how the next 30
seconds play out:
HTML https://twitter.com/i/status/1408844247793549324
The offloading interplay between Green, Lynagh and Kenningham is
slick. But more crucial to the try is how Harlequins identify
Hill, who had been receiving treatment from a physio, on the
edge of Exeter’s front line.
Smith obviously calls for a pull-back from Chisholm. Marchant,
Murley and Esterhuizen have back-pedalled to give Harlequins
width:
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A looping pass from Smith lobs Hill and creates the telling
break:
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The chance is taken clinically once the attack breaches the
Exeter 22. As enterprising and intrepid as they were in attack,
Harlequins also defended doggedly.
Desperate defence
This sequence begins in the 69th minute with Exeter leading
31-26 courtesy of two further tries from Sam Simmonds and Ollie
Devoto, plus Joe Simmonds’ penalty. Harlequins are on the ropes.
After a tackle from Marler on Stuart Hogg, Exeter still have
their opponents scrambling with men in space towards the near
touchline as Joe Simmonds feeds Slade under pressure from
Dombrandt.
Kenningham, Luke Northmore and Lynagh are the men to watch:
[img]
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Sam Simmonds is eventually released. However, Lynagh lassoes him
in a one-on-one tackle for the second time in the game:
[img]
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There is an in-field offload, but the ball evades Don Armand.
Northmore had tracked the back-rower anyway:
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Kenningham is the man to mop up, making his own luck with his
industry off the ball:
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From there, Care box-kicks. Lynagh is on his feet to lead the
chase, with Dombrandt and Joe Gray following up. Chisholm is
buried in the breakdown. Remember that:
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Lynagh trips Hogg…
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…with Dombrandt and Gray completing the tackle.
Then, on the following phase, Northmore chop-tackles Hill and
Chisholm is awarded with a penalty after managing what Carley
calls “a clear lift of the ball”:
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At the time, it seemed like another significant momentum swing.
Backline balance and Smith’s trickery
Northmore moved into midfield after replacing Murley, shifting
Marchant out to the wing. But the Harlequins backline maintained
its balance.
Indeed, Northmore’s pass to Dombrandt foreshadows Lynagh’s first
try:
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Fifteen seconds later, Smith cracks open Chiefs. With Exeter
bunched tightly around the ruck and understaffed on this near
side, he scurries around a flat pod of three forwards. Look at
Lynagh calling for the ball:
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It does not matter that Chisholm’s pull-back is messy. Smith’s
goose-step sucks in Stu Townsend and Lynagh’s out-to-in angle is
enough to beat O’Flaherty:
The Marcus Smith step
HTML https://twitter.com/i/status/1408854060829134848
Four minutes later comes a contrasting piece of distribution.
Again, Smith loiters behind his forwards, who are joined by
hefty centres Northmore and Esterhuizen.
Green stays close to Smith, with Lynagh in the near 15-metre
channel. Exeter’s area of weakness, the one that Smith is eyeing
while his heavier teammates pound away, is the seam between Joe
Simmonds on the edge of Chiefs’ front line and O’Flaherty.
The latter must be able to swing around into the back-field if
necessary, leaving Joe Simmonds’ outside shoulder as a
vulnerable spot:
[img]
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Sure enough, Smith darts in that direction and calls for the
ball. He looks up, clocking his opposite man:
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A wider angle of the same moment is helpful. The space for Green
is beyond the three Exeter defenders pressing hard, to
O’Flaherty’s right. Again, Lynagh is calling for the ball:
[img]
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Smith’s flat pass sends Green on precisely the right line to
fade past Joe Simmonds…
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…and Lynagh is able to score from the two-on-one that results.
Amid the madness, two cool touchline conversions from Smith
proved critical as well.
Legacy of 2012 meets the future
Four members of the Harlequins squad from this weekend had
featured nine years ago in a 30-23 victory over Leicester
Tigers. How fitting that they sealed this triumph, too.
With the clock in the red, Gray and replacement tighthead prop
Will Collier forced a fumble from Jannes Kirsten…
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…and Matt Symons’ pass was collected by Marler:
[img]
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A phase later, Care dinked into touch:
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This represented a nice coincidence. More importantly, though,
it encapsulated how Harlequins have re-established their
identity after an uncertain few years.
They exude freedom and fearlessness, but that is bolstered by
steel and set-piece solidity. After this epic final, their title
defence next season will be fun to follow.
Match images courtesy of BT Sport
#Post#: 70823--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harlequins combine swagger and steel to win Premiership
DIR By: Bolly-Quin
Date: June 27, 2021, 10:55 am
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I did think at the time DC had kicked it a bit early - 79:59
shown here it must have crossed the line a split second after 80
or right on it - couldn't have been closer!
#Post#: 70825--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harlequins combine swagger and steel to win Premiership
DIR By: DOK
Date: June 27, 2021, 11:09 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I'm pretty sure it was out by the stadium clock. We counted down
10-9-8 etc...
#Post#: 70834--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harlequins combine swagger and steel to win Premiership
DIR By: Subterra
Date: June 27, 2021, 1:34 pm
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What a brilliant explanation of the match.
I think there were quite a few thousand Harlequins "Countdown
Clockers" just to make sure the team knew exactly when time was
up.
The 16th Man strikes again. :)
#Post#: 70846--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harlequins combine swagger and steel to win Premiership
DIR By: mighty_quin
Date: June 27, 2021, 4:25 pm
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That's a great article, thank you.
#Post#: 70848--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harlequins combine swagger and steel to win Premiership
DIR By: RodneyRegis
Date: June 27, 2021, 4:47 pm
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Really superb. That smash from care on devoto was klarse.
#Post#: 70868--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harlequins combine swagger and steel to win Premiership
DIR By: Camquin
Date: June 28, 2021, 3:11 am
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If I was looking for the point where Exeter lost it, I would
highlight the point where they took the kick at goal, rather
than going for the corner. Rob Baxter mentioned it in his
interview. They thought they had won, because they had won so
often before. But this time they failed to realize we were not
beaten. The three points did them no good -aside from ruling out
the drop goal that we were never going to take while it was that
close. The fact they were not confident to go for the corner, is
a tribute to the strength of the pack. The fact we were able to
come back and score not once but twice to the steel running
through the whole side.
#Post#: 70874--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harlequins combine swagger and steel to win Premiership
DIR By: poorfour
Date: June 28, 2021, 3:17 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I said to Mrs Poorfour when Exeter chose that kick that it could
be a turning point in the match and a huge lift for Quins,
because they would know that they had beaten Exeter in the red
zone.
#Post#: 70899--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harlequins combine swagger and steel to win Premiership
DIR By: JammyGit
Date: June 28, 2021, 5:26 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, the moments that stuck in my mind were a) Exeter's bizarre
approach to the Cuthbert injury, where both their tactics and
the execution let them down (Joe Simmonds put in an horrendous
kick during this period!), and b) taking three points after
trying a lineout drive, which only put them 5 points ahead
against THAT Quins team that was always going to be looking to
score tries regardless
Quins rattled them pretty badly. It says a lot about Exeter that
despite being so rattled they still came so close to winning it.
#Post#: 70900--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harlequins combine swagger and steel to win Premiership
DIR By: Banstead Quin
Date: June 28, 2021, 5:30 am
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DOK comes up trumps again, good find this. Great analysis and
there was me thinking that we just threw it around and hoped
(can't find the sarcasm emoji).
Just shows the intelligence of our young players and how playing
'heads up' rather than to a plan will win you games. With that
talent, we need to sustain that approach as well as shoring up
the defence.
I hadn't noticed that lovely touch at the end with the boys of
2012 closing out the game.
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