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14/02/2010

QUINS TAKE IT DOWN TO THE WIRE TO STAY IN THE HUNT

After a hard-fought but open encounter, only a single point separated Abu Dhabi Harlequins and Dubai Dragons at Al Ghazal on Friday night.

In a must win encounter for Abu Dhabi following two losses in as many weeks, the Quins were bolstered by the return of influential fly-half Murray Strang and strengthened by the late additions of debutants Alex Rogers at tight-head prop and Pip Davy on the left wing.

The match started at a ferocious pace that continued for the eighty minutes. From the kick-off a bone crunching tackle by Rogers saw the ball turned over; from the ensuing ruck, Man of the Match, Tom Fisher, made the first of his many breaks, and fed the ball to Tim Harwin, who made a thrust. From the breakdown, the ball was then shifted to Dave Stolzenburg, who clawed his way across the line. Strang added the conversion.

For the next sixty minutes, the Quins forwards dominated the set-piece play, preventing the Dragons from developing a platform to launch their dangerous back-line; during this time, the away team were limited to two penalty goals, making the half time score 14-6, after Fisher scored the first of his two tries on the 36 minute mark.

For all the pressure the Quins pack were able to exert and the all the possession that they won however, the Capital side continued to squander possession too easily to the opposition; forced passes, lack of numbers at the breakdown, not to mention some bizarre refereeing decisions, prevented their domination being reflected on the scoreboard.

Captain and coach Ali Thompson commented “Our ability to convert pressure into points is a concern. As a team, we need to show more patience and composure in the strike zone. This is certainly something we need to address in preparation for our next match against league leaders, Bahrain”

A turning point in the match came in the 60th minute. When a seemingly innocuous injury to one of the Dragons resulted in the scrums becoming uncontested, effectively negating the dominance that the Quins had displayed. This now leveled the playing field and the Dragons backline came to life. A further penalty from Andy Russell, the oppositions inspirational play-maker, kick-started the Dragons comeback. The same player started to find holes in the, up until that point, water-tight Abu Dhabi defence, and the game swung from end to end. Strang landed a penalty from 30 metres but the Dragons hit back with a close-range try, following a penalty and subsequent yellow card for back-rower Jamie Clarke.

With a one point margin separating the teams going into the final ten minutes, a surge by Sam Cook launched an attack deep into the opposition22. From a scrum on the left, the ball was transferred to the lively Fisher, who stepped off his right foot, and beat five defenders to score near the posts. Strang kicked the conversion, rounding of a perfect day with the boot and giving Abu Dhabi an unassailable eight point lead going into the final minutes. Although the Dragons rallied to score a try in the last play, it was too little too late, allowing the Capital side to get their season back on-line. This was just reward for a squad that, although riddled with injuries, remains focused on Silverware this season.

Thompson commented “Our main objective tonight was to win the match; we have done that so can now go back to the drawing board in preparation for ‘Winner takes all’ match against Bahrain. Nothing but a win will suffice if the club is to meet its lofty aspirations of a league and cup double’’

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