Strang seals Quins’ victory in Doha with a bonus point

02/10/2009

Strang Seals Quins’ victory in Doha with a bonus point

Friday 2nd October, 2009: Fielding their strongest side to travel to Qatar in memory, a series of tries from Quins’ backs Tony Matthews, John O’Connor and Murray Strang maintained the reigning Premiership champions’ winning start to the season in a convincing 29-8 AWAY win at the Doha fortress on the weekend.

Doha, who have not lost in their last 21 home games, a record they have proudly maintained spanning two seasons, were treated to a convincing display of hard and fast attacking rugby by the Quins boys in front of a packed home crowd of over 400 supporters.

Richard Harris, who attended the match, was delighted with the result. “I can’t remember the last time we won away at Doha,” reflected the Quins’ Chairman. “In fact, I don’t think we have won here in the last seven years!”

The match, the only Premiership fixture of the weekend due to the Bahrain Tens festival, saw the welcome return of Abu Dhabi stand-off Murray Strang to the starting line-up who, along with scoring the final try, amassed a personal tally of 14 points by putting in a controlled kicking display with three conversions and a penalty.

Match Report

ARABIAN GULF PREMIERSHIP: Abu Dhabi Harlequins 29 – 8 Doha

5pm Doha –The match unfolded at a fast pace and Doha’s dependence on a playing a kicking game with the wind behind them was obvious from the ‘off.’ However, the scoring opened on the 6th minute when the Quins were awarded a penalty 35 metres out to the right. Strang took the kick and converted; 3-0.

A ruthless three-quarters combination saw full-back, Tony Matthews, go over the line close to the post from a Quins scrum in the Doha 22 via great distribution from scrum-half, Paddy Heggarty. Strang quickly stepped up and converted; 10-0 on 8 minutes.

The next 15 minutes witnessed a number of powerful runs from Johan Furie combining well with fellow centre, John O’Connor, breaking through the Doha defence almost at will. This, combined with the great platform provided by the forwards at the breakdown, clearly started to unsettled the home team. At this point, the Quins had the game by the throat and a high score seemed on the cards.

Man-of-the-Match, Matthews, nullified Doha’s key strength in their aerial attacks by putting in a flawless catching display and hitting Doha hard on the counter-attack with penetrating runs deep into enemy territory. On 18 minutes, Doha chipped over the defence where they quickly recaptured the ball and looked certain to score. The chase and tackle by wing, Tim Harwin, reversed Doha’s fortunes putting the backline in a good counter-attacking position which, had it not been for poor handling close to the kill, would have resulted in a try.

A penalty conceded 25 metres out witnessed Doha claw back 3 points with a successful kick. The Quins, however, were unable to add to their tally when they were awarded a penalty on 35 minutes due to a high tackle. Abu Dhabi led 10-3 at the break, but it could have been more had they been able to put the finishing touches on a number of attacking moves during the first half.

Half Time: Quins 10 – 3 Doha

Doha, the closest challengers to Abu Dhabi last season and proud of their remarkable home record, came out fighting at the start of the second half. The Quins coped admirably in defence, working well as a unit with flankers Jamie Clarke and Tom Fisher putting in some thumping tackles around the breakdown in the process.

A penalty kicked into touch by O’Connor, saw the Quins win the resultant line-out on the right in Doha’s 22 and, through a series of fast hand-to-hand passing left saw O’Connor go over the line for a Strang conversion; Quins 17-3 on 47 minutes.

Heggarty piled on the pressure with a kick and chase coming close to scoring only to see the ball touched down by Doha. Niko Van Niekerk came on for Chris Jones Griffiths at 55 minutes to add some fresh legs to the squad at a point when Doha’s kicking game started to bear fruit. On the 60th minute when, after a high-kick over was knocked-on by the Quins, Doha failed to score and capitalise on the pressure brought to bear in the Quins 22.

The 70th minute saw Matthews collect yet another aerial attempt by Doha and, from his own 22, started a great solo run towards their chasers. The following chip over and chase by Matthews resulted in a penalty try when he was taken out without the ball, which was easily converted by Strang; Quins 24-3.

Doha managed to score a consolation try on the 73rd minute which was unconverted bringing the score to 24-8.

The Quins ran on the bench on the 75th minute with all replacements making a positive contribution. Strang managed to seal the victory with a ‘bonus point’ try in the dying minutes from a great offload by tackled Matthews who would otherwise had been through, ensuring that Abu Dhabi ran out 29-8 winners.

With a reputation for having one of the most technically proficient front rows in the league, Doha, after the match, complimented the technical ability of Quins’ front rowers Graham Murphy, Ben Compton and Charlie Lilley.

Man of the Match: Tony Matthews

Thompson had the following to say after the game;
‘I was very satisfied with the result in Doha; not many teams go to Qatar and get a result, we won with a bonus point. Again, our superior fitness levels throughout the squad and power and pace of the backline were to the fore.’

Abu Dhabi dominated the line out and in loose play with impressive performances by captain Ali Thompson and Simon Osbourne. ‘With the lineout functioning very well, and the backs continually receiving quick ruck from ruck, we could have and should have scored more points.’

However, Thompson believes that the Quins still have work to do. ‘Unforced errors and indiscipline, however, continued to creep into our game. As we progress, we need to be more patient in possession and start to build the phases in a controlled manner. I am very proud of all the boys and their achievements to date.’

The Abu Dhabi Harlequins travel to the Sevens, Dubai, this weekend to take on the Dubai Hurricanes where captain, Thompson, will be looking for his players to be more clinical in their finishing adding to a perfect start to the season. ‘Next week we face the challenge of the Dubai Hurricanes; they know what to expect so we need to be more clinical.’

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