+- +-

+-Newcomers Start Here

+-Harlequins/Rugby Links


+-Articles


Author Topic: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts  (Read 1311 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

AJQuin

  • Captain
  • *****
  • Posts: 123
Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« on: Friday 24-Aug-2018, 23:09* »
Started off with a members afternoon which was much of a muchness, wife was more interested in buying the new jersey than anything.

The side looked strong on paper and for the first half remained as it started other than Lang being replaced by Cheeseman after taking a slight knock to his ankle. Ealing dominated possession but struggled to cross the 22 let alone the try line. The defence looked organised and was up quick but without being disrespectful to Ealing they were unimaginative in attack and I fear the likes of De Klerk, MacGinty and O’Connor might cause more issues next week.

Discipline was awful but then the officiating was inconsistent at best. I believe the ref was Andrew Jackson who I think has reffed at prem level for about two years.  I think he gave decisions both ways but in the first half there were a lot against Quins which killed off any chance of the lads getting a strangle hold on the game.

I would say that when we had the ball we looked more threatening in attack than last year, I know not hard. But for me it was a positive we generally took our chances apart from some dropped balls which given the rain I would forgive.

The second half saw numerous changes, sorry game change(r)s! Including Lang coming back on which was positive given his knock in the 1st half.

Positives I took:
Defensive organisation & quickness
Lang - looked good at both 12 and then later at 10
Lasike - going to gives us some big hits this year
Bothma - again going to provide some huge hits, drove one Ealing player back about 20 yards!
Max Crumpton - looks like our starting hooker, threw straight and made a good break and showed some pace
General offloading seemed much better and support runners where there
Tuapai - looked sharp and had a few good quick hands

Negatives:
Barely had a sniff of the ball for first 10 minutes
Discipline - way too many penalties even with some questionable reffing and a yellow card for South
Smith - this pains me to say it but he is not ready to be our starting 10 yet! Lang looked much better at 10, has a bigger boot and can kick at goal better imho, I hope to see less of Smith at 10 this year and let him grow a bit, between Lang, Swiel and Cat we should be ok.

This is of course just my take, happy for everyone to tell me I am wrong!

deadlyfrom5yardsout

  • Lions Captain
  • ******
  • Posts: 3838
Re: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« Reply #1 on: Saturday 25-Aug-2018, 01:10* »
Several dropped balls happened before the rains came. Butchery seems higher on the menu than before...

Everyone’s a Quinner

  • International Bench
  • ***
  • Posts: 569
Re: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« Reply #2 on: Saturday 25-Aug-2018, 01:35* »
Two more positives for me were performances by Nathan Earle and Elia Elia, and Joe Marler looked in form tonight for me too!

On the other hand though the “Game Changers” announcer had a mare getting players names right. Called Ross Chisholm Dave Ward haha!

Yareet

  • Lions Captain
  • ******
  • Posts: 1878
Re: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« Reply #3 on: Saturday 25-Aug-2018, 08:04* »
Not sure how much trouble Faf and JOC will cause you guys next week as I think I’m right that we have lost Faf to SA and JOC is still rehabbing.

AJQuin

  • Captain
  • *****
  • Posts: 123
Re: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« Reply #4 on: Saturday 25-Aug-2018, 09:30* »
Not sure how much trouble Faf and JOC will cause you guys next week as I think I’m right that we have lost Faf to SA and JOC is still rehabbing.

Fingers crossed this is the case!

DOK

  • Lions Captain
  • ******
  • Posts: 3725
Re: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« Reply #5 on: Saturday 25-Aug-2018, 10:05* »
i don't want to be negative, but the way we're playing we'd struggle to beat Bristol Bears next week, let alone Sale.

Bucksquin

  • Lions Bench
  • *****
  • Posts: 764
Re: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« Reply #6 on: Saturday 25-Aug-2018, 10:34* »
1. We were playing a Championship team, with our first-team.

2. Frankly, we weren't very good.

3. However, at least we only conceded one try, and that was a one-off defensive alignment error defending our line.

4. But... see 1 above.

5. I think the relegation battle will be between Worcester, Bristol and Quins, but Bristol could surprise (we likely won't).

6. The apparent long list of injuries going into the season (nothing else would appear to explain the absence of several big names from last night's team) is very concerning. Radio silence from the club on this point is disappointing. 


Chipstead Quin

  • 1st Xv Starter
  • **
  • Posts: 529
Re: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« Reply #7 on: Saturday 25-Aug-2018, 10:43* »
my thoughts .....

I think Quins started with 10 of their potential starters for next week .

Ealing ( according to their fans sat next to me ) normally play an expansive game , but yesterday played locks at 6 and 8 and wanted to punch holes through the middle - clearly wanted a forwards game.

They scored from a 5m Line out when we were down to 14 , but apart from that didn't look like crossing .

I was impressed by the combination of  Lang , Marchant and Earle and certainly felt we were better with Lang on the park.

Marler , Crumpton Wallace and Bothma were  solid - Bothma particularly putting in the tackles we all hoped he would .

Lasike was a bit mercurial , tackled like a demon , but dropped the ball everytime he got his hands on it .. work in progress

I liked the speed of Tapui when he came on

Negatives - didn't see any effective ball carrying from our locks , Marcus Smith didn't link well and got wrapped up a few times , Mike Brown seemed to be playing his own game , so many scrum penalties ( was that to do with conditions?) ,

Generally I thought the prematch warm up looked a lot more structured and effective , 4 coaches each taking a drill working it hard for a few minutes  , players attitudes seem good , focused but smiling and I do get the feel they are enjoying it more .

Bring on Sale .




Quinten Poulsen

  • Lions Captain
  • ******
  • Posts: 2134
Re: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« Reply #8 on: Saturday 25-Aug-2018, 11:02* »
I thought it was pretty rubbish and pretty boring. From what I've seen of Quins so far they look just the same as last season.

DOK

  • Lions Captain
  • ******
  • Posts: 3725
Re: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« Reply #9 on: Saturday 25-Aug-2018, 11:08* »
"We are Harlequins" was what Paul Gustard said after the Glasgow game, "that wasn't good enough!".

We are Harlequins, yes. Yes it was pre-season. yes the weather was awful, yes there's time to improve but... We are Harlequins, they are Ealing! Did it really look like the difference between a premiership side that aspires to a top 6 finish (let's drop the pretence of top 4) and a team hoping to be around the top of the championship? It did not. Come sun, hail, shine, biased refs, yellow cards or acts of God, we should have beaten them and beaten them well. And no, a 14 point difference doesn't impress me when they left at least 12 out there on the pitch.

They seemed better in the loose than we were. They didn't seem to drop the ball so often or give away penalties with the line in sight. There scrum certainly achieved parity and if anything their attack was better than ours. I'd love to see the possession stats for that first half. I thought our defence less porous than it looked against Glasgow, but I worry that is because of the difference in quality between the two teams.

We've bullied Jersey, got well beaten by Glasgow and scraped by Ealing. We are Harlequins, we are better than this! Our scrum was not what you'd call dominant, our backs were not incisive, we ended up not competing for the lineouts. We fell foul of the refs interpretations of scrum, ruck and maul more times than we should have.

I paid nothing for last night's ticket and feel I didn't get value for money!

We are Harlequins. We are better than this.

DOK

  • Lions Captain
  • ******
  • Posts: 3725
Re: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« Reply #10 on: Saturday 25-Aug-2018, 11:09* »
I worried when I saw the pre-season fixtures that our opponents were going to be too easy to beat and not give us a real workout! Huh!

AJQuin

  • Captain
  • *****
  • Posts: 123
Re: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« Reply #11 on: Saturday 25-Aug-2018, 11:22* »
I am less worried about possession stats as it’s what you do with your possession that counts, case in point the prem final last year chiefs had all the possession for the first ten minutes and came away with 3 pts sarries took their chances and won.

I don’t want to be too negative about last night it wasn’t a real game situation in terms of number of changes and the opposition, I’ve played in too many games myself were known weaker sides catch you off guard and you don’t beat them like you should but then you up your game against the best sides, think Quins beating sarries and wasps last year. Next week will tell us so much more.

I’ll remain positive and support the lads and club like I’m sure you all will too

Aha!

  • Captain
  • *****
  • Posts: 114
Re: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« Reply #12 on: Saturday 25-Aug-2018, 12:08* »
Only one team emerged with any credit – and it was Ealing who should be proud of their competitiveness and broke our line 4+ times.

I set high standards for Quins and didn’t see much that was above average, excepting Bothma. Also enjoyed the pace of the wings. But overall, a plodding and boring game.

I'm hopeful all the the pieces are there, but they might not include Care and Smith.

Bring on Sale!

Neil Quinnock

  • Academy Player
  • Posts: 310
Re: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« Reply #13 on: Saturday 25-Aug-2018, 12:25* »
I came away concerned by the lack of power in our game. Ealing pack looked bigger and bullied us in the first 10 mins. Accepting no Horwill, Luamanu, Clifford to break the line, but unless they all make Lazarus-like recoveries, I'm worried about or inability to cope with the big boys, starting next week.

Quinky

  • Lions Captain
  • ******
  • Posts: 3146
Re: Quins 22 Ealing 8 my thoughts
« Reply #14 on: Saturday 25-Aug-2018, 12:54* »
I wasn't there, but I don't hold much stead in pre-season games as an indicator of the season. They're more about trying combinations, shaking off rust, getting some match fitness etc, for me at least.

Sounds like Ealing played well, and why wouldn't they? They may take the Championship by storm, or this could have been their swansong. We know that any team can beat another team on their day - Quins are masters at that - so this one is chalked up to experience. And of course we won - in a league situation that would be the main point.

 

+-User

Welcome, Guest.
Please login or register.
 
 
 

Login with your social network

Forgot your password?

+-Site Statistics

Members
Total Members: 1162
Latest: Marsi1e
New This Month: 2
New This Week: 1
New Today: 0
Stats
Total Posts: 119493
Total Topics: 6384
Most Online Today: 419
Most Online Ever: 4089
(Sunday 10-Oct-2021, 12:56*)
Users Online
Members: 30
Guests: 391
Total: 421