Harlequins endured heartbreak tonight at the Twickenham Stoop, as replacement Bath prop Francois van Wyk snatched away the win in the dying embers of the match. The South African scored the decisive try in the corner with one minute left on the clock, in the match that featured a brace of debut tries for Harlequins’ new Argentine wing Rodrigo Isgro.
The tone of the match was set straight from kick off, as Harlequins wing Cadan Murley levelled Guy Pepper with a perfectly timed hit. Bath back row Sam Underhill returned the favour off the fixture’s first line-out, as he flew into his opposite man will Evans like a battering ram. Both teams were supercharged for this Saturday night clash, with fast and furious carries into the alternating gain-lines.
It was an idyllic track out at the Stoop, with the setting Twickenham sun bathing the ground in a glorious glow. Both sides loved nothing more than showcasing their high octane attack, with the match stopped for the first time after five minutes of play. Austin Emens clattered into Tyrone Green in a areal battle, with Marcus Smith kicking for the corner. The subsequent line-out worked the ball in-field, to set-up the first try of the match.
Returning to the Stoop after a few weeks on the injury side-lines, club captain Alex Dombrandt got the scoring underway. His back row partner Will Evans made key yards in the preluding carry, as he trundled the ball up into Bath’s red zone. Smith zipped a pass to Dombrandt, who cut through the defence on an arching run, before racing away beyond the try-line. Smith brought his shooting boots, to secure the seven point lead after as many minutes.
Whilst the Harlequins attack got the fans on their feet, the impressive defensive effort kept them standing with a resounding ovation. Back three flyers Tyrone Green and Cadan Murley combined their strengths, to halt Bath fullback Tom de Glanville’s slide to the try-line. Green and Murley stunned the Stoop by denying the try, in a phenomenal joint effort.
An injury scare then impacted Bath’s back row, as England prospect Alfie Barbeary departed after just 10 minutes. With an England A fixture taking centre stage in the same ground next month, Barbeary will hope to complete his return to play protocol in time, after enduring a nasty whiplash, as his head ricocheted off the turf in a tackle. Departing the pitch shaken up but under his own feet, Jaco Coetzee arrived sooner than expected off the bench.
The Stoop then welcomed it’s newest son, as Argentine wing Rodrigo Isgro marked his debut with a well taken try. After repeated short phases, Smith changed tac and nudged a kick into the back-field for Isgro to compete for. The Puma towered over Emens on the right touchline, plucked the ball out the air, and sealed the score with a dive for the cameras. Smith’s sharpshooting extended the lead to 14-0.
Bath garnered a foothold after 25 minutes, with Guy Pepper crossing over to score from close range. In a try that echoed of the blue, black and white’s West Country roots, loose-head prop Beno Obano was halted from close range, before Pepper tucked the ball under his jumper, and wrestled over the try-line. A simple kick followed for Finn Russell, who cut the Harlequins lead in half.
Bath hit back with a second try, despite a one-man disadvantage with hooker Tom Dunn in the sin bin. There was no denying Tom de Glanville this time, with the scoring strike move a carbon copy of the earlier effort that was incredibly held up. A nice side-step evaded the last defender, as the fullback found space in the Quins back-line. Russell squared the score up from the tee, shortly after the half hour mark.
Tempers flared as the Quins settled back a level score-line, with Pepper adding salt into the wounds of a lost lead. The former Falcon took the onus as the pantomime villain, as he gave away a penalty for hands in the ruck. Smith kicked to the corner, and the Quins rallied a driving maul through Jack’s Kenningham and Walker driving the ball to the line. The ball was spun wide, and the Argentine powerhouse Isgro battled his way over to score a second debut try.
A charge for the line from close range, the World Rugby Sevens Men’s Player of the Year could not be denied by a trio of helpless Bath defenders. Smith nailed the conversion once again for a 21-14 lead, before kicking the ball out to bring around the half-time whistle.
HALF TIME SCORE: HARLEQUINS 21 – 14 BATH RUGBY
With England coach Richard Hill in attendance, and his Bath coach Lee Blackett taking a role with England A next month, Guy Pepper stood up to lead his men in blue, black and white. Pepper challenged Marcus Smith to a foot race, after he stubbed a grubber kick towards the in-goal line, and showcased impressive pace to keep up with the England 10.
Resounding ovations rang around the Stoop, as Harlequins welcomed Joe Marler, Nathan Jibulu and Chandler Cunningham-South to the fray at once. Cunningham-South had an immediate impact as he lifted the tempo and charged forward to make solid ground, much to the delight of the fans in the famous quarters.
Bath were back down to 14 men, with Pepper once again in the middle of the drama. The back row was over eager on his hit on Will Porter, as he was penalised for ‘playing the nine’ before Porter could get his hands on the ball. Smith sent the penalty sailing through the sticks, to strengthen Harlequins lead to 10 points just after the hour mark.
Bath retaliated just two minutes later, with the first try of the second half going the way of the visitors. The move was created by Ollie Lawrence’s pass, who unleashed Emens along the left flank. A last ditch tackle from returning back row Will Evans stopped the ginger haired flyer from scoring, but Thomas du Toit could not be stopped, as the South African prop scuppered over to score on the following phase. Russell maintained his kicking anomaly with another strong strike off the tee, and narrowed the deficit down to three points once again.
With three minutes on the clock, Russell regained his kicking prowess out the hands and sent the ball touch. The line-out moved followed with de Glanville cascading into the carry out wide. The ball was promptly recycled and replacement prop Francois van Wyk was quickest to react, as he sniped for the corner for the match winning try.
HARLEQUINS: 24
TRIES: 3 (Dombrandt 7′, Isgro 17′, 38′)
CONVERSIONS: 3 (Smith 7′, 17′, 38′)
PENALTIES: 1 (Smith 61′)
DROP GOALS:
YELLOW CARDS:
RED CARDS:
HARLEQUINS: 15. Tyrone Green 14. Rodrigo Isgro 13. Oscar Beard 12. Luke Northmore 11. Cadan Murley 10. Marcus Smith 9. Will Porter 1. Fin Baxter 2. Jack Walker 3. Titi Lamositele 4. Joe Launchbury 5. Dino Lamb 6. Jack Kenningham 7. Will Evans 8. Alex Dombrandt (C)
Impact Players: 16. Nathan Jibulu 17. Joe Marler 18. Dillon Lewis 19. Irne Herbst 20. Chandler Cunningham-South 21. James Chisholm 22. Danny Care 23. Jarrod Evans
BATH RUGBY: 26
TRIES: 4 (Pepper 25′, De Glanville 33′, Du Toit 64′, van Wyk 78′
CONVERSIONS: 3 (Russell 25′, 33′, 65′)
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 2 (Dunn 29′, Pepper 60′)
RED CARDS:
BATH: 15. Tom de Glanville 14. Joe Cokanasiga 13. Ollie Lawrence 12. Will Butt 11. Austin Emens 10. Finn Russell 9. Ben Spencer (C) 1. Beno Obano 2. Tom Dunn 3. Will Stuart 4. Quinn Roux 5. Charlie Ewels 6. Guy Pepper 7. Sam Underhill 8. Alfie Barbeary
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Ewan Richards, 20 Ted Hill, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Jaco Coetzee
5 Talking Points: Harlequins 24 – 26 Bath Rugby
1. “We’ve learned some lessons” – Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson reacts to loss
From leading by 10 points to having the win snatched away in the penultimate minute of the match, it was a tough loss to take for Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson.
“That’s the key word, isn’t it, Frustration. We didn’t take enough points from the pressure that we created. We Forced yellow cards, we forced everything by scores, really, especially from probably 40 to about 60, 65, minutes. Then I felt in that last 10 minutes, we just handed them opportunities from falling a little bit out of system in defence, falling out of system with discipline.
“Scrum penalties and not straight line-outs all of a sudden, we handed them a few opportunities to get back into half, and they’re (Bath) too good a team to do that. They took their opportunities and therefore deserved their win. So credit to them.
“But in the same way, we didn’t get over high or celebrating from last week, we won’t get over low and commiserating this week, we learned some lessons. Some young players have learned some big lessons today, and we’ll move forward to another big game next week against Exeter away.”
2. Injury Woes: Bath loose Alfie Barbeary and Cameron Redpath with Dino Lamb out for Harlequins.
There was an injury before the match had begun, with Cameron Redpath removed from the Bath match day squad just a matter of minutes before kick off. Redpath was replaced by Will Butt in the centres, with Bath also losing their back-row bruiser Alfie Barbeary to a case of whiplash. The number eight’s head bounced off the floor after a tackle, and Bath head coach Johann van Graan provided an update on how his players are fairing.
“Yeah, that (Redpath) was precautionary.” Van Graan said. “He had a tight leg muscle, and we knew this was going to be a very physical game, and because we went six two (six forwards on the bench, two backs), you’ve got to make sure that everybody’s 100% ready to go and look, he made the call himself in terms of, he’s not 100% he’s 99%.
“He should be back in next week. And then again, it’s just next man. I thought Will Butt was excellent tonight. And we had a bit of sickness in in camp just before the game, and it’s just about getting the job done. So. Really proud of this, this playing group.”
“I spoke to him (Alfie Barbeary) just before half time. He’s disappointed. But look, that happens, bit of whiplash there. So, you know, we’ll go through the process. But because he stumbled, that was an automatic off the field, and that we’ve become very good in that the game is, you know, that’s the best for the players. So that was a permanent removal, and he’s fine. He smiled in the change room. So we’ll let the process run its course.”
Harlequins lock Dino Lamb was also withdrawn after a head injury, with no option for the HIA. Lamb was recently named in the Italy squad for the upcoming Autumn Nations Series, and his lock partner Joe Launchbury is gutted on behalf of his teammate.
“He’s up and about in the changing room. I think it was he obviously didn’t pass his protocols. So, I don’t know what his next week looks like, if he’s back in the Italian squad or not. I know how much it means to be back in there for him with he’s just had a huge layoff with some injuries, to then get named in that was obviously massive for him. So I really hope he turns around quick and gets himself out there to train with them (Italy).”
3. Niall Annett’s 50th cap for Bath
Bath hooker Niall Annett racked up a milestone in blue, black and white, as he ran out for his 50th cap for the club. Annett was delighted to achieve the half century, with the moment made even more sweeter given the success over Harlequins.
“Thank you, yeah, it is (my 50th cap). I try not to think about myself too much this week, because I think it’s a dangerous place to get to. And the most important thing is that the teams won this evening. And I’m sure in time, I’ll reflect back on that and be very fond of the memory that we got the win on the 50th but I think to come here and get five points is the most important thing, and that’s what this group’s capable of.”
4. Harlequins debut double for Rodrigo Isgro
Harlequins’ newest signing lived up to the billing, as 2023 World Rugby Sevens Men’s Player of the Year Rodrigo Isgro scored twice on his club debut. His new head coach Danny Wilson was delighted with the Argentine’s performance and how he is settling in to life in South West London.
“Excellent. I thought, you know, considering he’s had a one training week. Really the Saracens week, he did a little bit, but that was his first time in the building. So on this week, he trained fully, only a six day turnaround, and went out and really pleased with his first game. He’s a great character. He’s fit in really well, but I think we saw a fair amount of what he’s capable of, which is exciting.”
5. Marcus Smith v Finn Russell – Fly half battle takes centre stage at the Stoop
The showpiece head to head took place in the 10 shirt, as England fly half Marcus Smith went tee-to-tee with Scotland’s talisman Finn Russell. The two mercurials led their attacking lines well, despite some misplaced kicks from Bath’s resident magician. Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson discussed the battle for fly half dominance.
“Well, they’re both class rugby players. They’re both, you know, it’s great to see him on the field competing against each other. You know, they’re real competitors and good players. And I think they showed that.”
