Harlequins failed to get their stuttering season back on track with a defeat at the hands of Gloucester and a poor performance to match. Ross Chisholm ran in two tries for Quins but an inability to convert their second half pressure meant they had to settle for a losing bonus point.
Since December’s Heineken Cup heroics and the victory over Toulouse, Harlequins have failed to impress, losing to the likes of Northampton, Saracens and now Gloucester and scraping past Worcester and Exeter. Their run of dire form since the New Year has also seen them crash out of the Heineken Cup and the LV=Cup.
The Gloucester game was the sort of match they were taking a minimum of 4 points from prior to Christmas but they were left with huge regrets.
Saracens’ shock defeat to Worcester on Friday had meant Quins could reopen the ever closing gap at the top of the table. Victory would have given them a nine point lead but they too would slip up.
They started slowly and never really got back on track, going 10 points down within 10 minutes and managing to stay in touch with Gloucester but to never really take control of the game.
Sloppy defensive errors from the league leaders meant Gloucester were always going to have chances and Jonny May’s try only went to highlight this. He broke through the defence from just short of halfway to add Gloucester’s second try in the second half and boost talk of an England call up.
Late in the first half Quins were lucky to not be reduced to 14 when Ugo Monye was penalised for a high tackle.
The half time score of 21-13 highlighted the openness of the game and the extent to which Gloucester had dominated. Quins would not recover. Yes, they made more chances in the second half and had they been more clinical in their finishing could have run out with a victory but the killer instinct that was so present in the earlier parts of the season was certainly missing when they made it to Gloucester’s 22.
The Quins pack led by example and was able to give Quins the territory but a combination of resilient defence from Gloucester and a lack of ingenuity from Harelquins meant they never really looked like snatching victory. They did stop Gloucester securing a bonus point and snatched one of their own with a late touchline conversion from Evans.
Quins will now turn their focus to regaining some sort of form before next month’s clash with Saracens. Next up is a trip to Newcastle, a game Quins can expect to win, but the performance will be under scrutiny as much as the result