Rugby mayhem as the crowds return

With the Bank Holiday in full swing and rugby union joining other sports in letting crowds back in – well, in rugby’s case only home fans to 25% of ground capacity – yesterday, with the English Premiership’s league season approaching its climax, I chose to tune in to watch BT Sport’s ‘live’ coverage of Harlequins versus Bath Rugby, kick-off 2.00pm.

The primary effects of the host’s eventual 44-33 victory were that it secured their fourth and last place in the semi-final play-offs (for the first time in seven seasons) and left Bath hanging on in eighth and last place for next season’s European competition qualification, anxiously looking over their shoulder at the other contenders bunching behind them for the sprint finish to the line.

With two Premiership games being broadcast one after the other (the 4.00pm kick-off being Northampton Saints v Wasps) and having a third available via the “red button”, their presenters Craig Doyle at the Stoop – assisted by Lawrence Dallaglio and Ugo Monye – and Martin Bayfield at Franklin’s Gardens were somewhat thinly spread but – to be fair – I always find BT Sport’s rugby coverage generally to be first class both technically and in terms of tone and approach.

Harlequins have always been a bit of a “marmite” club. In days of yore they were a snooty outfit who played with a bit of dash and plenty of ‘entitlement’ – as a result (naturally) everybody else loved to beat them.

Even in modern times they can play either brilliantly or poorly – in advance nobody has any idea which – and sometimes both in the same match.

For the uncommitted rugby fan there is at least a half-decent chance of a Quins game being entertaining because their approach seems to be all-out attack in the hope of scoring more points than they concede.

This season, in keeping with their “hot/cold” reputation, they played indifferently up to Christmas and yet – after abruptly and brutally parting company with their director of rugby Paul Gustard in the New Year – without replacing him they have since been on a run of ten victories in fourteen games.

In welcoming viewers to the Stoop, the upbeat Craig Doyle – drawing attention to the return of rugby spectators, the bright sunshine, and the fact that both teams still had goals to play for – promised a lively battle.

He wasn’t wrong.

At half-time, Quins were ahead 32-18 and a four-try bonus point to the good after some scintillating play. Neither team had been offering much in the way of defence and Bath had scored two tries of their own. As BT’s coverage went to its commercial break commentator Nick Mullins offered the succinct verdict “Well, that was bonkers! …”

And thus it remained.

Sixteen minutes into the second half Bath were leading 32-33 – clearly they’d had the half-time hair-dryer treatment and returned to the field having decided to throw caution to the winds and match fire with fire, in response to which the Quins’ defence was now practically “waving them through”.

At this point it was either side’s match to win (or lose) but – to this reporter’s eyes – a combination of a tiring Bath pack and their opponents upping their attacking intensity once more saw Quins home.

All I can say about Quins’ prospects in the play-offs is that nobody should bet their house on them making the final, still less lifting the Premiership title. Any team currently shipping an average of over four tries per game has less than a snowball’s chance of progressing further.