HARLEQUINS served up one of the greatest fight-backs in Premiership history to book themselves a date with Exeter Chiefs in Saturday’s grand final at Twickenham.
The Londoners, who have shipped tries all season, seemed to be heading for oblivion after just 28 minutes at Ashton Gate yesterday when they trailed 28-0 after the rampant Bristol Bears ran in four unanswered tries.
But Quins, the great attacking showmen of this season, polished their credentials at half-time to stun the Bears with a brutal second half of pace and power. If you’re thinking of having a flutter on the Final then check out these top betting sites.
The jinking, precision running of South African full-back Tyrone Green, promoted to No.15 only because of Mike Brown’s red card suspension, and the mighty efforts of No.8 Alex Dombrandt led the way as Quins levelled at 31- all after 80 minutes.
Twenty minutes of extra-time later and Quins were whooping with joy as they had completed their remarkable turnaround with a 43-36 victory to book their first final since being crowned champions in 2012.
En route to that success they also had to overcome a points deficit to beat Northampton Saints in the play-off semi-final before defeating Leicester Tigers in the final.
Green, who landed the match-winning try yesterday, said: “It was the greatest game I have ever played in.”
Bristol’s director of rugby, Pat Lam, was hugely disappointed that his side threw away their handsome lead.
Lam said: “We had many chances to finish that game off but we will have to take defeat on the chin.
“Being 28-0 down you have to give massive credit to Harlequins to comeback in that way by playing their style of rugby which is a real credit to the game.
“We conceded a try before half-time, when they had a favourable bounce , and we spoke at half-time that they would come out all guns blazing and that the first ten minutes after halftime would be vital but our mistakes let them back in.
“It’s especially tough for the guys who are leaving as there was no fairy-tale ending but those returning will have a chance to atone.
“It’s a huge disappointment but we are finally getting a break after a long hard year. At least we fired some shots in this semi-final, unlike last year, and it’s still been an incredible year.”
Quins General Manager, Billy Millard said: “There was no panic at half-time. We knew we had to stay in the game and if we got some momentum on the scoreboard, it might shift Bristol so we just made a few minor alterations.
“But I was in the changing room for the last two or three minutes there, I couldn’t watch it!
“Since January, we haven’t got carried away with anything. We have taken it game by game and not got too high or too low and not panicked when we have had setbacks.
“Next week will be a totally different one in terms of approach but we will have Andre Esterhuizen available and he will be needed to deal with the physical onslaught that will come from the opposition.”
