Set-piece woes leave Quins adrift in Corsica

■ By NICK POWELL

Montpellier …..37pts

Tries: Tisseron 8, Camara 20, Tauleigne 66, Karkadze 72

Conversions: Coly 9, 21; Barreau 67, 73

Penalties: Coly 15, 36, 47

Harlequins …….28pts

Tries: Cleaves 4, W Evans 40+2, Jibulu 56, Bradley 68

Conversions: J Evans 5, 40+4; Benson 57, 69

HARLEQUINS were given food for thought at the set-piece as they fell to defeat against a powerful Montpellier side.

On a sweltering night in Corsica, Quins started positively as sharp hands set Cassius Cleaves away up the left and he showed an excellent turn of pace to sprint in from 35m.

But from an offensive point of view that was as much as Quins would enjoy until overtime in the first-half as a physical Montpellier team stamped their authority.

They were outmatched at times in the scrum, and familiar problems at the lineout meant the Londoners struggled to gain much possession with former Saracens No.8 Billy Vunipola industrious in the carry for his new team.

Quins, however, could at least take heart from the fact their defence was holding up better in open play than it did towards the end of last season, where they conceded 268 points in the final six games giving them the worst defence in the Premiership during that period.

Their line was still breached, as they held the lead for as long as it took them to score with Julien Tisseron crossing in the right corner for Montpellier’s equalising try on eight minutes.

And either side of two Leo Coly penalties, the three-pointers in a friendly a sign that the team from the south of France are determined to get back into a winning habit after a poor campaign last season, Yacouba Camara finished from the back of a maul to extend the lead.

But Quins managed to get a crucial try in the 42nd minute, as a sharp burst up the field from Tyrone Green eventually saw Will Evans quick tap and score from close range, with Auguste Cadot binned in the build-up.

The Premiership side emerged with 15 changes for the second half, and Coly took advantage of a sloppy start for Quins’ new team to extend the lead back to two scores with another penalty.

The Londoners finally got their set-piece going and Nathan Jibulu brought Quins back to within two points with a try from a lineout drive.

Montpellier took advantage of winning a scrum penalty close to the Quins try line as veteran back row Marco Tauleigne powered through three tackles to score, and though a beautiful misspass from Bryn Bradley set up Hayden Hyde for a powerful finish in the corner, the match was drifting away after Vano Karkadze finished a flowing move for Montpellier.

Quins were unable to get a final score as both sides went searching for one final try, but despite ending on the losing side and having areas to address up front, they could come away satisfied with a solid pre-season run out which saw them use 30 players.