Harlequins player ratings vs Toulon | Investec Champions Cup

Harlequins Investec Champions Cup campaign hit significant turbulence this afternoon courtesy of a 33 – 21 loss at the hands of Toulon.

Falling behind early to a Gianmarco Lucchesi try, the Londoners allowed a raucous Stade Mayol crowd to get into the contest.

Spurred on by this support, outside of a ten-minute spell in the second half, dominated the physical exchanges. This dominance stunted Quins’ ability to create scoring opportunities as they were routinely lined up and caught in possession behind the gain line.

The loss ensures that Quins will enter round four needing a win over the Glasgow Warriors to secure qualification for the knockout stages.

Here is how the Harlequins players fared on the Côte d’Azur.

1. Fin Baxter – 7
A strong learning experience for the young loosehead who had a good tussle with Quins legend Kyle Sinckler and Emerick Setiano. Holding his own at scrum time was a major win, whilst in open play, he was a willing carrier. Defensively, he was off the charts, making 19 tackles during his 62 minutes on the park.

2. Jack Walker – 5
Hassled all day at line-out time, the hooker closed his account with a poor return of 69%. He did, however, capitalise on a strong driving maul to score his team’s second try, which temporarily got them back into the contest. Overall, it was not a performance to write home about for the usually accurate Yorkshireman.

3. Titi Lamositele – 5
He was solid at scrum time and had a couple of strong carries, but other than that, he was absorbed by the Toulon assault on the breakdown.

4. Joe Launchbury – 4
Hit rucks, fought hard at the maul and played his role in a solid scrum, the veteran lock had a workmanlike performance but looked a touch off the pace against a dynamic Toulon pack.

5. George Hammond – 4.5
Outmatched by his opposite number, Dave Ribbans, the 24-year-old will have learnt a great deal in the cauldron-like atmosphere.

6. James Chisholm – 6.5
Received a yellow card in the first half but made up for it with a busy showing on both sides of the ball. Making 22 tackles, 7 carries and winning a line-out was a productive performance in the face of a rampant Toulon offensive showing.

7. Jack Kenningham – 4.5
Quins’ top target at line-out time with 6 takes added a monstrous work rate in defence with 17 tackles for an overall busy showing. In attack, he had 6 carries for 17 meters in his 58 minutes on the park as part of a pack that lost the physical battle.

8. Alex Dombrandt – 6
Industrious without ever really making tangible gains, the England number eight was routinely getting stopped in his tracks despite getting on the ball consistently. This, combined with his unnecessary offload attempt to Murley when he should’ve gone himself, cost Quins a certain try in the 47th minute, which was capped a potentially costly evening with Six Nations selection on the line. To his credit, he topped the tackle charts for his side with 23 and pinched two turnovers.

9. Will Porter – 6.5
Playing behind a beaten pack, the 26-year-old did relatively well to keep the ball off the deck for too long. Pouncing for a well-taken try in the 50th minute, having run a classic scrumhalf line off James Chisholm, he sparked his team back to life.

10. Marcus Smith – 6
On occasions like today, the England flyhalf sorely misses Andre Esterhuizen’s gainline-busting abilities. Not for lack of effort, but Smith struggled to stamp his authority on the contest and instead tracked sideways, looking for space in the first half.

Coming out with vigour in the second half, he put his team in good positions with a clever kicking game. Turning the Toulon defence with chip kicks mitigated Toulon’s dominance at the contact point, whilst a strong field position allowed the Quins pack to set up the driving maul.

11. Cadan Murley – 8
He maximised his opportunities and came agonisingly close to getting his team off the mark early in the first half, only to lose control over the line. Parking this disappointment, he continued to look for work with a few decent breaks that his teammates’ simply didn’t capitalise on.

Defensively, Murley was on point with some physical shots and a key turnover early in the second half, which stunted a promising Toulon attack. One blemish on his otherwise strong showing was a missed tackle on
Gael Drean for Toulon’s fifth try.

12. Luke Northmore – 4
Struggled to make an impact on the Toulon defensive line as more often than not he came off second best at the contact point. This lack of punch greatly affected Quins’ attack as he operated nearly exclusively as as a distributor when Smith needed him to carry.

13. Oscar Beard – 5
He flashed some moments of promise, particularly in the second half, as he made a few half-breaks.  Most of his work, however, was done on the defensive side of the ball with 13 tackles, a few of which were crucial in closing off Toulon’s ability to get wide.

14. Nick David – 7.5
Mirroring his wing partner, the 26-year-old was impressive in his willingness to look for work. One moment in particular that caught the eye was a strong chase in the 53rd minute, which led to a key turnover penalty just outside the Toulon twenty-two. From this platform, Quins got themselves back into the fight with a second try. Ending his day with a try in the 80th minute was a nice personal moment, but it was too little too late for the visitors.

15. Tyrone Green – 3
It was far from a vintage showing from the usual impressive South African who was well-marshalled by the Toulon defence. Often receiving man and ball at the same time, Green did well to make the distance he did (55 meters) but rarely looked like a line-breaking threat. Early in the second half, he had an opportunity to get the ball free for a certain try but was caught in contact with a well-timed shot which pretty much summed up his afternoon.

Substitutes
16. Sam Riley – N/A
Unused sub.

17. Wyn Jones – 4
Continued his team’s solid scrum showing but didn’t bring any noticeable impact in general play.

18. Simon Kerrod – 4
Similar to his front-row partner, he locked down a few scrums but spent the bulk of his nineteen minutes on defence.

19. Chandler Cunningham-South – 4
Came on with twenty minutes to play and had a few early carries but, overall, struggled to make an impact.

20. Will Evans – N/A
Came on for eight minutes with no noticeable impact.

21. Danny Care – 4
Did fine when he came on but lacks the zip of his younger self. Unlike previous years he was unable to create anything around the breakdown in terms of sniping carries.

22. Jarrod Evans – N/A
Came on for the final eight minutes by which stage the result was beyond doubt.

23. Ben Waghorn – 3
Struggled to assert himself on the contest with just 1 carry for 5 meters and a lone tackle.