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'We'd 500 Harlequins ultras, stockbrokers and lawyers turned into these crazy fans'

(Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images for Harlequins)

Veteran scrum-half Danny Care has saluted the atmosphere generated by the 500 lucky Harlequins fans who were able to roar their team on as they fought back from a 0-28 deficit at Bristol to force Gallagher Premiership semi-final extra-time before going on to win 43-36.

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A restricted attendance of just over 6,500 was allowed to attend the Ashton Gate semi-final and while the Bears supporters were scattered in a socially distanced way throughout the stadium, the travelling band of Harlequins were located in the same area and the noise they generated helped swing the momentum of the occasion the way of the London club. 

Trailing by 28 points in as many minutes, you’d never have believed that a trip to Bristol rather than a possible away day at Exeter or Sale was what Harlequins had wanted in the weeks leading up to the semi-finals, but they felt that a particular black mark team statistic against the Bears could ultimately work in their favour.

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    A RugbyPass All Access special on the greatest South African team of all time

    Harlequins had led the league over the course of the season in terms of the number of turnovers won by any team and with Bristol said to be the side that lost the most turnovers, the scene was set for the London club to keep believing they could win against the odds, faith emboldened by Alex Dombrandt profiting from a Max Malins error to score their first points just before the interval.  

    “We absolutely loved it,” said Care, looking back on the incredible Harlequins comeback that now has them preparing for their first Premiership final since they lifted their one and only league title in 2012. “We couldn’t say it in the build-up but the team that we wanted to play was Bristol but we didn’t want to fuel any fire. 

    “They didn’t need any fuel on the fire because the first 20 minutes we couldn’t get a finger on them, but we did want to go down to Bristol because the stats showed us that they do concede the most turnovers in the league and we feel like we are very good off turnovers so we thought if we have got a chance away at one of those teams it might be Bristol and it turned out we were right.

    The first 20 minutes I have never seen a team like it, they were absolutely unbelievable. Charles Piutau, Semi Radradra, Max Malins were unstoppable. We couldn’t get a finger on them but we finally took a bit of a step back, got a foothold in the game and got that first try towards the end of the half.

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    “At half time generally people would think you’re mad thinking you’d come back from this but we said if we get one try here you never know, if we two they are going to start getting worried about us and we all said if we get three tries this game is ours and we managed to do it,” continued Care, the veteran Harlequins scrum-half whose exceptional form this spring had him touted as a possible Lions tour pick.

    “The fans, I have never known an atmosphere like it. We only had 500 of our fans there – we should have had a few more but Bristol did something with the other tickets. But it was like we had 500 Harlequins ultras, the stockbrokers and lawyers turned into these crazy fans and it just shows, I have talked about this so many times how I need fans to play.

    “I’m 100 per cent convinced that if fans weren’t in that stadium Bristol are in the final this weekend and we’re not but our fans were unbelievable from start to finish. They are the reason we got over the line and we got them to a final which is what we really wanted to do.”

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    JW 42 minutes ago
    James O'Connor, the Lions and the great club v country conundrum

    Lol you need to shoot your editor for that headline, even I near skipped the article.


    France simply need to go to a league format for the Brennus, that will shave two weekends of pointless knockout rugby from their season and raise the competitions standards and mystique no end.


    The under age loophole is also a easy door to shut, just remove the lower age limit. WR simply never envisioned a day were teams would target people under the age of 17 or whatever it is now, but much like with Rassie and his use of subs bench, that day was obviously always going to come. I can’t remember how football does it, I think it’s the other way around with them, you can’t sign anyone younger than that but unions can’t stop 17 or 18 yo’s from leaving for a pro club if they want to. There is a transaction that takes place of a few hundred thousand for a normal average player. I’d prefer rugby to be stricter and just keep the union bodies signoff being required.


    What really was their problem with Kite and co leaving though? Do we really need a game dominated by Internationals? I even think WR’s proposed calendar might be a bit too much, with at minimum 12 top tier games being played in the World Championship. I think 10 to 12, maybe any one player playing 10 of those 12 is the best way to think of it, for every international team is max, so that they can allow their domestic comps to shine if they want, and other nations like Japan and Fiji can, even some of the home nations maybe, and fill out their calendar with extra tours if they like them as a way to make money. As it is RA don’t have as good a pathway system, so they could simply buy back those players if they turn good. Are they worried they’ll be less likely to? We wait for baited breath for the new season to be laid out in front of us by WR.

    It could impose sanctions on the Fédération Française de Rugby, but the body which runs the Top 14 and the ProD2, the Ligue Nationale de Rugby, is entirely independent.

    It’s not independent at all. The LNR is a body under, and commissioned by, the FFR (and Government control) to mediate the clubs. FFR can simply install a new club competition if they don’t listen, then you’d see whether the players want to stay at any club who doesn’t tow the line and move to the new competition, as they obviously wouldn’t fall under the auspice of world rugby. They would be rebels, which is fine in and upon itself, but they would isolate themselves from the rest of the game and would need to be OK with that. I have no doubt whatsoever that clubs would have to and want to fall in line to remain part of the EPCR and French rugby. Probably even the last thing they would want is to compete with another French domestic competition that has all the advantages they don’t.


    All those players would do good for a few seasons in France, especially the fringe ones, with thankfully zero risk of them being poached if they turn good. New Zealand had a turn at keeping all of it’s talent, and while it upticked the competitiveness of the Super Rugby teams into a total dominance of Australian and South African counterparts (who were suffering more heavily than most the other way at that stage), it didn’t have as positive an effect on the next step up as ensuring young talents development is not hindered does. Essentially NZR flooded the locate market with players but inevitably it didn’t think the local economy could sustain any more pro teams itself, so now we are seeing a normal amount of exodus for the availability of places again. Are Australia in exactly the same footing? I think so, finances where dicey for a while perhaps but I doubt they are putting money constraints on their contracting now. It’s purely about who leaves to open up opportunity.

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