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Reserves Keep up the Pressure at the Top
Harlequins Reserves 16 v 34 St Helens Reserves
By Graham Henthorne, Team Manager
Four tries in two back-to-back bursts in the first quarter gave the Reserves a stranglehold on this match that they never lost and enabled them to run out comfortable winners in the end on a swelteringly hot afternoon at the Stoop.
A first team call up for Jamie Ellis left the Reserves with the unusual half back pairing of Kurt Haggerty and Greg Smith but it was the latter’s’ crisp miss pass to centre Jack Bradbury, making his first start at this level, that made the gap for the opening try of the match. Bradbury’s quick hands put Dave Sutton away and the winger went 40 metres in and out past the full back to score. The metronomic boot of Jamie Foster gave full value to the try and the Reserves were on their way.
From the restart a couple of drives from the forwards allowed the ball to be spread wide right where full back Phil Baines, back to his best, shot through the line, beat the cover and then expertly committed the full back and waited for Woz Thompson to come up on his inside to finish the move.
Sutton diffused a Quins’ bomb in goal but from the restart two defenders went for the same man and were caught out by a neat offload to open the home side’s account.
But back came the Saints and it was that man Smith who, revelling in the greater involvement down the middle, again created the gap this time for substitute Ste Lucas who with his first touch of the game found himself in the clear 30 metres out. Unlike most props in this situation Ste kept his head and although he could have scored himself he waited for Paul Johnson to catch up and unselfishly put the second rower in for his fifth try of the season.
Having been provider before Phil Baines scored himself as a piece of luck went the Saints way. A good set of six from the kick off saw Kurt Haggerty launching the bomb for halfway only for Quins winger to totally misjudge it helpfully getting his fingertips to the descending ball and Baines gratefully accepted the bouncing ball to stroll under the spots unopposed.
The heat started to take it toll on the bigger forwards as the half wore on and some tired defending down the middle allowed Quins French scrum half to score.
The Saints started the second half in determined mood and put the match to bed in the first set of six. A cross kick on the last from the increasingly influential Haggerty was expertly caught over the head of his opposite number by Martin Waring and the winger then side stepped his way past three to score near the sticks. Foster’s fifth conversion from five attempts crucially put the Saints four scores ahead and both sides knew that would be too far for the Quins.
Lamont Bryan showed why he can be such a thorn in anyone’s side as the speedy ex-winger showed his blistering pace weaving his way in and around the static Saints defence to score a great try to give the home side hope. When the Quins winger picked up a loose ball on his own 5 metre line with the field open ahead of him that hope looked to blossoming but a superb chase back from Waring and Smith caught the winger and, crucially, the Saints defence scrambling for it’s life held firm for the next five tackles denying the home side the try.
From the tap on the 20, the Saints drove down field and when Woz Thompson was caught on the fifth Haggerty spread the ball to the right to give Foster space to commit the full back and put Waring into space allowing the winger to dive in at the corner. Foster blotted his copybook missing the difficult conversion but the damage had been done.
The last 20 minutes were a bit of a war of attrition as both side slugged it out in the humid conditions neither threatening the score board. Haggerty, ably assisted by Smith bossed things for the Saints after Andy Yates, Jake Emmitt and the rest of the pack had done the hard yards down the middle. There was time in the last ten for a debut off the bench for Danny Higham.
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Harlequins Reserves
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St Helens Reserves
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Harlequins Reserves:
Tries: Tony Gigot, Ben Bolger, Lamont Bryan.
Goals: Tony Gigot 2.
St Helens Reserves:
Tries: Phil Baines, Martin Waring 2, Dave Sutton, Warren Thompson, Paul Johnson.
Goals: Jamie Foster 5.
Half Time: 24-10
Full Time: 34-16
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