Harlequins 24 - 48 Bristol Bears - Player Ratings from Joe Marler's last ever match
Rugby NewsFriday, 29 November 2024 at 21:30
It was the end of an era at the Twickenham Stoop, as Harlequins fans watched on as Joe Marler played his final match for the club. Whilst it was a special day for the 95-capped England prop, it was one to forget for the rest of the men in the famous quarters. Bristol ran rampant in a barnstorming second half shut-out, and truly spoiled Marler's retirement party with their six-try win in South West London.
It took just four minutes for Harlequins to find a breakthrough in this exhilarating contest, with fly half Jarrod Evans splitting the defense with a burst of pace. The halfback shipped the ball inside to Alex Dombrandt, and the skipper could have walked in the opening score of the match. Bristol returned fire with a try against the run of play, as Kalaveti Ravouvou scored following a break from Gabriel Oghre. Whilst Evans missed his opening conversion, AJ MacGinty slotted his first crack at the posts for a 7-5 lead.
Bristol would score another breakaway try, as scrum half Kieran Marmion picked around the blindside of a ruck deep in their own half. Marmion found Gabriel Ibitoye's cascading line of support, with the wing unopposed on his way to the try-line. It was Ibitoye's opposite man who then lit up the Stoop, as his fellow England A wing Cadan Murley intercepted the ball on his own try-line for an end-to-end score. Luke Northmore would then score after a turnover of his own, as he raced away to the try-line after winning the ball at a Bristol breakdown.
The Bears had the final say of the first half, as Marmion capped off a score in the last play. The move began through lock Joe Owen's break, before Ibitoye upped the tempo with his searching run. Bristol stunned the crowd for a 21-17 half-time lead, as MacGinty certainly brought his shooting boots to the Stoop. Bristol had the run of the operations in the second half, when Quins tight-head prop Simon Kerrod was sent to the sin bin. Bristol capitalised on the extra man with tries from debutant Bill Mata, Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Santiago Grondona.
The biggest cheer from the Harlequins crowd was for Joe Marler's 48th minute departure, before the hosts battled for their bonus point try. Tyrone Green kicked through a spilled ball and gathered to score, with a TMO review confirming the impressive solo efforts. Yet the metronomic place kicking from MacGinty maintained, and the visitors continued to pull away from the hosts, as the Harlequins fans began to empty out of the Stoop at the 73rd minute.
HARLEQUINS:
TRIES: 4 (Dombrandt 4', Murley 22', Northmore 27', Green 64')
CONVERSIONS: 2 (J. Evans 22', 64')
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Kerrod 43'
RED CARDS: 0
STARTING XV: 15. Tyrone Green 14. Rodrigo Isgro 13. Oscar Beard 12. Luke Northmore 11. Cadan Murley 10. Jarrod Evans 9. Will Porter 1. Joe Marler 2. Jack Walker 3. Simon Kerrod 4. Joe Launchbury 5. Dino Lamb 6. Jack Kenningham 7. Will Evans 8. Alex Dombrandt (C)
REPLACEMENTS: 16. Nathan Jibulu 17. Fin Baxter 18. Titi Lamostiele 19. Joe Launchbury 20. James Chisholm 21. Danny Care 22. Jamie Benson 23. Nick David
TRIES: 6 (Ravouvou 13', Ibitoye 18', Marmion 40', Mata 43', van Rensburg 53', Grondona 56' )
CONVERSIONS: 6 (MacGinty 13', 18', 40', 43', 53' 56')
PENALTIES: 2 (MacGinty 48', 73')
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 0
RED CARDS: 0
STARTING XV: 15. Rich Lane 14. Jack Bates 13. Kalaveti Ravouvou 12. Benhard Janse van Rensberg 11. Gabriel Ibitoye 10. AJ MacGinty 9. Kieran Marmion 1. Jake Woolmore 2. Gabriel Oghre 3. Max Lahiff 4. James Dun 5. Joe Owen 6. Santiago Grondona 7. Fitz Harding 8. Bill Mata
REPLACEMENTS: 16. Harry Thacker 17. Yann Thomas 18. Lovejoy Chawatama 19. Steven Luatua 20. Benjamin Grondona 21. Oscar Lennon 22. Joe Jenkins 23. Benjamin Elizalde
HARLEQUINS PLAYER RATINGS
Descriptions to follow
STARTING XV
15. Tyrone Green 7.5
Tyrone Green put in some solid kicks and chased down an assortment of testing nudges as well. The wing pinned back his ears and did it all for a 63rd minute try, as the ball went loose, Green kicked it through, chased and gathered as he was tackled over the line.
14. Rodrigo Isgro 6
A quiet night from the usually high-flying wing. His best work was on the defensive side of the ball, as the Bristol defenders were able to nullify his threat along the touchlines.
13. Oscar Beard 6.5
Oscar Beard impressed by testing Bristol's coverage with stubbed grubbers through the back field. Missed some tackles in the lead up to a few of Bristol's attacking surges.
12. Luke Northmore 7
Northmore scored a nice try against the run of play, after the center stole the ball at the ruck. Spotted a gap and he just went for it. The midfielder had a strong performance in the Harlequins back-line, despite the result.
11. Cadan Murley 7.5
Jostled well for the ball in the air and made a key interception for a breakaway try. He caught the ball and exploded along the length the pitch, with a big dive between the posts that Chris Ashton in attendance would have approved of. Put in some excellent hits on the Bristol high ball catchers.
10. Jarrod Evans 6.5
A Great break from Jarrod Evans for the opening try of the match, as he broke the Bristol line and set up Alex Dombrandt for the first score. Did not have the finest outing from the kicking tee, and struggled to maintain the Bristol line breakers.
9. Will Porter 6
Will Porter sent some nice box kicks up for his chasers, as Cadan Murley and Rich Lane collided repeatedly in the air. Not a spotlight stealing performance by any stretch.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
1. Joe Marler 6.5
It was an emotional day for Marler, as he retired from professional rugby. He was in Referee Luke Pearce's ear from the get go. Marler giving pats on the back to Gabriel Oghre after a solid contest at the ruck. Mutual respect from the England camp-mates and a stunning ovation upon his exit.
2. Jack Walker 5.5
A quiet day at the office for Jack Walker, as the full attention was upon his front row teammate. Quins struggled at the scrum and line-out, not the best from the England capped hooker.
3. Simon Kerrod 5
Kerrod dug in his heels in for the hard Quins yards, more often than not had his propping teammate Marler in tow. Sent to the sin bin after being caught offside at the breakdown, with the man disadvantage opening the floodgates for Quins.
4. Joe Launchbury 6
A late call up following Irne Herbst pre-match withdrawl. Launchbury was a bit rusty heading into the match, with his performance not stepping up to his usual standards. Dug in well for a first half shift.
5. Dino Lamb 6
The Italian international was solid around the park for his return to the Premiership, and made himself a nuisance over the Bristol breakdown.
6. Jack Kenningham 7
Kenningham flew out the blocks with solid carries, getting involved from the off and bouncing through player. Kenningham was good at the line-out despite an early loss of possession, due to a miscommunication from the recipient.
7. Will Evans 7
Will Evans was solid throughout Harlequins hard-fought defeat, with the England hopeful one of the better defensive options for Danny Wilson's side.
8. Alex Dombrandt (C) 7
Scored a nice try to kick-start the high-scoring contest, yet failed to rally his side when the Bears unleashed their full force. Amongst Harlequins top workers on the front foot, as he dug in for the tough yards despite the rising deficit.
REPLACEMENTS
16. Nathan Jibulu 6
17. Fin Baxter 6.5
18. Titi Lamostiele 7
19. George Hammond 5.5
20. James Chisholm 5.5
21. Danny Care 6
22. Jamie Benson 5
23. Nick David 6.5
CONTINUES ON PAGE 3
BRISTOL BEARS PLAYER RATINGS
STARTING XV
15. Rich Lane 7.5
Battled well against Cadan Murley as the two men met in many areal collisions. An exciting first step and always kept Quins on their toes with his carries.
14. Jack Bates 7
Really nice out the back offload on an eighth minute break. Bates raced away with a key break in the lead up to van Rensburg's second half score.
13. Kalaveti Ravouvou 7
Big impact from the midfielder, as he powered over the top of a Quins defender to score Bristol's first try of the second half.
12. Benhard Janse van Rensberg 7.5
An excellent showing on both sides of the ball. Van Rensburg got his dully deserved try and impressed with some clattering hits.
11. Gabriel Ibitoye 8.5
"He's got it all." That's what Bristol Bears head coach Pat Lam said about Gabriel Ibitoye, as the high flying wing collected yet another Player of the Match performance. England debut has to happen in the 2025 Six Nations.
10. AJ MacGinty 8
AJ MacGinty certainly brought his shooting boots to the Stoop. He nailed all six of the conversion attempts and added an extra two penalties to take the match out of sight of Harlequins. Led his back-line with great aplomb.
9. Kieran Marmion 7.5
A top showing from the scrum half. Capped off a nice Bristol move for a try just before the half-time break. Sniped around the blindside of a ruck to send Ibitoye chasing away for an additional score. Excellent from the nine.
1. Jake Woolmore 7
Fresh off singing his contract extension with Bristol Bears, Woolmore put in a solid shift at the scrum and and carried hard around the corner.
2. Gabriel Oghre 5.5
Strange to see Gabriel Oghre withdrawn late in the first half with no clear signs of injury. It was a difficult day at the line-out for the hooker, and incoming Harry Thacker had a stellar replacement effort.
3. Max Lahiff 6.5
Held his own with all eyes on Joe Marler across the scrum from him. Lahiff battled well against the retiring loose-head and like Woolmore, made some nice picks around the park.
4. James Dun 6
Not in the spotlight by any means, but James Dun put in a grafters performance at the Stoop.
5. Joe Owen 7
Involved in some nice plays in the build up to Bristolian tries. Owen put his name amongst the top forwards from Pat Lam's side as he impressed on the offensive foot.
6. Santiago Grondona 6.5
Chopping at any Harlequin that ran down his channel, Grondona's best work was on the defensive side. The back row did not have the starring role he would have hoped for, but popped up for a nice try in the corner.
7. Fitz Harding 7
Put his name forward for a future England cap here, Harding worked his wheels to the trim in a solid effort. Always seen in the rucks and impressed with Richard Hill watching on from the stands.
8. Bill Mata 8
Scored his first try of his Bristol career, in what was the perfect start to his time at Ashton Gate. Carrying and offloading with full Fijian flair, Bristol have another exciting signing on their hands.
REPLACEMENTS
16. Harry Thacker 7
17. Yann Thomas 6
18. Lovejoy Chawatama 6.5
19. Steven Luatua 6
20. Benjamin Grondona 6
21. Oscar Lennon 5
22. Joe Jenkins 5.5
23. Benjamin Elizalde 5.5
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