Carmarthen Quins finished their British and Irish Cup Pool 3 campaign on a high
as they secured a hard-fought 17-12 victory to deny group winners
Cornish Pirates a home berth in the quarter-finals.
Although this was officially a dead rubber with Championship
side Pirates already through to the knock-out stages, the visitors
knew a win would gift them a home quarter-final. However, with the penalty
count against them and a moment of magic from Quins centre Jason Harries, it
was to be an unsuccessful trip for Ian Davies’ troops.
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| On the attack: Quins try scorer Jason Harries |
The Pirates started the brighter and it didn’t take long for
them to breach the Quins defence. Keiran Hallett and Junior Fatialofa combined
well in midfield to send openside Alex Cheesman under the posts, with wing Ben
Mercer adding the easy extras.
The Welsh Premiership side regrouped - Harries looking dangerous
with the ball in hand as the Pirates' penalty count began to rack up, allowing
James Dixon to fire Quins into the lead with three well taken first half
penalties.
Both sides had chances at the end of the half with Pirates centre
Sam Hill being held up just short after a powerful run, while at the other end,
Harries charged down Hallet’s kick but Dixon knocked on with the line within
reach.
The second half started with a moment to savour from the Quins
backline. Dixon collected a loose kick in his own 22, and a great scissor move
allowed Rhodri Wells to scythe through the defensive line, before the scum-half
kicked through which saw Harries win the footrace to chip on and touchdown in
the corner.
It was all Quins now, with Carwyn Jones, Ricky Guest and Ellis
Lloyd all producing strong performances up front as they dominated the break
down, while they should have been even further in front but both Dixon and Jack
Maynard were wide of the mark with penalties.
The momentum swung when Quins’ Darren Daniel was sinbinned for
an off the ball scuffle and a new sense of urgency was breathed into the
Pirates pack. After several minutes camped in the opponents' 22, hooker Rob
Elloway crashed over from close range to bring the visitors right back into
contention.
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| Try Time: Elloway crashes over for the Pirates |
With Pirates in the ascendancy, ex-Llanelli player Gavin Cattle
turned villain as he was sent to the bin for a stamp, leaving Maynard a shot at
goal from the halfway line which he duly converted. The final few minutes were
a frantic affair, but Quins ultimately held on for a deserved victory.
“We are very happy with win - we deserved the victory. When we
played them at Mennaye Field I don’t think the boys started the game believing
that we could win, but the boys were confident going into the match today and
we played well and got the basics right,” surmised Quins Head Coach,
Steve Williams.
The
Quins will now turn their attention to the Swalec Cup next weekend and a trip
to Narberth, while the Pirates will have to wait to find out who they will face
in the quarterfinals.
“We
still may have a home tie but we are now dependent on other results. Destiny
was in our hands but we didn’t play well enough to win and credit to Carmarthen
Quins - they deserved the victory,” commented Pirates supremo Ian Davies.
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