Two tries from England Sevens ace Ugo Monye helped Harlequins get the better
of Zurich Premiership champions Wasps on the opening weekend of the season at
The Stoop.
Wasps dominated long spells of the game and had forged their way into a 19-9
lead just before the break against a sloppy and disorganised home side.
But Monye - the former sprinter who appeared for England in the under-21s
World Cup this summer - struck in first-half injury time to haul Quins into the
game before scorching in for the killer try in the 72nd minute.
Quins had handed debuts to five newcomers - former Leinster backs Andy Dunne,
Simon Keogh and Ben Willis, ex-Leeds centre George Harder and loose-head Mike
Worsley, who made the short move from London Irish.
Wasps required less drastic surgery, giving first starts to Tom Voyce at
full-back, Ian Clarke at number eight and 18-year-old James Haskell at blindside
flanker.
Haskell's team-mates gave him the perfect introduction to the top flight as
they bossed the first 40 minutes, with England discards Simon Shaw and Phil
Greening leading from the front while Rob Howley and Fraser Waters gave them a
cutting edge behind the scrum.
They also took advantage of a shocking start from full-back Dunne, who failed
to commit himself to dealing with a kick ahead and surrendered the ball to Shane
Roiser who gave Voyce the chance to force his way over in the fourth minute -
with Mark Van Gisbergen converting.
Paul Burke and Van Gisbergen then traded penalties in the sixth and seventh
minutes before the Quins fly-half added a drop-goal in the 11th.
Wasps then took charge when Quins were reduced to 14 men after hooker Ace
Tiatia was yellow-carded by referee Dave Pearson for fighting.
Van Gisbergen punished the offence with a second penalty and added two more in
the 27th and 32nd minutes to put his side 19-6 ahead.
They might have been out of sight but for a forward pass from Voyce to Waters
with the line beckoning, before television match official Brian Campsall ruled
that Greening had failed to ground the ball as he surged over the line in the
21st minute.
Burke added a penalty in the 40th minute before Quins finally strung together
some phases, with Monye twisting away on the right and Burke converting as
Harlequins went in only 19-16 down.
Quins hardly deserved to start the second half only three points in arrears
and had to contain a rumbling Wasps assault on their line early in the second
half.
But they turned the game on its head when they broke out to score a stunning
length-of-the-field try in the 46th minute.
Diprose broke from the base of a defensive scrum, with Andy Reay and Monye
breaking over half-way before Dunne touched down in the corner with Burke
converting.
Normal service was resumed for Wasps five minutes later when the dangerous
Waters broke and hacked the ball towards the line, with wing Roiser touching
down and awarded the try after Campsall's adjudication.
But Burke edged his side 26-24 in front with a penalty in the 54th minute, and
they then delivered the rapier thrust that won the game with another pacy
counter-attack.
Harder's floated pass to Monye was perfect, and the winger - who clocked
10.6seconds for the 100metres as a schoolboy sprinter - was unstoppable.
Burke's conversion opened up a nine-point lead, and his side then hung on
despite losing replacement Luke Sheriff - on the field for only a minute - to
the sin-bin.
All the champions could salvage was a single bonus point for finishing within
seven points, claimed by an injury-time penalty from Van Gisbergen.
Teams:
Harlequins: Dunne, Keogh, Harder, Reay, Monye, Burke, Willis,
Worsley, Tiatia, Dawson, Davison, Miall, Sanderson, Vos,
Diprose.
Not Used: Fuga, Jones, Evans, Sheriff, Barratt, Moore, Gomez.
Sin Bin: Tiatia (18).
Tries: Monye 2, Dunne.
Cons: Burke 3.
Pens: Burke 3.
Drop Goals: Burke.
Wasps: Voyce, Roiser, Waters, Denney, Rudd, van Gisbergen,
Howley, Dowd, Greening, W. Green, Shaw, Birkett, Haskell,
Volley, Clarke.
Not Used: Richards, O'Connor, Erinle, Lock, Purdy, Payne, Leota.
Tries: Voyce, Roiser.
Cons: van Gisbergen.
Pens: van Gisbergen 5.
Att: 7,223
Ref: D Pearson (RFU).
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