“I think we out-Quins’d the Barbarians”: Harlequins secure emphatic win in maiden Barbarians clash
Cadan Murley starred in a chaotic final quarter at the Stoop that saw Harlequins score seven to secure a resounding 72-28 victory over the Barbarians.
With reputations preceding them, the first ever meeting between Harlequins and Barbarians promised the world. The final score seemed almost irrelevant in the build-up, but rather which side would play the most outrageous rugby.
And as the teams emerged through the smoke and the flamethrowers, the stage was set.
The home side showed early intent with the ball, Lennox Anyanwu’s one-handed offload sending Oscar Beard over after just four minutes. Not long later fly-half Will Edwards was busy at the other end, opting against dotting the ball down behind his own line to play it out from the back. The home side were asserting ‘the Quins way’.
But while the first half was rich in tries, it felt as if it never quite managed to kick into gear.
The scoreboard read 19-21 at the break, three Quins tries through Josh Bassett and a brace from Beard and scores from Scott Scrafton, Levi Aumua and Mike Brown for the Barbarians, however plenty was left out there with both sides attack cancelling each other out in the second quarter.
The start of the second half suggested we were in for much of the same, until Harlequins finally fully burst into flames.
Murley’s try just a minute after coming off the bench ignited the final quarter of the game, the hosts running in no less than seven further tries to complete a 73-28 victory at the Stoop.
The game was, as expected, an exhibition in loose structured rugby, the closing stages offering a spectacular display of the game at its finest.
Murley’s try in the 54th minute, completed with an exuberant dive under the posts, was just the starts of things. Just seven minutes later it was the turn of fellow replacement Hayden Hyde to pull out the spectacular, intercepting Baabaa’s ball on his own line before charging the full length of the pitch to score.
The tries kept pouring in for the hosts. Jack Kenningham burst through next in the 65th minute before Joe Marchant stole another intercept to run it over the line.
Will Edwards added another minutes later, stepping through the defence with ease.
And in the 78th minute the inevitable happened. Another searing run from Murley got the ball to Archie White, his long pass from left to right finding Joe Marler in space who crossed to score, all while wearing his Barbarians x Ewan Laws socks from his outing last week.
His impressive drop goal conversion was the icing on the cake.
https://twitter.com/Barbarian_FC/status/1593345937748918278
A second try in the 80th minute for Murley sealed a famous 78-28 win for Quins in an evening of entertainment, flair and fun.
Murley, who has spent the Autumn in and out of England camp, starred for the hosts despite just 28 minutes on the pitch.
He said: “It’s a special day. It’s the first time any Harlequins player has ever played against the Barbarians so that’s special in itself. It was good fun.
“Me and Marler were sat on the bench, and we were like “We’re playing the Barbarians for the first time ever, let’s start chucking it about!”. He was putting in some ridiculous kicks and we were just playing with a smile on our face, playing the Quins way.
“It’s part of the Quins DNA to chuck the ball around and have a bit of fun. I’d love to see it as a fixture every year.
“I think we out Quins’d the Barbarians, let’s put it that way!”
But the evening was perhaps most special for Barbarian’s captain Mike Brown. The 351-cap former Quin scored on his return to the Stoop and spoke glowingly of his week with the team.
He said: “It’s always nice being back somewhere you’ve made so many memories and so many connections. It’s been my home for so long, it’s just great to be back here.
“I think the best bit for me was all the BaaBaas boys just jumping in, I think that really shows after the four days we’ve been together how tight we are as a group.
“It was beyond expectations, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, to pull on the BaaBaas jersey. I’ve heard stories about how good the week is, it was beyond that! One of the best weeks in terms of rugby that I’ve been involved in.”
