A large crowd at The Stoop were fortunate enough to witness what was an enthralling Heineken Cup encounter.
A Quins side badly depleted through injury were besieged by a rampant Cardiff team in the first 15 minutes. The visitors opening up a 17 point lead by virtue of a dubious penalty try, awarded against Chris Wright of all people for a high tackle on Liam Botham, and a well taken Rees Williams score. Both tries were converted by Neil Jenkins who also added a penalty.
The Quins faithful must have been expecting the floodgates to open as the onslaught continued. But the defence held firm and Cardiff were restricted to a single Jenkins penalty before David Officer broke the visitors defensive line to release Daren O'Leary to score under the posts, Gareth Rees converted and the half time whistle sounded giving Quins some hope going into the break at 7-20 down.
The second half saw Quins win and retain possession far more effectively with Gareth Rees beginning to stamp his authority on the match.
The Canadian captain added a penalty before Jason Keyter finished off a move in the corner concluding a sustained period of pressure by Quins. Rees again converted and then added another penalty as the game entered the final quarter. This gave the home side a lead for the first time at 23-20. Cardiff were jolted into replying and did so superbly with Nick Walne scoring a fine try out wide set up by his three-quarters. The metronomic Jenkins added the conversion to restore a Cardiff lead at 23-27.
The pace of the game intensified even further in the last 10 minutes. A fourth successful Rees penalty closed the gap to a single point before a superb break by Pat Sanderson led to David Officer being hauled down at the corner flag, quick ball was recycled and Jason Keyter went over only for the referee to be unsighted and the try was disallowed. Quins continued to attack and were awarded a penalty, unfortunately Gareth Rees struck the ball against the upright allowing Jenkins to scramble it clear.
Cardiff managed to break into the Quins half and then earn a penalty on the final whistle which Neil Jenkins duly converted to earn Cardiff a 26-30 victory and ensuring they ran out winners of Group 5.
A great game of rugby between two sides with very different agendas on the day. Let us hope the Quins side can take heart from this performance and kick start the league campaign against Newcastle at The Stoop next week.
