That was the popular cry around the Stoop late on Sunday afternoon after NEC Harlequins completed a dramatic second half come back to beat Bath 25-22, sealing victory with a Simon Keogh try eight minutes into injury time. After all you do not want to hit the front too early!
In truth, you can criticise the current Quins squad for many things, but what you cannot ever accuse them of is a lack of heart. The courage and determination shown during the second half to claw back the 13 point deficit that Bath held at half-time was fantastic. As the pressure mounted during the second half, the control that the players showed just got better and better, with the try coming from a play that in the circumstances was probably some of the best rugby we have played all season.
The performance in the first half was flat and there may be many reasons for this. The psychological impact of the Connacht semi-final the previous weekend, the travelling back from Galway and then up to Northampton on Tuesday evening, while the penalty try awarded in the first minute of the game appeared to 'knock the stuffing' out of us, but for whatever reason we were very lucky to be only 13 points down at half-time. The rest as they say is history.
On the injury front, both Ugo Monye (back) and George Harder (hamstring) failed late fitness tests for last weekend's game. Ugo should be fit this weekend but it may be another week before we see George back in action. Jason Leonard, on the day he announced his retirement from rugby, took part in his first scrummaging session for over a month and providing there is no reaction he should be available for selection against Northampton Saints on Saturday (8th May).
Of the injuries from last Sunday, Tony Diprose, Jon Dawson and Mel Deane have all recovered well, while Mike Worsley is still having some difficulty after breaking his nose shortly after coming on as a replacement on Sunday afternoon. Selection this week will be delayed until tomorrow (Friday) to give everyone the chance to recover from last weekend's knocks.
With that win on Sunday, we are now in a position to secure fifth place in the Zurich Premiership table by winning at Franklins Gardens this weekend. It is still possible that we can finish as low as eighth but that would require us to come away with nothing, Leicester to beat Wasps and both Sale and London Irish to win and score four tries in the process - not impossible, but a win for Quins would see us finish fifth and secure a home semi-final in the Wildcard play-offs. I dare say that Northampton Saints, who themselves need a victory to secure a place in the semi-final of the Zurich Championship, will have something to say about that.
Going back to Sunday and during the last ten minutes of the game we played some of the best controlled rugby we have done all season. At the same time, the crowd at the Stoop was by a long way the most passionate that I have heard it in my four years at NEC Harlequins. Coincidence? Not likely. The atmosphere on Sunday was tremendous, and it is now up to all of us to replicate this in all our remaining games this season, which hopefully will end on 22nd May with a win in the Parker Pen Challenge Cup Final.
I look forward to seeing those of you travelling to Franklins Gardens this Saturday - it is sure to be a cracking game.
