Big Game 16 – Tilly J

rugby Sport Tilly J January 17, 2025 0 Comments

Over the Christmas period, over 2 million people tuned in to watch the festive Gallagher Premiership and PWR matches. The biggest match being the Big Game 16 at Twickenham Allianz Stadium between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers and luckily, I had tickets. Although being a Gloucester fan, I decided to support my local team, Tigers. A decision I soon regretted as I was the only Tigers fan in my block. With a group of men singing Defying Gravity behind men and a group of people in front of me who stood up at every given chance to get a pint, I soldiered on. A highlight of day for me was accidentally being able to meet Ellie Kildunne whilst the Quins walked over from the Stoop and I was on my way to buy some lunch.

PWR Match:

Harlequins hosted Leicester Tigers at Big Game 16; a win for Quins meant Ross Chisholm’s side would sit top of the PWR table going into 2025.

Tigers struck first with a try from Red Rose Meg Jones, the England 13 converted her own score to give the visitors a 0-7 lead with six minutes gone.

Quins struggled to keep hold of possession on the opening 10 minutes, but found fortune in their first attack inside Leicester’s 22. They built the phases and then spread the ball wide to Spanish centre Claudià Peña, who dived over in the corner on 11 minutes.

Turning the screw, Quins struck again through England’s Connie Powell, the hooker profiting from her seventh of the season at the back of another powerful driving maul. Quins led for the first time in the match, with the score standing at 10-7 with 20 minutes gone.

The hosts struck again on 33 minutes, Lagi Tuima lifting the pass to Kayleigh Powell who broke through the line to score. Tuima added the extras to five Quins a 17-7 lead.

Quins’ bonus-point score came from Lisa Neumann, the Welsh winger collected a huge pass from her international teammate Kayleigh Powell to dive over in the corner. With 10 minutes to go in the first half, Quins led 22-7.

One final try of half the try came from Claudià Peña, the Spanish centre chased a Lucy Packer kick and forced the handling error, diving on the bouncing ball to score her second of the afternoon.

It was a slow start to the second half following the action-packed first 40, but Leicester would be the first to strike. Meg Jones at the heart of it again, throwing the pass to put Henrich away in the corner. The conversion was missed and the score stood at 27-12 with 57 minutes gone.

Quins responded four minutes later with another maul try, this time it was replacement hooker Carys Phillips who found herself at the back, dotting down for Quins’ sixth of the afternoon.

A linebreak from Claudià Peña would provide Quins’ next score, the Spaniard offloaded in the tackle to World Player of the Year Ellie Kildunne who raced away to dive over in the corner, extending Quins’ lead to 37-12.

A second try from Kildunne would be Quins’ the final act of the game, stepping through tackles and showing a clean pair of heels to score in the opposite corner from her first.

Leicester bagged themselves one final try, but Quins would be victorious as they recorded an impressive 42-12 win to put themselves at the top of the PWR table.

Gallagher Premiership Match:

Leicester Tigers left London with three competition points after a 34-34 draw with Harlequins in Round 9 of the Gallagher Premiership season.

The teams couldn’t be split after 80 minutes in a high-scoring, entertaining affair in front of a packed Allianz Stadium in Twickenham. Leicester were the first to register points, soon enough after the game getting underway that the smoke from the pre-game entertainment was still present in the air.

After patiently working their way into the Harlequins half, Tigers were gifted three points when the home side were penalised well within Handré Pollard’s range and the fly-half landed his first attempt to make it a three-point lead after as many minutes.

However, the lead was short-lived after Harlequins regathered the restart and went on the attack. While their first attempt was shut down, the clearing kick from Leicester was taken on the fly by Marcus Smith down the left-hand touchline.The Harlequins fly-half stepped his way through the broken Tigers defence and found Jack Walker on the inside to offload to and the hooker had a clear run to the line. Smith converted the try to see his side lead 7-3 after just six minutes.

Neither side showed signs of slowly working their way into the contest and Leicester hit back soon after to take back the lead when Ollie Hassell-Collins scored in the 12th minute.The opportunity arrived after a tackle bust from Olly Cracknell was followed up with an offload to his fellow back rower Tommy Reffell and the Welshman found himself in space before being tracked back and taken down deep inside the ‘Quins half.

Tigers moved the ball wide to the right, where Hassell-Collins nearly stepped his way over out wide only to be brought down short but the outside back reloaded to the midfield, and two phases later, Pollard found him with a long pass to give him a free run in under the posts.

Pollard converted the score to make it a three-point game once again, 7-10, after just 14 minutes in Twickenham. Harlequins continued to show their attacking approach only to be sent away on successive occasions by the visitors, who then turned defence into attack for their second.

An attacking bomb from ‘Quins ended up in the hands of Freddie Steward at the back who, with a dummy kick and step, burst into space and popped a pass inside to Cameron Henderson in support.The second rower went on a galloping run before being taken to ground and Hanro Liebenberg, deputising at scrum-half, quickly shifted the ball into Pollard’s hands before he looped the ball over to Solomone Kata and the Tongan did the rest to dive over out wide.

Pollard was again on target from the tee to make it 7-17 after 21 minutes. Leicester looked likely for a third just four minutes later with a kick to the corner and line out taken but, after losing possession at the set piece, Harlequins swooped and two quick passes saw the ball into the hands of Cadan Murley.

The speedster did the rest himself, running it in from his own half to cut the gap to five points, which turned into three with Smith’s second conversion to make it 14-17.On the half hour mark, Pollard extend the lead to six points, 14-20, with a second successful penalty goal attempt.

The fast-paced start to the fixture began to take its toll in the final stages of the first half, with the attack from both sides tightening up and it looking likely to stay a six-point game at the break. However, with only two minutes left, Solomone Kata was ruled to have made contact with the head in a tackle attempt and shown a yellow card for the incident. Harlequins kicked for the corner from the resulting penalty and set up a maul from the lineout to follow. Danny Care broke away from the back and found a rampaging Luke Northmore with a short pass and the centre barged over to score.

Marcus Smith converted the try to see his side into the lead by a lone point, 21-20, at the break. Neither team added to their tallies during a frantic first ten minutes of the second half, which included Kata returning from the sin bin, before ‘Quins were the first to add points with a penalty goal for Smith in the 51st minute taking the score to 24-20.

Tigers hit back just minutes later to take back the lead when Steward scored his side’s third on the end of some impressive hands and Pollard converted the score to take Leicester three points ahead, 24-27, with 25 minutes remaining at Allianz Stadium.

TMO intervention in the 63rd minute saw Harlequins awarded a penalty for what was deemed contact without the ball from Pollard, which allowed his counterpart – Smith – to level it up at 27-27.

As the clock ticked over into the final ten minutes in Twickenham, Harlequins took back the lead and secured a bonus-point with their fourth try.Quick hands to the left in attack, including a dubious last pass for try-scorer Murley, sent the wing into space and the speedster ran it in. Smith converted and ‘Quins lead was 34-27 with just nine minutes remaining.

Tigers refused to lay down and, with less than sixty seconds remaining, it was Dan Cole who got across the chalk to set Pollard up with a chance to level the scores.Cole’s try came on the back of patient, phase after phase, attack from Leicester, up against a ‘Quins side looking to spoil every ruck and the tighthead prop managed to push his way over with just inches to move.Pollard, from the sideline, delivered the crucial conversion to make it level, 34-34, where it remained to see both teams leave with three competition points.