Newcastle v Harlequins: Five takeaways as ‘on-song’ hooker and Ulster-bound back feast on Red Bulls’ open door
Lucas Friday passing for Harlequins against Newcastle Red Bulls.
Following a 76-17 victory for Harlequins over Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park on Sunday, here’s our five takeaways from the bottom-of-the-table PREM Rugby clash.
The top line
This game was over after just 15 minutes with three Harlequins tries on the board, and by half-time it was a 45-10 buffer for Jason Gilmore’s side as Newcastle struggled.
Harlequins slowed a touch in the second period but still added a further 31 points to their tally as they picked up just their fourth triumph of this PREM Rugby campaign.
Alex Dombrandt, Jamie Benson (3), Bryn Bradley (2), Cadan Murley, Sam Riley, Marcus Smith, Will Hobson, Luke Northmore and Jimmy Staples got Quins’ tries today while Smith added eight conversions off the tee for a morale-boosting win, with Riley picking up the Player of the Match award after an excellent 50 minutes on the field.
Adam Brocklebank and Josh Hodge (2) got over the whitewash for Newcastle but there were few positives to take from this home hiding as alarm bells sound defensively.
Life of Riley
It was such an eye-catching performance from the busy hooker as he was in the thick of all things good that Harlequins brought to the table, scoring and setting up tries.
The 25-year-old’s finish from a tap penalty 12 metres out was the pick of his bunch as he stepped his way to the whitewash for his side’s fifth try of that brutal first half.
Elsewhere, his pace and distribution proved a constant threat on attack and alongside his front-row colleague Hobson, the lads up front were on song in the north-east.
Defence optional
Many predicted this game would be much closer than the eventual scoreline, but when a team defends this poorly, there is no hope and that was the case today.
Newcastle missed a whopping 35 tackles on their home patch and boy did Harlequins make them pay, with those seven scores in the opening half putting the game to bed.
Obviously, the ongoing turnover of players and staff makes it difficult to establish stability without the ball, but even this was a galling watch for Jones and Newcastle fans.
Benson boom
The versatile Irish-qualified back will not forget this fixture in a hurry as he runs down his Harlequins career before heading to Ulster, with three tries to his name.
Benson fed off the chances on offer today and opened his account in the 12th minute before adding two further crossings in the second period to complete a hat-trick.
Ulster have signed a gem for next season and he will no doubt fit in perfectly at the URC outfit, but for now Quins are squeezing plenty out of this Academy product.
England watch
We’ve already heaped praise at the door of Riley and Hobson for their busy outings, while Chandler Cunningham-South also put it about on the blindside flank at times.
Alex Dombrandt was also looking to press his case ahead of England’s mid-year Test campaign and relished the looseness of the match and Newcastle’s generous defence.
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Behind him it was another match of growth from the young Lucas Friday, with the 19-year-old continuing to flourish alongside Smith in his extended run in the jersey.
Lastly a mention for centre Northmore for his performance with ball in hand while Murley and the Ulster-bound Benson relished the wide open spaces and duly profited.
READ MORE: Newcastle Red Bulls v Harlequins: Result, match stats, scorers, line-ups