After years of a duopoly, English rugby has its second new champion in as many years. Harlequins won their first Premiership title, by seeing off one of the aforementioned duopoly, Leicester, in a riveting contest at Twickenham.
It had seemed they were romping to it, having dominated the first 65 minutes almost without break. But as the weather took its toll, not to mention the prospect of an unprecedented glory, they conceded 10 points in four minutes to set up the mandatory nail-biter. But they held on to win what was an epic – the third consecutive such final we have had, after Saracens victory last year and Leicester's win in 2010, in the days when, along with Wasps, they dominated the competition. Who said a Premiership play-off system had no merit?
The pace of the first half was outrageous, considering the heat. Harlequins, in particular, seemed to be defying their opponents to keep up with the game they were intent on playing. Tapped penalties and 22 drop-outs abounded, and Danny Care's incessant darting summed up the attitude, as did the proclivity of Chris Robshaw, Nick Easter et al to step in at fly-half and release team-mates with deft offloads.
Quins' reward was not long in coming, a fine Tom Williams's try from just such a passage of play opening up an 8-0 lead within 10 minutes. But such a policy is not without its dangers and Leicester always looked capable of pouncing. Their most decisive intervention was to capitalise on a loose Harlequins lineout from which Dan Cole released Steve Mafi on a 60-metre gallop on the half-hour. George Ford's conversion opened up a 13-11 lead for the Tigers, but a penalty by Nick Evans just before the break, for which Thomas Waldrom had seen yellow, re-established Quins' lead at half-time.
Their resurgence did not stop there. The third quarter was entirely dominated by Harlequins, and with a quarter of an hour to go, they were 30-13 ahead, the title surely theirs. But Ben Youngs stepped forward and transformed the dynamic of the match with two lightning breaks in a few minutes. A try for Anthony Allen and a Ford penalty brought Leicester to within seven points with 10 minutes to go. But Quins were not to be denied.
