• Late drama as James Lang has chance to give Quins win
When Harlequins were awarded a penalty just inside their own half with two minutes to win the match and earn a play-off at Exeter, James Lang tried to nick a couple of metres but was spotted by the referee, Matthew Carley. He had to take the ball back to the mark where the offence had been committed and the official’s attention made the difference.
Lang was confident, despite his attempt to reduce the distance, and so were the Harlequins coaches. The player he had replaced, Marcus Smith, had at the start of the afternoon kicked a long-range penalty, although he had managed to nudge the ball a few metres closer to the posts without the referee noticing. “James has a metronomic boot. I was anxious, nervous and excited,” said the Quins director of rugby, Paul Gustard. “I did not know where to look. I did not know where not to look.” For a moment the ball looked as if it would make it to the posts, hanging high at the end of an afternoon that, if not still, was hardly blowy. The home supporters prepared to groan at the end of a season in which they had seen their team win only four of their 15 home matches in all competitions, mostly against teams battling against relegation.
Written by Paul Rees at the Ricoh Arena
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/may/18/wasps-harlequins-premiership-rugby-union-match-report under the title “Harlequins miss play-off spot as Lang’s late penalty falls agonisingly short”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
