As Marcus Smith lined up the 77th‑minute conversion that would almost certainly have lifted Harlequins into the quarter-finals there was no one watching, including Montpellier’s director of rugby Philippe Saint-André, who imagined he would miss. Smith had barely put a foot wrong, there was scarcely a hint of wind in the sun-drenched stadium and the kick was nicely angled for a right-footed kicker.
Alas poor Smith, previously outstanding in almost every respect. The ball was close enough to the left upright for sections of the home crowd to raise their arms aloft but the flags stayed down and that was that. A thrilling, see-sawing contest had pretty much everything but from Quins’s perspective it will be remembered as the one that got away.
To fall one point short against the French Top 14 leaders after 160 minutes of outstanding rugby, though, is hardly a disgrace and Smith, in addition to nailing all four of his previous conversions, had also created one of the scores of the European season during a first-half when Quins racked up four tries.
“You can’t put the blame down to him,” said Tabai Matson, the home side’s senior coach. “There were probably three opportunities we missed in the first half to get the scoreboard ticking over.”
While not even the most passionate Quins fan could complain about the entertainment, a lack of composure at key moments in both legs ultimately scuppered another famous comeback triumph from 34-0 in the first game in France. “Gutting” was the word Matson kept using and with good reason.
When Smith’s nicely delayed ball put Louis Lynagh over for his second try with five minutes left, it seemed for all the world that Quins would be featuring in the last eight.
Smith, though, also had a potential try ruled out for midfield obstruction as he skipped around the outside, a crucial moment given Montpellier had just survived nine penalties close to their own line and had their replacement hooker sent to the sin-bin.
Credit was certainly due to the visitors and Saint-André had not been impressed by suggestions his reshuffled side were ambivalent about progressing further. “We showed we didn’t come here just to take the sun and drink beer,” he said, wryly.
Both legs were frantic, fast-paced and furious and rapid was certainly the word for Quins’ opening score after 33 seconds when the outstanding Alex Dombrandt sliced through a slightly flat-footed defensive line to put Huw Jones over.
It set the tone for a breathless first half with Montpellier’s promising fly-half, Louis Foursans-Bourdette, cleverly putting Yvan Reilhac over before Dombrandt twisted over to score and restore the hosts’ advantage.
The game’s champagne moment, though, arrived when Danny Care kept the ball from crossing the touchline in his own 22 and found Smith 10 metres from his own line.
Last week, Smith had a forgettable game but here a little dummy, an irresistible surge of pace and a deceptive hitch kick took him gloriously past the cover on a thrilling counter raid. He found a surging Cadan Murley in support and the wing fed Joe Marchant for a diagonal length-of-the-field try to rank with anything Quins have scored all season.
If the home supporters thought it was the cue for the visitors to unravel, however, they were mistaken, with the assured Foursans-Bourdette putting in a well-judged low cross-kick that full-back Julien Tisseron gathered expertly to score.
A well-executed blindside scrum move three minutes before half-time set up Lynagh’s first try in the right corner and give Quins an 11-point lead on the day but the real drama was only just beginning.
