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Quins make history at Stade Chaban-Delmas

MATCH REPORT: Harlequins reached their first Champions Cup semifinal, edging a highly-fancied Bordeaux-Begles 42-41 in a breathtaking game in France on Saturday.

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Both sides scored six tries before France scrumhalf Maxime Lucu missed a relatively straightforward late conversion which would have claimed victory for the hosts.

Quins will play record five-time champions Toulouse or Exeter, who meet in France on Sunday, on the weekend of May 3 to 5 in the last four.

Quins raced into a surprise 14-0 lead after just nine minutes thanks to a try from scrumhalf Will Porter, standing in for the experienced Danny Care, and a penalty try.

Referee Andrea Piardi awarded the second touchdown after Bordeaux-Begles’ flyhalf Mateo Garcia knocked down a pass from Marcus Smith in the build-up.

The 29 degrees Celsius heat in south-west France was highlighted as the hosts’ substitutes brought on umbrellas to shadow players on the field from the blazing sun during a break in play after a quarter of an hour.

By the interval, the English outfit deservedly led 28-12 as Porter claimed his second try and flank Will Evans crashed over following efforts from Lucu and Romain Buros for the home side.

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Quins went into the break on a high, just 40 minutes away from a historic win, before Lucu moved across to flyhalf with Garcia off with an injury.

Match Summary

1
Penalty Goals
0
6
Tries
6
4
Conversions
5
0
Drop Goals
0
112
Carries
103
8
Line Breaks
9
12
Turnovers Lost
8
3
Turnovers Won
5

The French side’s positional change paid off three minutes into the second half as France centre Nicolas Depoortere broke free and Lucu’s conversion cut the deficit to 28-19.

Lucu, looking comfortable at flyhalf, kicked a long-range penalty to make it 28-22 with less than half an hour to play.

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By the 60-minute mark, there was still six points in it at 35-29 after No.8 Alex Dombrandt crossed for the visitors before winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey followed suit for Bordeaux-Begles who had stunned Saracens in the last 16.

During a frantic final quarter, the lead changed hands twice as Congolese winger Madosh Tambwe strolled over for the French club and full-back Tyrone Green crossed for the Quins, who led 42-36.

With four minutes to play, Tambwe claimed his double, setting up Lucu for a match-winning conversion but the France playmaker missed and Quins held on for a famous win.

The scorers

For Union Bordeaux-Bègles
Tries: Lucu, Buros, Depoortere, Bielle-Biarrey, Tambwe 2
Cons: Lucu 4
Pens: Lucu

For Harlequins
Tries: Porter 2, Evans, Dombrandt, Green, Penalty try
Cons: Smith 5, a penalty try does not require a conversion

Teams

Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Romain Buros, 14 Pablo Uberti, 13 Nicolas Depoortere, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matéo Garcia, 9 Maxime Lucu (captain), 8 Tevita Tatafu, 7 Pete Samu, 6 Antoine Miquel, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Cyril Cazeaux, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Lekso Kaulashvili.
Replacements: 16 Clément Maynadier, 17 Ugo Boniface, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Guido Petti, 21 Bastien Vergnes, 22 Yann Lesgourgues, 23 Madosh Tambwe.

Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Oscar Beard, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Will Porter, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Will Evans, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 Stephan Lewies (captain), 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Will Collier, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Fin Baxter.
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Simon Kerrod, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Irne Herbst, 20 George Hammond, 21 Max Green, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Luke Northmore.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Federico Vedovelli (Italy), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)

Points Flow Chart

Harlequins win +1
Time in lead
6
Mins in lead
73
7%
% Of Game In Lead
90%
55%
Possession Last 10 min
45%
5
Points Last 10 min
7

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