Harlequins into Premiership final after stunning extra-time win over Bristol

What a time to be a rugby fan in England. This match beggared belief. English rugby has chosen for its climax to go head-to-head with a major international football tournament, but if any of round ball persuasion were watching, well might they have wondered.

Where to start? Harlequins won. After 20 minutes of extra-time. With a seventh try in the 100th minute. Having been 28-0 down after half an hour.

By the end, players were strewn across the turf at every break in play. Bristol finished with 13 – and not, for once, because of any card. They were just exhausted, in agony, physically and spiritually, with no one left to come on.

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Quins, seemingly in a similar state after half an hour, summoned the form of their lives from somewhere, no one more so than the young South African who has stepped in at full-back for the suspended Mike Brown. Tyrone Green’s form held throughout, even during their horror show at the start. At times he was practically unplayable.

“That’s probably the most crazy game I’ve ever played in,” he said, his grin as wide as he makes a rugby pitch look. “The best game I’ve ever played in.”

Alas, there is no English granny with this one, but he knows how to light up a game. And, boy, he was not alone.

Ashton Gate, barely a fifth full, was rocking in a way that Wembley wasn’t. Tries are all the rage in the Premiership these days and so are comebacks, but those on show in this first semi-final were as remarkable examples as any we have seen. In any era, any land.

Defence is so last decade, it’s true, but Quins have explored the idea to its fullest extent. Against a team like Bristol the dangers for them were obvious and so it unfolded initially. But it would be ridiculous to pin this on anyone’s defence. In the first half, Bristol were magnificent, just as Quins were after that, all of them playing rugby as if they simply loved it.

There were no bonus points to chase, but the Bears had their fourth try before the half-hour mark anyway. In a blur of running rugby they were 28 points up after 28 minutes.

Charles Piutau took a quick lineout to himself, exchanged passes with Max Malins, and was off through the guts of Quins, linking up with Semi Radradra, who sent Ben Earl away for the first. Magnificent.

Bristol’s tries were more or less all like that, either in execution or approach.

Malins scored two in 10 minutes, both featuring exhilaration aplenty in the buildup, before Luke Morahan scored the fourth, Radradra moving and passing like an emperor, Malins flicking the ball over his head like a conjuror.

Then Quins took over – and Green in particular. Alex Dombrandt pulled back the first try just before the break, and Green finished a minute into the second half. Quins were ravenous suddenly and Bristol looked lost, their off-loads now forced, their confidence shot.

They forced another play on their 22, and James Chisholm was on to the loose ball for Quins’ third. Louis Lynagh, another superb performer in the Quins back three, finished the fourth after Dombrandt had burst clean through. Quins were now four points shy.

Harry Randall had a brilliant finish disallowed for a forward pass, but Callum Sheedy landed a penalty to stretch Bristol’s lead to seven. Then it was Quins who were denied by the TMO for a forward pass – Green to Lynagh – before the only possible finish to normal time, Green to Joe Marchant, Marcus Smith conversion, match tied.

Into extra time, the momentum remained with Quins. Green had the game in his palm by now, turning Radradra inside out for another. Bristol, a try down at full-time, now needed two scores to win. They had one of them in the 14th minute of extra-time, Malins claiming a hat-trick after yet more sweeping play, but the Bears were spent. Radradra and Harry Thacker could not finish the match. So when Quins turned over the ball, Smith could put Marchant over at his leisure.

One last piece of drama. Luke Northmore’s tackle on Siale Piutau, which won the turnover, was millimetres from his head. Surely not. Thankfully not.

A red card at the end of this would have been too much. We had seen the very best of our sport.