Match report: Huddersfield Giants 46 - 6 Harlequins

Mar 23 2009 by Chris Roberts, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Solid Quins defence helped prevent the rock-solid Leroy Cudjoe from grounding the ball over the line.

But with the visitors guilty of straying offside, fit-again prop Eorl Crabtree – playing his first game since suffering a hamstring tear after just two minutes in the opening-day win at Catalans – drove the ball to the line and fed the supporting Brett Hodgson to race in under the posts.

Then on the stroke of half-time, a loose Moore pass was scooped off the deck by Simon Finnigan, who raced away and fed the alert Robinson to finish off.

Only some more outstanding Giants defensive work, with Cudjoe to the fore, prevented Quins from opening their account in the early second-half exchanges.

And just before the hour, the hosts were extending their lead, courtesy of a try that would have had Harlequins coach Brian McDermott seething.

When Robinson collected the ball 10m from the visitors’ line, there looked to be nothing on. But the scrum half, shrugged off tackle after tackle in a run across the face of the posts and then straightened up when a gap appeared to plunge over to make it 34-0.

And McDermott would have been equally unimpressed seven minutes later as Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook offloaded on halfway straight to Brown to beat the cover and race away to score No7.

Danny Ward did finally break his side’s duck with a close-range try after 70 minutes.

But the Giants had the final say when Shaun Lunt stretched out from close range from acting half-back and Cudjoe converted in the absence of Hodgson, who had been withdrawn in readiness for Friday’s trip to Wigan.