Archive May 18, 2025

Gallagher Premiership

Harlequins (14) 24

Tries: Murley, Porter, Smith Cons: Smith 3 Pen: Smith

Exeter (12) 22

Danny Care ended his stellar rugby union career with a win as Harlequins edged past Exeter 24-22 in the Premiership.

Care played his 395th and final game for Quins after 19 years at the club – Premiership Rugby giving the 38-year-old special dispensation to wear the number nine shirt from the bench.

The scrum-half, who has won two Premiership titles and earned 101 England caps, came on with 16 minutes to go.

He saw Marcus Smith kick a winning penalty with 10 minutes left as Quins edged past an Exeter side that put in one of their better performances in a disappointing season.

But the lack of a fourth try and a crucial bonus point meant any outside hopes seventh-placed Harlequins might have for fourth place and a spot in the play-offs came to an end.

They can now finish no higher than fifth place while Exeter remain in ninth, where they will end the campaign.

“I owe this club so much,” Care told TNT Sports after the game.

“They’ve stuck by me through thick and thin and it’s been an honour every time to wear the shirt and I’m really excited for the next person who gets the opportunity.

“It’s a special club and I’ll be supporting them all on the way.”

Care joined as a 19-year-old from hometown club Leeds Tykes and went on to help Quins win some of their greatest honours, including a European Challenge Cup title in 2011.

He said he had struggled to control his emotions leading up to the game, especially when he had been at home with his wife Jodie.

“It’s been a really mad week,” he said.

“I felt uncomfortable at there being so much attention.

“I’ll be honest, everyone thinks that I love attention, but I probably feel more comfortable hearing negative things about me than positive.

“But the outpouring of love has been incredible and it makes me realise all over again just how special this game is, the amount of amazing people you get to meet and come across.

Care walked out ahead of the rest of his team-mates with his children for his final appearance at The Stoop, as all sides of the famous ground gave him an emotional standing ovation.

His team-mates needed just 175 seconds to open the scoring as Cadan Murley went over in the left corner thanks to Rodrigo Isgro’s long pass.

Exeter had Tamati Tua sin-binned four a 14th-minute head-on-head clash with Quins skipper Alex Dombrandt as the hosts had 85% of the possession in the first quarter.

They eventually made it tell when starting scrum-half Will Porter – wearing the 21 shirt – darted around the short side of a 21st-minute line-out maul.

But just after the kick-off Exeter responded as full-back Josh Hodge – one of the few bright lights in their disappointing season – broke through the Quins defence and Rus Tuima was on hand to power over from close range despite being a man down.

Seven minutes later the returning Tommy Wyatt got on the end of a line-out maul for his fourth Exeter try of the season, but Henry Slade missed the conversion for the Chiefs, who had new backs coach Dave Walder in attendance for the first time.

Exeter continued to grow and they went ahead three minutes into the second half when Stu Townsend capitalised on a Wyatt break as the struggling Devon side showed some much-needed confidence.

The visitors did well to repel a number of dangerous Quins attacks as the half wore on – a vast improvement in the past few weeks which culminated in a disastrous 79-17 loss last month at Gloucester that cost coaches Rob Hunter and Ali Hepher their jobs.

But Exeter could do nothing to stop the individual brilliance of England’s Smith as the Quins fly-half celebrated his British and Irish Lions call-up with a phenomenal individual try.

With 20 minutes to go he skipped past five tacklers and raced in under the posts as his conversation made it 21-19.

A Slade penalty soon after put Exeter a point ahead before Care came onto the field for one last time to the joy of the home fans.

They saw their side go back in front when Smith kicked a penalty from in front of the posts.

Quins came close to scoring a fourth try when Murley broke through with two minutes left and fed former Chief Tom Lawday, but from the resulting breakdown Wyatt picked up the ball in an offside position.

For a moment it seemed as though Care would try and a kick a penalty to end his career.

Harlequins’ head coach Danny Wilson:

“Danny has had a phenomenal career with close to 400 games. He is a top bloke and a true Quins’ legend and I don’t think his feats will be repeated again.

“It’s been an emotional week for him as injuries have prevented him from training to the intensity he wants so he’s getting out at the right time.

“However today our performance wasn’t clinical enough as we didn’t get the fluidity we had last week.

“They were very physical and frustrated us at the breakdown with handling errors stopping us from getting away from them.

“We are disappointed not to get the bonus point but our play-off chances were already pretty slim so winning was the priority as the game was in the balance.”

Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter:

“Today we had the emotion and togetherness to stay in the fight with our discipline much improved.

“In a normal season, it was kind of a par result by competing throughout and coming away from home with a losing bonus point.

“However, ironically how much better could we be if we could routinely catch and pass, for at one stage we didn’t see the ball for 15-20 minutes.

“There may be a few decisions that went against us but I don’t want to dwell on it as good sides don’t worry about that.

Harlequins: T Green; Isgro, Beard, Waghorn, Murley; Smith, Porter; Baxter, Walker, Lamositele, J Green, Hammond, Kenningham, Evans, Dombrandt (capt).

Replacements: Riley, Els, Streeter, Launchbury, Lawday, Care, Kerr, David

Exeter: Hodge; Wyatt, Slade, Tua, Brown-Bampoe; Skinner, Townsend; Blose, Yeandle, Iosefa-Scott, Tuima, Jenkins (capt), Vermeulen, Capstick, Roots.

Replacements: Frost, Keast, Street, Tshiunza, Moloney, Cairns, Haydon-Wood, Lilley.

Yellow card: Tua (14), Wyatt (79)

After having surgery on a serious abdominal injury, Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi says he is “grateful to still be here.”

After being taken to the hospital, the 27-year-old suffered severe injuries when he collided with Leicester’s post while attempting to cross Anthony Elanga.

Awoniyi underwent emergency surgery on Wednesday evening, and medical staff is now monitoring his progress.

After scoring in the crucial 2-1 victory over West Ham on Sunday, Forest team-mate Morgan Gibbs-White waved a shirt with the name of the Nigerian forward in it.

Awoniyi’s name and number are printed on the back of T-shirts, as well as the front-line “we are all with you Taiwo,” to make things even more cozy for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.

And Awoniyi wrote on Instagram, “I have felt the love through it all, even though this season has been one of my most challenging career years.” I’m grateful that I’m still here, fighting, smiling, and in good spirits thanks to God’s grace.

Thank you for your well wishes. Seeing you all at the hospital made my spirits stronger than words can express.

“I’m with you every step of the way, and I’m looking forward to getting back out there with the boys and doing what I love.”

Ajax’s record-extending 37th Eredivisie title appeared to be unavoidable six weeks ago.

Ajax haven’t won a trophy since 2021-22, but a 2-0 victory over second-placed PSV Eindhoven on March 30 gave them nine more points.

Any mention of a title race was deemed complete and unwarranted.

With only seven games left, PSV captain Luuk de Jong admitted that they needed to concentrate on securing second place.

Nine points is too much; there are so few games left, I don’t believe it’s ever been redeemed. After the game, De Jong told ESPN, “We’re focusing on that second Champions League spot.

In their own stadium, PSV fans were frenzied after a month and a half.

When reports emerged that Ajax had conceded a 99th-minute equalizer at 10-man Groningen, PSV had just finished a routine 4-1 victory over Heracles.

With those two outcomes, PSV climbed admirably to the top, one point above Ajax.

PSV’s title rivals appeared to have let complacency slip, losing 10 points across four games while losing six games in a row following the hammer blow of defeat at the hands of Ajax.

Former Ajax and PSV midfielder Wim Jonk started following the top-of-the-table battle more intensely as it became a competitive match in the later weeks, like many football fans in Europe.

“Ajax have come a long way, and then they were able to establish a significant lead,” Jonk said.

“But the outside world starts talking as soon as you drop points, and the question is what will happen psychologically within the team”?

You could see it with Ajax, where their game began to thaw out as the pressure increased. There are some excellent players in that squad, so it’s not a lack of quality.

Jonk could see it, particularly in the home games against Sparta Rotterdam and NEC Nijmegen, where Ajax performed below-par.

What’s going on here? appeared to be the question that came to mind when something went wrong during the match. Jonk was added.

You need something solid to fall back on, and from that structure, confidence rises once more. “That’s where structure comes in.

However, Ajax’s capitulation only provides one side of the story.

The fact that PSV previously led Ajax by nine points in December makes their turnaround even more remarkable.

The unanticipated turns have somehow developed into recurring patterns. There were no indications that this season would turn out to be this rollercoaster until late October.

PSV won their first ten games convincingly, just as impressively as they did last year when they won the league.

Under manager Peter Bosz, they played some fantastic football, which was by far the league’s best at the time, Jonk claimed.

Very dominant, high pressing, and very entertaining to watch. I was interested to see if that would continue into the upcoming season.

In the following month, PSV unexpectedly fell two points short of the Eredivisie table after losing to Ajax at home with a score of 2-0.

Then, “Is there still a hunger to put egos aside and fully commit to a shared goal”? jacked .

You are aware that things can quickly start going the wrong way when you begin to lose even a small portion of that.

A little luck does, of course, but it does many things help you get that luck. The difference between winning your own games and what happens elsewhere is what matters most.

PSV started a winning run, but on one occasion, when they played at Robin van Persie’s Feyenoord on May 11, it almost slipped away.

By half-time, the hosts had a 2-0 lead, and they were on course to move into second place, putting in risk PSV’s already guaranteed Champions League spot.

The second half of the season gave a different direction, but the plot twist was symbolic of the first. In the 99th minute, former Ajax winger Noa Lang scored the winning goal to restore PSV’s tie to 2-2.

It was Ajax’s turn shortly after that game.

NEC Nijmegen, who had never previously won at Ajax in the league, was humiliated by Francesco Farioli’s side with a 3-0 defeat.

Three days later, Ajax arrived in Groningen with their plans in mind.

However, the 99th minute saw the home side’s collapse to become the league’s top scorers with a late equalizer as the game’s story came to a head.

What do you do when the leader only has a few minutes to go? Do you push up or do you drop deep? Jonk remarked.

Even while playing with an extra man, Ajax began to drop back rather than advance.

Jonk believes they still have plenty of positive things to take away from the season despite Ajax losing a respectable lead.

The likes of Jorrel Hato, Kenneth Taylor, Brian Brobbey, and Youri Baas have all been recalled to the national team in recent matches, according to Jonk, who is assistant coach for the Netherlands.

Jordan Henderson, a former Liverpool captain, has had a significant impact in his position as captain.

Jonk remarked, “Henderson is a leading player.”

He obviously had a difficult start at the club, but he’s improved significantly this season. He is improving as a result of the structure in his environment, particularly in terms of defense.

A number of Ajax players have cited Henderson’s commitment and professionalism in supporting a young Ajax team’s development as having an impact on their development.

They appeared to be on their way to the title this season after a challenging 2023-24 campaign.

Remarkable also was that they won all of their matches against PSV and Feyenoord before starting to lose in the final few games and take the lead in the final game.

In 1991, Jonk and Ajax lost a crucial final game 1-0 to SVV, who were battling relegation, in a very close title fight.

In the end, they lost to PSV on goal difference.

When everything is on the line, Jonk said, “a lot of pressure builds on a team in those final games of the season,” Jonk said.

It’s important to remain close-knit as a team, and you might also need some luck occasionally.

We created a lot of chances in the SVV-Ajax match, but we never scored. Then, one chance, which went in, was conceded. These are the typical football moments.

“You’ve seen enough of those in recent weeks,” he said, “whether it was Inter against Barcelona or other matches with potential.”

This is especially true for the Eredivisie 2024-2019 season.