Saturday 8 November 2014 08:05, UK
Harlequins director of rugby Conor O'Shea admitted it took a rousing half-time team talk from head coach John Kingston to see them past Newport Gwent Dragons.
Quins trailed 21-8 at the break but turned things around in the second half, scoring 23 unanswered points to come out on top in the LV= Cup fixture on Friday night.
"John spoke very forthrightly at half-time," said O'Shea. "I was pretty beside myself because we were terrible in the first half.
"I though Matt Hopper spoke really well to the backs at half-time as well. He's got a bit of (former Manchester United manager) Alex Ferguson in him."
O'Shea was pleased with the character shown by his young squad particularly his forward pack, who fronted up to a Dragons unit containing Welsh international Andrew Coombs and British and Irish Lion Andy Powell.
"We didn't play perfectly in the second half but we played with real physicality and aggression," O'Shea added.
"Seven of the pack are 23 or younger, so it's an incredible learning experience for them.
"But that's what this competition is about. It's about young players understanding the mental mindset you have to carry. They turned it around and they got the win so that's the positive side of things.
"We're so much better than that. We wanted an 80-minute performance like we played in the second half.
"The penalty count was horrific. They conceded 24 penalties, we only conceded eight. It's very difficult to have a game when that's going on but we'll take the win."
Newport director of rugby Lyn Jones felt the main reason for the turnaround was referee Greg McDonald, as the Welsh region failed to register a point after such an excellent first-half display.
"The scoreboard was shaped by the whistle," Jones said.
"Our scrum was dominant, our kicking game was excellent, our strategic play was very good and there was a lot of good approach play in scoring two good tries.
"To score 21 points was very pleasing in one half but the territory dried up because of one technicality after another."
