Moment in Time: Harlequins and the 2004 Challenge Cup Final
Against a highly skilled and well motivated Montferrand outfit containing a host of French stars such as Olivier Azam, Olivier Magne and Thibaut Privat, not to mention up and coming young tyros like Aurelien Rougerie, David Attoub and Anthony Floch, Quins had been up against it from the start and with just 64 seconds of the game remaining, found themselves 26-20 down.
It is at times like these that you seek divine intervention and Quins' salvation arrived in the form of a hot-headed French centre by the name of Raphael Chanal, who, with Montferrand camped five-metres from their opponents' try-line and looking for the kill, took exception to Leonard lying all over the ball and responded with a flurry of punches to the prone prop's head.
Having been sin-binned once, Chanal saw red and Quins were presented with a final opportunity to save the day. “We'd looked dead and buried, to be honest,” says the Quins No.8 that day, Tony Diprose. “It wasn't dissimilar to our Challenge Cup final against Stade Francais in Cardiff last year, where they got on top physically and looked as if they were going to win.
“But we just managed to stay within range of them, which gave us a chance, and when Jason came on and got in the wrong position, it provoked Chanal into dishing out what he thought was a bit of justice. But instead it just gave us one last chance to launch an attack.”
What followed was fairytale stuff. With 13,000 Harlequins fans on tenterhooks and Leonard's chances of ending his outstanding career with silverware in grave jeopardy, the ball was launched into Montferrand territory. With the clock on zero Quins went through the phases, before Keogh located an angle and burst on to a suspiciously angled pass from Ugo Monye to jink away and score joyously under the posts. Andy Dunne converted. Cue mayhem.
“Was the final pass forward? Yes, probably by half a yard,” Diprose admits. “But he took it at pace and almost out of nowhere we'd won, because we hadn't had a sniff for 30 minutes. They had no chance to come back at us and I actually felt quite sorry for Montferrand, having literally had it snatched away from them with the last kick of the game. But it was a great way for Jason to go out.
“We had some experienced guys in the side with Billy Davison and Andre Vos, who'd led the team fabulously all season, and it was a great group of players. The Irish boys had all been a key part of our campaign and Simon Keogh had that ability to sniff out a try, a bit like Paul Diggin does now at Northampton.”
The day, however, belonged to Leonard, who was sent up to collect the trophy. Diprose recalls: “I've known Jason for a long, long time and it meant a lot to him. He'd been a huge figure at Quins but perhaps it hadn't been as successful as he'd have liked in terms of winning trophies, so it was a very big game and him coming off the bench for that last few minutes made a difference.
“His body was a bit jaded but he made an impact, as he always did. He was a guy you always wanted alongside you and if anyone deserved success it was him. We'd worked hard that season and had been looking for a trophy, so to get it on that day was absolutely immense.”
WHERE ARE THEY NOW:
THE CLASS OF 2004
1. Mike Worsley: Toured New Zealand with England that summer, but was forced to retire through injury in 2006. Taught business studies at Cranleigh School and is now at Marlborough College.
2. Tani Fuga: Left Harlequins in 2010 and returned to New Zealand, where he now runs two branches of Nando's Chicken in Auckland while coaching rugby at junior level.
3. Jon Dawson: Left Quins in 2006 to study at Cambridge University, where he became a Blue. Now works as a business development manager in the City of London.
4. Simon Miall: Was released by Harlequins in 2007 and started work in the City. Is now a rate sales manager with UBS.
5. Jim Evans: Called time on his playing career in December 2009 and is now assistant academy coach under Tony Diprose at Quins.
6. Pat Sanderson: Left Harlequins that summer to spearhead Worcester's assault on the Premiership. Retired through injury last year and is now a pundit with Sky Sports.
7. Andre Vos: Quins legend who retired in 2007 and headed back to Cape Town, where he works in financial services and is involved in coaching at college level.
8. Tony Diprose: Retired from playing after Quins were relegated to National One in 2005. Coached at the club and is now in charge of their ultra-successful academy.
9. Scott Bemand: Joined Leicester that summer, where he remained for four seasons before joining Bath. Retired in 2010 and now coaches the backs at Loughborough Students.
10. Paul Burke: Joined Leicester in 2006 but was forced to retire through injury two years later. Remained at Welford Road where he is now kicking and skills coach.
11. Ugo Monye: Went on to be capped by England and the Lions, still going strong at Quins.
12. Mel Deane: Retired in 2008 after finishing his career at Connacht. Set up his own strength and conditioning firm (meldeanefitness.co.uk) and has been helping out at Richmond.
13. Will Greenwood: Called it a day in 2006 and is now famous for his incisive punditry on Sky Sports.
14. George Harder: Left Quins in 2006 and played for Mont-de-Marsan in France. Later returned to New Zealand and is believed to be coaching at club level in Auckland.
15. Gavin Duffy: Returned to Connacht, for whom he still plays, and was later capped by Ireland.
Replacements:
Simon Keogh (for Deane, 55): Rejoined Leinster in 2008, with whom he won a Heineken Cup winners medal a year later. Now turns out for Old Belvedere RFC in Dublin.
Andy Dunne (for Burke, 60): Joined Bath in 2005, then spent a year at Leinster from 2006 before joining Connacht in 2007. Is now player-coach at Old Belvedere.
Ceri Jones (for Worsley, 60): Capped twice by Wales, left Quins last year to join Worcester.
Luke Sherriff (for Evans, 67): Joined Nottingham in 2007 but retired from rugby last November. Is now a co-director of Pinks Boutique in Derby.
Jason Leonard (for Dawson, 73): Retired that summer but remains heavily involved in rugby as an ambassador for Wooden Spoon work and a member of the Professional Game Board.
