Preview: Harlequins v Northampton Saints 10/9/10

Premiership rugby makes a welcome return to the Twickenham Stoop on Saturday as Harlequins host Northampton Saints for what promises to be an intense affair. The game will be televised live on Sky, and for this reason it kicks off at the earlier time of 1.30pm.

A crowd of close to 12,000 will turn out hoping to see a fast and exciting game featuring some of the most talented players in the league, whilst off the pitch many home fans will renew friendships with an away support generally considered amongst the best in the league.

Those who watched Saints v Tigers last Sunday will have seen periods of frighteningly good play from Jim Mallinder's side, although they were unable to properly sustain their opening period of domination. From 1 to 15 Saints have an admirable team with no real weaknesses – a belligerent front row of Tiny, Hartley and Mujati, with Murray on the bench;  a second row including the athletic and uncompromising Courtney Lawes; one of the best back rows of last season – the underused-by-England Phil Dowson and unheralded but high quality Roger Wilson, along with two new youngsters that most sides would have been happy to sign – Tom Wood and Calum Clark. And that's just the pack.

Behind the scrum Saints possess perhaps their most potent weapon… the back three. Chris Ashton has the most remarkable try scoring record (75 tries in 74 starts), and while he had his critics in his first season (having converted from Rugby League) he has worked hard and improved his defence very satisfactorily. Perhaps his biggest asset, and the reason he scores so many tries, is his ability to track the ball carriers and create the space himself by running some great lines – I don't think there is anyone better in the country at this. Ashton, Foden and Reihana work very comfortably together, and Foden in particular will always be a big threat from full back.

Myler or Geraghty is still an impossible choice for many Saints fans, and we will almost certainly see both regardless of who starts. Partnering them at half back will be Lee Dickson, brother of Quins' Karl. Lee had an excellent season last time out, and will be desperate to move higher up than the fringe of the EPS.

Harlequins opened the season with a deserved draw 'away' against Wasps last weekend, when Ceri Jones led the side out at Twickenham in his 200^th appearance for the club – congratulations Ceri! It's hard to argue that it wasn't a fair result for both sides, as Quins should have done enough to win it in the end, but Wasps shouldn't really have allowed them back in the game after dominating the 30 minutes before the break.

It was a pretty good performance from Quins aside from the aforementioned 30 minutes. They got off to a cracking start after an incisive break from Nick Evans, and the lovely line taken by Nick Easter which left the scrambling defence in his wake. Talking of Nev, perhaps there will be extra cheer at The Stoop on Saturday in light of the fantastic news that he has signed on for another 2 seasons.

What was disappointing at times during the Wasps game was the number of times our midfield defence was breached; not necessarily due to poor tackling but rather poor positioning. However, at close quarters our defence was very good, and perhaps defence will be the key to beating Saints tomorrow. It certainly was when these sides met at The Stoop last season. Then, Quins put in a huge effort and perhaps used a blitz defence better than we've seen from them before. Harlequins actually have a very decent record at home to the Saints, not having been beaten for around 6 years, so will be in confident mood.

Against Wasps our pack did an excellent job in securing and retaining something like 60% of the possession, and a similar effort will be needed this weekend. The scrum looked a little ropey at times although the replacement front row did a very good job of improving this when they came on. Those 3 substitutes also put in some marvellous work outside of the set piece, with Cairns and Johnston both instrumental in the build up to Quins' second try, and Marler always able to carry well over the gain line. That second try was a thing of beauty, with the forwards linking and carrying to very good effect, and JTH's deft step inside crucially drawing in an extra defender leaving the space outside for Brown to finish off.

Light rain is predicted for Saturday afternoon, although this shouldn't stop either side from trying to attack with ball in hand. It's usually difficult to predict what sort of game will unfold, but on paper this has the makings of a fervent and exciting match. It's impossible to write off Saints' chances despite their poor record at The Stoop. Although the game could go either way I think home advantage could be the deciding factor, which may see Quins get an uncomfortably close win.

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