Calvisano Away

So after the two-game block of fixtures of Premiership action we gained seven points away against a very impressive Exeter side and at home against rather poor looking London Irish side. Whilst we should rightly be disappointed to have not won the game down at Sandy Park, I would have definitely taken that before the mini block fixtures. Then I haven’t seen a Quins side dominate their opponents in such fashion as they did on last weekend since the title winning side of 2011-12. I was very impressed. I don’t think many other premiership sides would have coped with the precision of our game and it seemed only inevitable that we would get a bonus point try. We were relentless in defence and clinical in attack, and apart from the consolation try they scored, I cannot remember another time Irish were in our 22. 

Its hard to pick out a star performer from last week as I thought across the park, every player performed with the same skill and heart that we expect from a Quins side and at time they combined to produce some dazzling pieces of play. However, in the backline, there was an obvious standout. Tim Visser, our “Flying Scottish Dutchman”, has settled in fantastically and showed his finishing expertise scoring three tries (and he could have had a fourth). This has now taken his try count to six in six games, and if he can continue this record, we will all be delighted. He is incredibly difficult to stop when he is close to the line, and it is hard to see how people will stop him and by concentrating on him, it will only create gaps elsewhere. A special mention also must go to Sloan who carried fantastically well and tackled everything. He gave us a glimpse of what Roberts will bring and on that basis we wouldn’t need Roberts. That is how good I thought he was. 

In the pack, I thought Horwill was fantastic at lineout time on their ball, making a nuisance of himself at every opportunity and also Robshaw was as fantastic as ever and surely will be giving the on looking Eddie Jones some food for thought. However, I have two standouts in the pack. First one was Dave Ward. It was another fantastic performance from the hooker as he appeared to pop up everywhere, ripping balls of Irish players and competing at the breakdown. For me, he has to be considered for England, his positives outweigh his few negatives and he brings something completely different. The other player was Luke Wallace, who I think would have really impressed Eddie Jones. If they are serious about this “out and out” 7 then Wallace, on the basis of the Irish performance, he has to be one of the first in line. Kvesic has had his chance and Fraser needs to prove his fitness first, so who else is there? Wallace was fantastic over the ball, and seemed to just win turnover at ease at some points. He has really stepped up this year, probably helped by the competition for places in the back row this year. 

Anyway got a tad side tracked there, I was just so buzzing after that Irish result and performance!!! So this weekend we return to the delights of European rugby, and over the past couple of seasons we have had mighty clashes against European heavyweights to deal with in these back-to-back fixtures against the like of Leinster, Toulouse and…Zebre (maybe not so much them). This year, however, we are in the Challenge Cup, and perhaps we are saved from two bruising weeks of rugby. Whilst Exeter face French galacticos Clermont, Northampton face a Dan Carter-inspired Racing 92, Leicester face Irish nuisances Munster, Bath face Wasps and Sarries have to contend with The Mighty Goatman at Oyonnax, we at Quins have a trip to Italian minnows in the form of Calvisano. Like in any match Quins cannot afford to underestimate their opponent, however this match is one that Quins should be winning comfortably whilst rotating the team to ensure some players are fresher for future challenges. 

So a bit about Calvisano. They play in the National Championship of Excellence in Italy and have in fact played in the former version of the Champions Cup way back in the 2005-06 season. Since then they haven’t played in the top tier of European rugby and had to settle for the 2nd tier competition. They have produced a couple of notable Italian internationals, none bigger than the mighty Ex-Leicester prop, Martin Castrogiovanni. Also, according to their Wikipedia page, a certain Ex-All Black and Quins fly half played for them, in the form of Andrew Mehrtens (no clue if that’s true). This season, domestically, is going well for Calvisano having won 6 out of 7 of their games and subsequently sit top of their division. Their most recent result was a 24-14 victory away against Rugby Mogliano. However, it is more useful for us to look at their first two European fixtures and it makes quite grim reading for the Italian side. They have lost both games, conceding 114 points and 17 tries in the process. This is probably quite ominous for the Italian side seeming as we comfortably beat both those teams in our first games. 

Team selection (NOTE: I know nothing about the Calvisano team so hence why there is nothing about them other than the first two teams they put out): 

After the Irish game, O’Shea confirmed that all the World Cup players would get these two European games off to recharge. So what options are open to O’Shea? 

So starting with the front row. I would think this is a good chance to see new signing Owen Evans as we know what Lambert can do. I expect Buchanan to come in and start too with Gray on the bench, therefore giving Ward a well deserved rest (well that’s what I hoped… see below). At tighthead, I expect Sinckler to start as Collier took a slight knock last week and if he is not fit then Shields will be the replacement.

Front row; Evans, Buchanan, Sinckler. SUBS- Gray, Lambert, Shields. 

In the second row, I’d give both Horwill and Twomey the weeks off and deserved rest. Therefore Matthews will start and probably with young Treadwell. I heard rumours Merick could be back for the bench. 

Second Rows; Matthews, Treadwell. SUB- Merrick (if fit) if he isn’t, one of Horwill or Twomey will need to cover due to squad registration. 

Back row will be a slight area of concern due to injuries to Baby Chisholm, Talei and Luamanu. Throw in the resting of Robshaw and Easter doesn’t leave a lot of movement or flexibility. This will mean Wallace and Clifford will need to start and probably Ward will be needed to play there too. Slight irritation with the injuries but it’s the hand that has been dealt or we’ll have to deal with it. 

Back Row; Wallace, Ward, Clifford SUB- WHO KNOWS?! 

With Care to be rested, I would be surprised to see Evans play in these games. So at scrum half, I would like to see both Tebaldi and Dickson start a game each and the same goes with Botica and Swiel. As I am an old romantic, I’d let Tebaldi get to start in his home country and partner him with Botica just because I think they are the best option if Care and Evans both got injured. 

Half Backs; Tebaldi, Botica. SUBS- Dickson, Swiel 

With the imminent arrival of Roberts to the Quins squad, it’ll be interesting to see who O’Shea picks at 12. I think Lowe will be given the weekend off and will be replaced by Hopper. I think Stanley probably deserves a run out however, I think we should continue with Sloan. They should say to Sloan, show us why we should continue to pick you even though a British and Irish Lions is arriving. He has been playing well and was fantastic last week against Irish. 

Centres; Sloan, Hopper. SUB- Stanely 

The back three will be without Visser and Brown due to the rests they’ve been promised. Due to the knock he picked up last week, I OLH may not be risked if not 100% so therefore I expect Ross Chisholm to start. He made a very good impact coming on early in the game last weekend I thought. On one wing will be Charlie Walker and possibly Yarde if he has recovered. If not, we may have an issue as we have no other wings in the European squad… Merchant could potentially be an option I guess. So I guess we have to OLH is fit and then it will interesting to see who starts at 15 out of him or Chisholm 

Back Three; OLH (if fit), Walker, Chisholm 

My Quins team; Evans, Buchanan, Sinckler, Matthews, Treadwell, Wallace, Ward, Clifford; Tebaldi, Botica, Sloan, Hopper, OLH, Walker, Chisholm. 

Calvisano Team vs Cardiff Blues; 
15. Matteo Minozzi; 14. Ben De Jager, 13. Giacomo De Santis, 12. Alberto Chiesa, 11. Marco Susio; 10. Filippo Buscema, 9. Riccardo Raffaele; 1. Sami Panico, 2. Lorenzo Giovanchelli, 3. Salvatore Costanzo, 4. Agustin Cavalieri, 5. Davide Zanetti, 6. Matteo Archetti, 7. Maxime Mbanda, 8. Jim Tuivaiti 
16. Luhandre Luus, 17. Gabriele Morelli, 18. Rudy Biancotti, 19. Michele Andreotti, 20. Luca Beccaris, 21. Renato Giammarioli, 22. Emilio Vezzoli, 23. Daniele Di Giulio 

Calvisano Team vs Montpellier; 
15. Matteo Minozzi; 14. Ben De Jager, 13. Alberto Chiesa, 12. Tommy Castello, 11. Marco Susio; 10. Filippo Buscema, 9. Riccardo Raffaele; 1. Sami Panico, 2. Lorenzo Giovanchelli, 3. Salvatore Costanzo, 4. Agustin Cavalieri, 5. Davide Zanetti, 6. Alessio Zdrilich, 7. Maxime Mbanda, 8. Jim Tuivaiti 
16. Gabriele Morelli, 17. Elia Violi, 18. Rudy Biancotti, 19. Luca Beccaris, 20. Matteo Archetti, 21. Emilio Vezzoli, 22. Giacomo De Santis, 23. Daniele Di Giulio 


So I don’t think there is much to discuss within the game. Quins should win very well and I don’t think O’Shea is the type of coach to allow his players to get too confident and risk destroying our great start to the competition. In some ways I hope Calvisano give us a tougher game so we can test some of these fringe players, but I don’t see it. I think the first aim ought to be to try and keep them out and concede no points and then score 4 tries at least. If we play anywhere near to our best it could be ugly for Calvisano and I hope we do show our ruthless side. Also in an ideal scenario, Cardiff and Montpellier can take points off each other in their games and by the time we play them both again, we can be more or less qualified and can continue to rotate the squad. We should be targeting 10 points from 10 out of these two games and I am in no doubt we will get that. 

My Prediction; Calvisano 6 Quins 52