Preview: Wasps Away

So after a month or so away from doing the match previews they are back, hopefully for the long run after I went through a busy period at work. So what have I missed? Well seemingly I chose to become busy at the right time as Quins went through a mid-season slump, losing four games on a trot. In some of those game we were left wondering how we managed to throw away games from a winning position (Newcastle and Northampton) but also we were delivered some rather harsh reality checks too in our dire performances away to Gloucester and Montpellier. However, last week we got back to winning way with an incredibly important victory against the Leicester Tigers. We once again tried our best to throw the game away but great defence for three minutes of over time saw us win an incredibly important game for our confidence and our hopes for the rest of the season. 

Next up however is a massive challenge as we travel to the in-form team of the Premiership and our ex-local rivals, Wasps. Wasps have improved massively in recent weeks after they have found the consistency that was lacking in the early season. They have won five on the bounce, including an absolute thrashing of Saracens at Allianz Park, which makes them one of the two teams to have beaten the team from North London along with, obviously, Quins. However, in this run, whilst they have been very impressive away from home, they have had problems at the Ricoh with two very scrappy wins against Newcastle and Worcester who are both towards the bottom end of the league. Both of these games were won late on by Wasps and they were very fortunate to get the win, but I guess that is a sign of a good side. This should give Quins confidence that an upset could be on the card if we play with the desire shown in the win against Leicester last win. 

So what are the threats of this red hot Wasps outfit? Firstly, don´t let the number of absent players fool you, they have a very strong squad suddenly this year. While they will be missing their European internationals and some key players like Simpson and Gaskell, they still have the quality of two All Blacks in Charles Piutau and Frank Halai and Wallaby legend George Smith. Also lets not forget the electric Christian Wade who has had success against us in the past. They look to win the battle upfront and then unleash their backline and get the ball to their match winners outside. There is also Nathan Hughes who many consider to be a shoe-in for England when he qualifies in the summer. They have quality throughout the squad and their struggles at the bottom of the league seem long gone. 

Team Selections 
Quins will once again be without their international stars and this week you can add Visser to that list. So you would expect to see a similar team to last week. Although I will hoping for a few alterations. I would like to see Buchanan back in at 2. I think his physicality could be important and as he only just missed out through a late fitness test last week, I expect him to be available this week. This could mean we may see Ward back in the 7 shirt this week, though his impact from the bench would be good if not. This is because Easter has been struggling with an injury in recent weeks and apparently he re-injured his previous injury last week. This would mean shifting Luamanu to 8 but I hope the 9 day breaks will give Easter time to recover. In the backline, there will be one enforced change due to the selection of Visser in the Scotland team to face Italy, which means Walker will return to the wing, and he will be hoping he can continue his good form before Visser returned. Also I will, as will every other Quins, be hoping that Lowe is fit to play again. Stanley was solid enough last week so he should stay in ahead of Hopper, but Lowe is way ahead in the pecking order so if he is fit, he play. Simple. 

My predicted Quins team: Lambert, Buchanan, Jones, Horwill, Matthews, Luamanu, Wallace, Easter; Tebaldi, Botica, Walker, Sloan, Lowe (if not Stanley), Yarde, Chisholm 

Wasps will be missing a few players from the team that beat Bath. B Davies has been called up to Wales and Daly for England, whilst Mullan has been added to an injury list that is growing every week. So I expect to see a team like this; 

McIntyre, Johnson, Copper-Wolley, Myall, Cannon, Young, Smith, Hughes; Robson, Gopperth,Halai, Siale Piutau, Macken, Wade, C Piutau 

Key Areas 
I think we all realise this is going to be an incredibly tough game. Whilst both teams are missing key players, the quality of the players we are missing is far greater than what they are and it’s going to make it very tough for us. Saying that, I think the packs are very evenly matched and the battle of the breakdown will be intense between Young and Smith against Wallace and potentially Ward. Smith has been fantastic for Wasps his season and we need to make sure he doesn´t get on top. One area main focus for Quins has to be the lineout. It has been absolutely shocking in recent weeks and we need to improve it because against the top sides they will capitalise on. If I were Wasps, I would just jump at the front of the lineout and say if you can reach the back of the lineout then you can have it because more often than not it does not work. 

In the backs, its scary being a Quins fans. Whilst at full strength they would be fairly similar in strength, it is quite clear that Wasps are stronger in this area. Quins could be missing 6 out of 7 of our first choice backline if Lowe is still out which is a massive loss and shame. With threats all over their backline, we are going to have to be at our absolute best in defence to contain them and we cannot afford to kick aimlessly against their back three which is quite simply a world class attacking unit. 

All that being said I think we can have some confidence. Back in November when we played Wasps at the Stoop we beat them, with both sides fielding fairly similar XVs that day. Remember it was only a last minute try for Wasps which made it tight at the end. Also Wasps’ struggles at home this season show we can get at them and make it a tight contest. We are under no pressure to win this game for me and I hope we play like it. The BT Sport cameras will be there on Sunday and I have no doubt they will spend the majority of the build-up raging about Wasps, and rightly so may I add, but we are a dangerous side to write off and last week showed the desire of the team to improve the recent results. Yes we have to respect Wasps and the way they are playing at the moment, but that does not mean we cannot go there and be extremely physical and put them under pressure. 
I also would like to add that it is incredibly poor planning by Premier Rugby to have organised both of our games against Wasps during the international periods. I think with both sides at full strength it would be a fantastic contest, potentially one of the games of the season! But we are denied watching that and, unless we meet in the post season, we wont see it. A real shame. 

To conclude it is going to be tough for us, Wasps are the in-form side and we are going to have to improve on last weeks performance to have any hope. But I think we should believe and should aim to get at least a losing bonus point, and if we are within 4 or 5 points going into the final 10 minutes then you never know. Ultimately this result against Wasps is unlikely to decide our finishing position, but any point we can get could be crucial! 

My Prediction; Wasps 28 Quins 24