Preview: London Wasps vs Harlequins
By Wyddy
August 29 2012
Is it really time for the season to begin? It seems like only a couple of weeks ago that we reached the pinnacle of an amazing season with a day which will live with Quins fans for life. The team marching out of the Stoop (against police advice!) heading on down to Big Stoop surrounded by fans, then being greeted with a tunnel. Plundering a Leicester side who seemed uncharacteristically shorn of leadership in those final agonising minutes...
Clean slate time. Let’s do it all again.
However, I for one will hark back to that day every time I hear us referred to as the defending champions. Amaze-balls.
As a few prophesised we haven’t been that active in the transfer market, Conor preferring on relying on the base of so much of last seasons success, the Academy players. The team that faced London Scottish in the pre-season double header (great idea! More next year pls!) had academy players running through it, and they performed a professional job on the Not Scots. To this core of developing players a couple of recruits have been added, namely Dave Ward (recently in the naughty bin) and Ben Botica (son of the cross codes kiwi, Fran Botica).
At the recent family day at the Stoop, Conor justified this approach by explaining that the core of our team is still very young, the likes of JTH, Lowe, DC and co still have years left on the clock, major game experience and nobody wants to leave our colourful family. When pressed on whether we will miss the more experienced members of the squad (Ollie K, Easter and Evans for example) when they could be out through injury, he said he had seen enough in our next wave coming through, to make him feel comfortable that the experience gained by the 42 of 48 squad players last season would hold us in good stead this season.
Certainly there’s a lot of interest in the side under what would probably be viewed as our first XV. Chisholm, Casson, Hopper, Stegmann, Wallace, Buchanan, all gained priceless experience at the coal face of the AP. All seemed to take to the pace and pressure exceptionally well, although some try to argue that this was achieved whilst the rest of the Prem had their stars away at the World Cup. Regular CAW’er, Poorfour, did some fantastic detailed work on how our line up changed last season, and very rarely did we get to play our full strength team. All of which can only be good for signs of our strength in depth for this season as the players have that experience under their belts.
Looking to push on in areas some have said that we may be a little light weight will be Charlie Matthews, stepping into the hole left by the departure of Tom Vallejos. Many see him as the answer to when we inevitably lose Ollie Kohn for any length of time this season, however it remains to be seen if he can develop on his potential to become the bruiser to work alongside Robson. Up front we’re very much covered at hooker with the accelerated development of Buchanan and the arrival of Ward (not to mention the return of Brooker – Mar 2013 according to CoS), however at prop if we lose Marler or Johnston we will be relying on the likes of Fairbrother and Lambert (not everyone’s cup of tea at loose but seemed to show more playing at tighthead) and newbies Collier and Marfo. The back row is well covered with the likes of stalwarts Skinner, Guest and tyro Wallace in the wings, again though we will face the issue that there is pretty much no one like Mo!
Moving to the backs, there could be a bit of an issue at scrum half, even though both of our No9’s – Danny Care and Karl Dickson – have signed on for more thrills and less spills, who is behind them? At fly half, this would look to be Cleggy’s last chance saloon, Conor in no doubt that he should be pushing NEv for the shirt this season. We’ll have to see about that. Waiting around corners with trip rope for Cleggy is young Ben Botica, who for the majority of pre season has played at 12, but has a great boot and experience of playing at 10. The centres and wings are well covered with the aforementioned Hopper, Casson, Stegmann and Smith, all who played in serious games in 2011/12. Which leaves only the precocious talents of the winner of try of the season, Ross Chisholm to keep Mike Brown honest. Mikey had best watch out for his fast developing protégé!
Up first for us, the Pests. A side very much in transition, after what can only be described as a 2011/12 season similar to Greece’s economic policy. They were beset by surprises and mishaps, injuries and retirements, narrowly missing out on being relegated – the reaction of Quins fans to this was fairly mixed, a number delighting in seeing our perennial foes peril and another section hoping they would stay up for more tonkings this season.
They have been significantly active in the transfer market, even though they have had the financial uncertainty hovering over the club. Managing to bring in players such as The Brand (damn you Haskell!), Tom Palmer, Andrea Masi (signing of the year?) and Stephen Jones alongwith adding the bulk of Johnson (Cheetahs) and Staibano (Aironi) to name a few. The obvious plus for us being, that with so many signings, how much squad fluency have they got against the well known combinations and plays of the Quins team who have on the majority been playing together for a good couple of years now.
With all the tribulations that Wasps have been through in the past 12 months, realistically perhaps they will be viewing this as a season of consolidation, bedding in a new base team and setting up the traditional Wasps strengths in the new joiners before looking to develop further again next year. This is a game Quins should be looking to take a bonus point from. We’re playing at our home away from home for an ‘away’ fixture, we’re a smooth well oiled machine looking to push on with momentum against a side only just starting to know itself.
Come on you Quins!!!!
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"The only trophy we won this day, was the blood and sweat we left on the pitch.... and it was enough"
Still, very much looking forward to the new season, and you have stoked the flames very nicely.
Remember last season's Double Header when Wasps beat the previous season's Champions, Saracens?
[www.premiershiprugby.com]
Wasps, with their new squad will no doubt come out fighting against their old rivals - should be a cracker and probably quite closer than some might expect.
Quins by 8. But who knows...
Dave
Still, fingers crossed!
Come on you Quins!
We're playing a team who won the title 4 times in 6 years between 2002-2008.
Just goes to show how far we've come and how quickly things can change!
COYQ
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