Quins to get the buzz from live match
He's back (Haribos)
By KevT
February 20 2004
Harlequins’ match against London Wasps on Sunday (KO 6.00pm) is another must win game. The match is live on Sky Sports. Wasps have been ravaged by injury and international call ups and Quins will be anxious for a win to keep in touch with the top five in the table and within reach of a Play Off spot
| Mark Evans has had another difficult selection this week. The team did
not play that well against Saracens two weeks ago. I thought Mike Worsley
looked very good when he came on as a substitute against Saracens. Ceri
Jones seemed to have a muted game and perhaps the disappointment of not
making the Welsh squad had some effect. Mike should take Ceri Jones’ place
at loose head prop.
Jon Dawson retains the position of first choice cover for Jason Leonard and his robust scrummaging may have some joy against Wasps’ relatively inexperienced loose head prop Tim Payne. It is a blow that Jim Evans has not quite recovered from his dislocated shoulder. He has been a revelation this season and Quins will miss his athleticism and charging runs. Roy Winters has looked as feisty and aggressive as ever and will perhaps provide more of a threat in the tackle area. The Quins’ back row combination of Sanderson, Vos and Diprose retain their partnership. It would have been very harsh of Mark Evans to drop Diprose after his performance against Saracens. Perhaps with Jim Evans absent, Mark felt that Diprose’s presence in the line out would be more beneficial. I am a big fan of Ace Tiatia and I’m sure we will see him in the second half. It’s great to see Simon Keogh back at scrum half. I felt the team missed his speed of service against Saracens. I’m keen to see how Andy Dunne, who replaces the injured Paul Burke, fares with Simon Keogh’s pass. In the centre, Andy Reay, who had such a good game against Wasps earlier in the season, plays inside with Mel Deane moving to outside centre. I would have liked to have seen a more creative outside centre than Mel, but with Greenwood, Chris Bell and Henry Barratt all away with England representative sides, the choice was limited. I might have gone for Gavin Duffy at outside centre with Tom Williams playing Full Back, but Quins are aware of the threat posed by Wasps’ excellent outside centre Fraser Waters and the choice of the stronger tackling Deane may have been dictated by this. It will be great to see Ugo Monye and George Harder back in harness on the wing.
Wasps are likely to make a number of changes from the team that beat Rotherham last week. Wasps posted their list of absences on their website this week. Injury List as per 18 February Alex King - Leg Internationals on duty Tim Payne has been starting at loose head prop. I haven’t seen much of him but he does not have the experience of the excellent All Black Craig Dowd who would be my choice if fit. Trevor Leota’s fitness seems to have improved from the beginning of the season. He is fantastic around the park and is a fearsome tackler but his line out throwing can be a mixed bag. Will Green is a very good tight head prop and he is unlucky that England have a number of options in this area at the moment. An injury to Richard Birkett and Simon Shaw’s absence with England mean that the inexperienced George Skivington earns the second row berth. He partners Martin Purdy who has come into the Wasps’ side this season and performed very well, both in the league and the Heineken Cup. Purdy is an aggressive second row who has also performed well in the line out for Wasps this season. There will be a lot of pressure on this pairing in the line out and Wasps’ supporters will hope that Trevor Leota’s radar is switched on this week. Ian Clarke is a 6’ 4” blind side flanker who joined Wasps from Leeds. He has made six appearances for the club this season. Mark Lock is similarly inexperienced at Number eight and that’s where it all gets a bit vague. Wasps have five back rowers injured or with England and may have to play someone out of position. Their third choice hooker, Barratt played for the 2nd XV which was beaten by Quins’ second XV on Monday and he may get the open side berth. Robert Howley is still the best scrum half in Britain and it is always a pleasure to watch him. His influence may be negated without his usual back row partners to protect the quality of Wasps ball around the tackle area. Alex King may not recover from injury in time for Sunday so we may see Mark Van Gisberegen play at Fly Half. Wasps owe a huge amount to Van Gisbergen for holding their season together as World Cup absences and injury to Alex King threatened their progress. Van Gisbergen has been hugely influential for them and his kicking has been excellent. Ayoola Erinle is a big, strong inside centre who takes a lot of stopping, There are question marks over his defence which Quins will be keen to exploit. I expect him to play ahead of the battering ram Mark Denney who has not had his best season. Fraser Waters is an excellent outside centre who is very unlucky not to be part of Clive Woodward’s team. He is sure to pose Quins problems. On the wing, the sixteen stone John Rudd is a really strong and hard runner. Sparks will fly when he comes up against the equally strong George Harder. Shane Roiser will probably start on the opposite wing. He is a fast elusive runner who has never consistently delivered on his undoubted talents. Tom Voyce has reinvigorated his career at Wasps this season. His career had stalled at Bath where he was preferred on the wing but seems to have found his home at Wasps where he has been playing Full Back. He has tremendous pace. The league results over the last two weeks show that there is a clear pattern emerging. Two weeks ago five of the top six teams won their matches (with Bath who are in first place losing to Wasps who are second). Last week three of the top six teams played. All three, Wasps, Northampton and Gloucester, won their matches. This week’s matches are as follows with the top six teams in bold: Saturday Sunday With crystal ball in hand, I can forecast wins for Bath, London Irish, Northampton and Gloucester. Quins are in sixth place and a win is required to stay within touching distance of the teams above them. A win is therefore a must for Quins. They beat Wasps at Adams Park as it was called last season and therefore know they can win there. The key will be the performance of Wasps inexperienced second row and back row. Quins will hope to get some ascendancy in the set piece and in the tackle area. Wasps’ game has been built around good defence and slowing down opposition possession. If you look at the match up of the Wasps back row against Sanderson, Vos and Diprose then Quins must hold the advantage. If Wasps can secure possession at the set piece there must be question marks over the quality of that ball given the inexperience of their forwards. Will they be able to retain possession against a clever pack of Quins’ forwards? I think the evidence points to a Quins win, but look for a close game as some of this inexperienced Wasps players will have a lot of points to prove in front of the cameras. London Wasps (possible): 15 Tom Voyce; 14 Shane Roiser; 13 Fraser Waters; 12 Ayoola Erinle; 11 John Rudd; 10 Alex King; 9 Peter Richards; 1 Tim Payne; 2 Trevor Leota; 3 Will Green; 4 Martin Purdy; 5 George Skivington; 6 Ian Clarke; 7 Barratt; 8 Mark Lock Replacements; 16 Ben Gotting; 17 Henry Nwume; 18 John Hart; 19 Ian Clarke; 20 Harvey Biljon; 21 Mark Denney; 22 Michael Roberts NEC Harlequins: 15 Gavin Duffy; 14. George Harder; 13. Mel Deane; 12. Andy Reay; 11. Ugo Monye; 10. Andy Dunne; 9. Simon Keogh; 1. Mike Worsley; 2. Tani Fuga; 3. Jon Dawson; 4. Karl Rudzki; 5. Roy Winters; 6. Pat Sanderson; 7. Andre Vos; 8. Tony Diprose Replacements:; 16. Ace Tiatia; 17. Laurent Gomez; 18. Ceri Jones 19. Bill Davison 20. Simon Miall; 21. Scot Bemand; 22. Josh Taumalolo
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