Quins to avoid giving Connacht Room

By KevT
April 23 2004

NEC Harlequins take on Connacht in the second leg of their Parker Pen Cup match in Galway on Sunday. Quins hold a nine point lead for their visit to the Sports Ground in Galway.

Quins make four changes to the team that beat Rotherham at The Stoop last Friday. James Hayter replaces the injured Tani Fuga, Karl Rudzki is in for Jim Evans, Pat Sanderson plays instead of Roy Winters who has a shoulder injury and Paul Burke returns from injury to replace Andy Dunne.

Not too many surprises in selection this week apart from Jim Evans absence. He is not on the bench and there is no mention of an injury. Karl Rudzki is a robust player and may provide a bit of aggression in what is likely to be a very physical match. Ceri Jones seems to be a more effective scrummager than Mike Worsley and his presence will help James Hayter in an area which Connacht are likely to target. James is regarded as the best line out thrower at the club so Quins will hope for some improvement in this area. The Quins back row picks itself. Try scoring has not been a problem for Quins with ten in the last two games. The return of Paul Burke will add just that little bit of composure in what will be a frenetic first half hour. It will be helpful to Quins to have Gavin Duffy at Full Back, who has plenty of Connacht experience, who may have more of a read on Eric Ellwood’s kicking out of hand. The pace and strength of Monye and Harder are always likely to create opportunities and with the opposition centres having to keep an eye on Greenwood and Duffy coming into the line, there should be some chances for Ugo and George.

Connacht make one change to the team that lost at The Stoop, Peter Bracken replaces Adrian Clarke at tight head prop. They have a strong scrum and an aggressive pack of forwards. Connacht struggled a bit on their own line out throw two weeks ago and the selection of James Hayter at hooker may give Quins an edge in this area. The Connacht forwards liked to drive around the blind side edge of rucks and made some real inroads against Quins by targeting the blind side but staying very tight. Expect more of the same this Sunday. Elwood and the two centres are the key to Connacht’s game. They run straight and like to offload the ball in the tackle which creates space and commits defenders.

This will be a tough and tight game. The first half an hour will be crucial. If Quins can score some tries and keep the Connacht crowd off their back then they will be a long way to getting the right result. Connacht will try to create pressure through the driving maul and the tight driving play of their forwards. Eric Elwood will try to kick the ball into positions that will hurt Quins. The discipline of the Quins pack will be crucial. They must not let Ellwood and McHugh have the opportunity to find good field position or kick between the posts. Connacht are unlikely to throw the ball out wide so the tackling of the Quins midfield will be crucial.

Quins have the backs to seriously damage Connacht. They scored four tries in the first leg but butchered a number of other opportunities. It is the ability of Deane and Harder to commit defenders and the threat from Greenwood, Duffy and Monye that may well settle this match in Quins favour…but it will be tight.



Connacht: 15. Matt Mostyn; 14. Conor McPhillips ; 13. Darren Yapp ; 12. Mark McHugh; 11. Wayne Munn ; 10. Eric Elwood ; 9. Mike Walls ; 1. Dan McFarland ; 2. Bernard Jackman (capt.) ; 3. Peter Bracken ; 4. Damien Browne ; 5. Andrew Farley ; 6. Michael Swift ; 7. Matt Lacey ; 8. John O'Sullivan
Subs: 16. John Fogarty ; 17. Adrian Clarke ; 18. Mike McCarthy ; 19. Paul Neville ; 20. Conor O'Loughlin ; 21. Shane Moore ; 22. Ted Robinson


NEC Harlequins: 15. Gavin Duffy; 14. George Harder; 13. Will Greenwood; 12. Mel Deane; 11. Ugo Monye; 10. Paul Burke; 9. Simon Keogh; 1. Ceri Jones; 2. James Hayter; 3. Jon Dawson; 4. Karl Rudzki ; 5. Simon Miall; 6. Pat Sanderson; 8. Tony Diprose; 7. Andre Vos (capt)
Subs: 16. Cameron Dott; 17. Laurent Gomez ; 18. Mike Worsley; 19. Bill Davison; 20. Luke Sherriff; 21. Ben Willis; 22. Andy Dunne