Quins take on Tigers in the Wild (Card)
By KevT
May 14 2004
NEC Harlequins play Leicester Tigers in the semi-final of the Zurich Premiership Wild Card Play Off. The winner of the play off final is guaranteed a place in the Heineken Cup for next season.
Quins make eight changes to the team that lost 17 - 18 against Northampton Saints last week. Mike Worsley has recovered from a broken nose and replaces Ceri Jones at loose head prop. Hooker, Tani Fuga returns from suspension and replaces the injured James Hayter. Jason Leonard takes the place of Jon Dawson at Tight Head prop. In the second row Simon Miall takes Karl Rudzki's spot and in the back row Tony Diprose returns for Kai Horstmann at number eight.
In the backs, Scott Bemand replaces Simon Keogh at scrum half. Paul Burke is back for Andy Dunne at Fly Half. Will Greenwood comes in for Chris Bell at outside centre.
Four out of five from last week's tight five are changed for this week. This may be the price for a poor performance up front from the Quins tight five. In the back row, the more experienced Tony Diprose may have a bit more control at the back of the scrum than Kai Horstmann. He is also Quins top line out receiver this season. In the backs the surprise selection is Scott Bemand at scrum half. Scott had a good game against Bath and perhaps it is felt that Simon Keogh's decision making was not up to scratch last week.
Leicester have announced a very strong line up. Darren Morris usually plays tight head but moves to the other side of the scrum. George Chuter has been an excellent back up to Dorian West and may get his opportunity for more first team rugby next season. It is the return from injury of tight head Julian White that has appeared to make all the difference to the Leicester scrum. He is probably the best tight head in England at the moment. In the second row the indefatigable Martin Johnson starts. He may not train much anymore but he is still one of the best exponenets of second row play in the world. Louis Deacon is an excellent prospect as his partner. He is perhaps not as strong a line out jumper as Ben Kay but he is a very physical presence in rucks and mauls. The fact that Kay is on the bench shows the form that Deacon is in. In the back row, Martin Corry plays blind side. He is a big presence in the line out and a great ball carrier. He does a lot of unseen work in rucks and mauls. Not all of which is legal.. Neil Back is still a wonderful open side flanker. He cleans up possession in the tackle area and acts as an important link in securing decent possession for his scrum half. He is not as quick to the break down as he used to be but he has great hands and times his passing well. Will Johnson plays number eight.
One of England's brightest prospects plays scrum half. Harry Ellis will no doubt be contesting the number nine jersey with Clive Stuart-Smith over the next few seasons. He has a great pass and is a quick runner. Jaco Van der Westhuizen has made a huge difference to Leicester's back line at Fly Half. He is inventive quick and runs the back line well. Opposition back rows have to pay a lot of attnetion to him which makes space for the skills of All Black Daryl Gibson at inside centre. Leon Lloyd has returned to for at outside centre and is enjoying the space given to him by messrs Van Der Westhuizen and Gibson. On the wing, the ubiquitous Austin Healey is an abrasive character but a great all round footballer. He still has real pace but his desire to impress sometimes means that he tries the more difficult rather than the simple option. On the other wing is another great footballer in Geordan Murphy. Murphy is quick, elusive, has a great step and a good boot. He is the complete back and would always be my Lions starter at Full Back. At Full back on Saturday Andy Goode plays and he kicks the goals. He appears to have lost some weight and regained his desire for the game. Once he has built up momentum he is quick.
Leicester Tigers are in great form at the moment. Their forwards are providing a great platform for their inventive backs. Any team who can knock forty points past Wasps at The Causeway is quite a team. John Wells seems to have inspired a back line which just wasn't functioning. The return from injury of Smith and Murphy is perhaps the key. They are class players. It means that there is a real threat throughout their back line.
Starngely enough, I feel that Quins should have a better time against this Leicester pack than they did aginst the Saints. Quins have strengthened their tight five with the return of Fuga, Leonard and Miall. Whilst the Tigers pack is strong, it is also long in the tooth and the more mobile Quins pack and world class back row of Sandeson, Vos and Diprose (not my words but used by John Connolly of Bath and Phil Davies of Leeds) should be able to turn over some ball and give the Tigers a hard time around the tackle area.
Quins must try to deny the excellent Leicester backs space. They should also try to take the game to the Leicester backs who have shown some frailty in defence. The threat of Monye, Harder, Greenwood and Duffy would worry any defence. If Quins can keep the scoreboard at least level by half time then they have a good chance. Impressive second half showings over the past few weeks and a never say die attitude has demonstrated real heart. What is certain is that this Quins will not be bullied by the Tigers in the same way as they were in the corresponding fixture last season. Quins will have to be at their very best to take on this in form Tigers team but they have the talent and the will to beat them.
Leicester Tigers: 15. Andy Goode;14. Geordan Murphy; 13. Leon Lloyd; 12. Daryl Gibson; 11. Austin Healey; 10. Jaco van der Westhuyzen; 9. Harry Ellis; 1. Darren Morris; 2. George Chuter; 3. Julian White; 4. Martin Johnson (Capt.); 5. Louis Deacon; 6. Martin Corry; 7. Neil Back; 8. Will Johnson
Replacements: 16. Michael Holford; 17. Dorian West; 18. Ben Kay; 19. Adam Balding
20. Henry Tuilagi; 21. Ollie Smith; 22. Freddie Tuilagi
NEC Harlequins: 15. Gavin Duffy; 14. George Harder; 13. Will Greenwood; 12. Mel Deane; 11. Ugo Monye; 10. Paul Burke; 9. Scott Bemand; 1. Mike Worsley; 2. Tani Fuga
3. Jason Leonard; 4. Simon Miall; 5. Jim Evans; 6. Pat Sanderson; 7. Andre Vos (Capt.)
8. Tony Diprose
Replacements: 16. Laurent Gomez; 17. Ceri Jones; 18. Bill Davison; 19. Luke Sherriff
20. Ben Willis; 21. Simon Keogh; 22. Andy Dunne