I came in for a little bit of stick this week for not focusing on the London double-header more in the opening weekend (I was just as surprised as any to see that somebody had actually paid attention) but to make up for it, there’s little doubt that the big game this week is between two of the capital’s powerhouses. And, at the risk of becoming even more unpopular, I’ve come round to thinking that it’s as close to having a ‘good-guys v bad-guys’ face-off as you can get in the Premiership. In terms of rugby style, anyway.
Look at Harlequins. They’re quick, skillfull, brave in how they
play – when in full swing, they almost strut through rugby matches with the
dashing and confident charm that your standard Disney prince would have in
abundance. Then you could look at
Saracens – powerful, dominant, ruthless.
The tyrants of the league for so much of last year, you wouldn’t be
surprised if they hired Sauron as a motivational speaker. Yes, at first glance, it seems so black and
white. But it isn’t really.
Don’t get me wrong, Quins
have some sublime runners in their ranks – Marland Yarde, Ollie Lindsay-Hague
and Charlie Walker, for example – but they have some real Orcs chucked in there
as well. Joe Marler, George Robson and
Nick Easter all know how to handle themselves, and last week they had to grind
their way to a win in a real snoozefest at Twickenham. That followed a mesmeric and pant-wettingly exciting
encounter between Sarries and Wasps, where the men in black picked up a try
bonus point with some intelligent, clinical and entertaining rugby. Yes, just because Saracens like to bully teams
doesn’t mean they can’t chuck it about a bit either.
But despite the fact that
things may not be as clear cut as first thought, we can’t hide away from the
fact that Friday’s game is very much going to be about Quins’ frantic
offloading game against Sarries’ brutal power, despite the fact that both sides
are more than capable of mixing it up.
It’s what they’re best at, and they shouldn’t shy away from it. Because in the Premiership, there are no good
guys or bad guys.
Only winners...and the rest.
Harlequins Team News
Harlequins director of rugby
Conor O'Shea makes one change to the side which beat London Irish, with Ollie
Lindsay-Hague replacing Ugo Monye. Wing
Monye requires surgery on a groin injury and is set to be out for three months,
but Charlie Walker is named among the replacements.
Starting Line-up: Brown; Yarde, Hopper, Turner-Hall, Lindsay-Hague; Evans, Care; Marler (capt), Gray, Sinckler; Matthews, Robson; Wallace, Robshaw, Easter.
Subs: Buchanan, Lambert, Collier, Merrick, Clifford, Dickson, Botica, Walker.
Key Player
Danny Care. The dynamo scrum half was nowhere near his
terrier-like best last weekend, but there’s no doubt that he is key to his side’s
hopes on Friday night. Despite some
early season rustiness last week, that Sarries defence will soon tighten up
like a millionaire’s daughter’s chastity belt and it will be moments of
invention – and quickness of thought – which will create the gaps for Quins to
attack. Care has to get his decisions
right and know when to stick and when to twist.
Saracens Team News
Mark McCall has also chosen
to make just the one side that squeezed past Wasps last week, swapping around
last week’s bench warmer Jackson Wray and blindside flanker Kelly Brown.
Starting Line-up:
Goode; Ashton, Taylor, Barritt,
Strettle; Hodgson, Wigglewsorth; Barrington, George, Longbottom; Kruis,
Hargreaves (capt); Wray, Fraser, Vunipola.
Subs:
Spurling, Gill, Du Plessis, Botha, Brown, Spencer, Farrell, Wyles.
Key Player
Kieran Longbottom. He might not be the most glamorous player –
or have the most glamorous name – but he will have a crucial role to play as
the anchor for the Saracens pack. Signed
from the Force over the summer, Longbottom is a hard-working and hard-hitting
tighthead who had a rising stock in Australia changing hemispheres. He’s also a reasonable scrummager, but his
ability in that department will be severely tested when he takes on the much
improved Joe Marler at scrum-time. Sarries
need set piece dominance for their game to function; they need Longbottom to
cause Marler some problems.
Chris Robshaw v Will
Fraser. Who knows where Will Fraser
would be now if he hadn’t had a nightmare run of injuries last season? In 2012-13, he was phenomenal and our player
of the season, but this time round he’s playing catch up after spending most of
the last year on the treatment table. His
opponent on Friday night is the England skipper, and the ultimate barometer on
where he is. Both men are top-quality
all-round opensides – they can pinch ball, make tackles, act as a link man and
carry a bit too. Robshaw, though, has
the ability to run his opponents off the park, and if Quins are to find fluency
to their attacking game, they need him to be more visible than his youthful
opposite number.
Prediction
This one strikes me as a
horrible one to call. The Stoop on a
Friday night is always a tricky place to play, but if any side can poop the
party it’s Sarries. Both sides looked rusty
in their opening encounters but, for me, the visitors have less to fix. We know their defence is usually as watertight
as a mermaid’s brassiere (to coin a phrase from Blackadder), and so I don’t
think they’ll be leaking scores like last week, but they also looked clinical
in attack, whilst Quins struggled for fluency all game. If Quins can win that initial contact, they
have a great chance of causing Saracens some real problems – but, otherwise, I
can see the hosts getting bullied out of this one. Close call, but Sarries by 5.
Bath v London Welsh:
The West Country side looked
pretty smooth as they despatched of Sale last week, whilst Welsh were frankly
shambolic. A big home win may be on the
cards here. Bath by 30.
Gloucester v Sale Sharks: There
is no doubting the Cherry and White’s quality on paper but they will take time
to gel – as shown by their drubbing at Franklin’s Gardens. However, the Sharks didn’t really impress me
last week either and I think the hosts could sneak a first win here. Gloucester
by 2.
Exeter Chiefs v Leicester Tigers: It’s
hard to know just how good Chiefs were last week, but we do know the Tigers will
need to be on top of their game to get a win at Sandy Park. I think they had a sterner test last week and
should be in better shape to take a win in a tight encounter. Tigers
by 6.
Wasps v Northampton Saints: The
traditional opening-day heartbreak continued for Wasps last year and they seem
to have a habit of losing bravely. Saints
aren’t the sort to have sympathy, though, and I suspect they’ll come away with
a hard earned win. Keep an eye out for
North v Wade, too. Saints by 5.
Newcastle Falcons v London Irish: Irish
showed plenty of solidarity last week without finding a cutting edge, whist
Falcons showed some very encouraging and enterprising signs against the
Tigers. At home, on a new 4G pitch, I
think the hosts could pinch it. Falcons by 4.
PS If you need psyching up for another weekend of Premiership Rugby (and also because I feel I haven’t plugged this enough) then take a look at our second edition of Crash Bang Wallop:
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