Everybody loves a good David and Goliath story. The small kid beating up the bully, the poor
kid trumping the rich boy or literally anyone else taking the Christmas number
one spot ahead of whatever has spewed out of the rear end of that grotesquely
cringe-inducing 'talent show' that attacks our eyes and ears once a year. Of course, in the world of rugby, those sorts
of fairy tales are few and far between – if you're weaker than your opposition,
you'll probably take a pasting and a pat on the back for a 'brave effort', at
best. It's the accepted way of
things. And that's why Connacht's win
away against European powerhouses, Toulouse, is utterly remarkable. Nobody, gave them a fart in the wind's chance
of a win in France, but they came away with a thoroughly deserved victory. But that's not my game of the week – I've
reserved that for another, admittedly less obvious, David and Goliath tale that
occurred last week. I am of course
talking about Harlequins' stunning win away in Nantes, against one of the
aristocrats of French rugby, Racing Metro.
Sure, Quins were premiership champions a couple of seasons
ago, and they are led by the England captain, but their squad is, by and large,
full of home-grown (or at least nurtured) kids.
Racing Metro meanwhile, cheque books out, have acquired the services of,
amongst others, the spine of British and Irish Lions side that conquered
Australia, including 2 of the try scorers from the final test. It was a game which, given current Heineken
Cup form, Quins should not have been close to winning. Instead, they not only beat the French
outfit, they hammered them with a glorious display of the fast, offload-based
rugby that makes Quins such a joy to watch in their pomp. It was such a convincing win, with a bonus
point, that the Racing owners were sufficiently humbled to remove their side's
upcoming home games from the Stade de France, and downgrade to their
traditional/smaller stadium, where they will have to 'earn the right' to play
in front of 80,000 fans.
Of course, the victory was made all the more spectacular
given the fact that this has been something of a comeback tale for the
Londoners. Woeful at home against the
Scarlets, brave but inevitable losers away in Clermont, Quins' Heineken Cup
chances were over. Or were they? Something stirred in the second half against
Clermont – almost a release of the pressure they had placed on themselves – and
that freedom to play high-risk rugby returned.
It's led to impressive domestic form, with Conor O'Shea's men climbing
the Aviva Premiership and defeating Leicester at their Welford Road fortress in
the process. They have, of course, been
plagued by their fair share of injuries, but in typical fashion seemed to have
unearthed a couple of gems. Joe Gray and
Rob Buchanan out? No problem, up steps
Dave Ward, experienced sevens player with 'Lee Mears mark 2' written all over
him – a real mongrel over the ball, he was magnificent in France last week. Then there's the shrewd signing of
ex-Gloucester man Tim Molenaar in the centres – the big Irishman may well be
nicknamed Gandalf with his 'you shall not pass' mentality in defence. And finally the emergence of young Charlie Walker
has been a revelation in the shadow of injuries to Ugo Monye and Tom Williams –
and an 'I told you so' moment for this blog, when his talents were proclaimed
back in August. His pace is staggering
(watch the gap he opened up for his try last weekend) and is a lethal open
field runner – the only thing he needs to ensure is that he catches the ball
before thinking about how he's going to skin everyone.
Of course, it's easy to proclaim Quins, and rightly so after
their display, but O'Shea will know that a very different beast crashes across
the channel this weekend – and one hell-bent
on revenge for their humiliation 7 days ago. The response to that defeat has been drastic,
with Juan Martin Hernandez – who had a shocker in Nantes – the only man not to
be axed, meaning experienced French internationals Benjamin Fall, Dimitri Szarzewski,
Frabrice Estebanez and Maxime Machenaud are all either benched or chopped completely. But that doesn't exactly mean there's a
shortage of class in the Racing side coming to visit. And with Lions heroes Dan Lydiate, Mike
Phillips, Johnny Sexton and Jamie Roberts forming the backbone of the side, the
Londoners will not be able to rely on the traditional French flakiness to win
this one. That 9, 10, 12 Lions axis is
crucial, and Nick Evans and Danny Care will realise they won't be afforded the
armchair ride they enjoyed last week.
Throw in experienced top-class performers Juan Martin Hernandez (his
nightmare last week notwithstanding) and Sione Tonga'uiha, a smattering of
French talent and a dollop of badly wounded pride, and you have a monster on
the warpath coming to your home ground.
The Racing pack is big and powerful, and you can bet that, with Phillips
and Roberts in the side, this will be no-frills rugby, with big runners
clattering over the gainline and Johnny Sexton probing the corners. It's a delightfully contrasting approach to
Quins, who's order book should surely be "more of the same".
More of the same for Quins would throw this group wide open,
and European qualification would again be on the cards. But Goliath is on the warpath – and this
time, he's angry.
Harlequins Team
News
Harlequins have made one change to the starting XV with Tim
Molenaar replacing the injured Tom Casson at inside centre for the visit of
Racing Metro. On the bench, Joe Gray
makes his return from injury, with Ollie Lindsay-Hague also named among the
replacements.
Starting Line-up: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Charlie Walker, 13 Matt
Hopper, 12 Tim Molenaar, 11 Sam Smith, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick
Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Luke Wallace, 5 George Robson, 4 Charlie
Matthews, 3 Will Collier, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Joe Marler.
Subs: 16 Joe
Gray, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Paul Doran Jones, 19 Nick Kennedy, 20 Joe Trayfoot,
21 Karl Dickson, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Ollie Lindsay-Hague.
Key Player
Charlie Walker. I'm
loathe to pick a winger as a key player but, with the territory game that
Racing are likely to employ, the entire back 3 must make sure that any loose kicks
are punished severely. Phillips
especially has been, to be honest, ball-bruisingly bad with his box kicks, and
his loose clearances against Australia 2 weeks ago were a chief reason behind
his side's knack for inviting one of the world's most deadly back 3 to run it
back at them. And out of the Quins back
3, Walker holds the most aces. After tearing
it up in the JP Morgan 7s and the A League, the young flyer has been finding
his feet for the 1st XV, but is now reaping the rewards. Never shy of confidence to 'have a go', his
acceleration and balance make him a lethal counter-attacker. He must be ruthless on Sunday. As a side point, if you're stuck for a
drinking game at the weekend, why not try have a swig or two every time the
commentator or cameraman mixes up Walker and Matt Hopper. You won't remember the second half, but it'll
be fun.
Racing Metro Team
News
Racing have made wholesale changes to their team with Jonny
Sexton and Mike Phillips teaming up in the halfbacks while fellow British and
Irish Lion Dan Lydiate starts on the flank.
Full-back Juan Martín Hernández is the only survivor from the starting
line-up that was thrashed last weekend.
Jamie Roberts makes his comeback after 3 months out with an ankle injury.
Starting Line-up: 15 Juan Martín Hernández, 14 Adrien
Planté, 13 Henry Chavancy, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Virimi Vakatawa; 10 Jonny
Sexton, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Camille Gerondeau, 7 Antoine Battut (c), 6 Dan
Lydiate, 5 Karim Ghezal, 4 Fabrice Metz, 3 Soane Tonga'uiha, 2 Virgile Lacombe,
1 Davit Khinchagishvili.
Subs: 16 Jeremie
Maurouard, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Juandre Kruger, 20 Bernard Le
Roux, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Jonathan Wisniewski 23 Benjamin Fall,
Key Player
Johnny Sexton. Despite
having all his features seemingly squashed into one square centimetre on his
face, the Irish fly half is a general and a leader by his very nature, and will
be essential to the Racing effort after they looked directionless at times last
weekend. He has a bruising back in front
of him and two physical players in Roberts and Phillips on either side, so
expect to see him playing very flat and looking to send the big boys into and
over the home defence. He'll also be
aiming for the corners a lot to get his side into the right areas, but the key
point will be if he can sense the flow of the game and no when to put boot to
ball and when the pull the trigger – something he was king at for Leinster, but
has not always shown for Ireland.
Key Battle
Danny Care v Mike Phillips.
I have to admit I sort of have a love/hate relationship with Care. Cracking player, but offensively abysmal
hair. Phillips, on the other hand, I'm
not a fan of. Since 2009, where he was
magnificent, he has done relatively little in club or international colours –
he was poor for the Lions, average for Wales, and average for Burgoin, but it
is attitude that gets me the most. He
spends most of his time now getting involved in spats, rather than
concentrating on his game. Anyway,
personal opinions aside, Care will feel like he has a point to prove after missing
out on Lions selection. He'll have to
temper his lightening break with patience to let the forwards offload to each
other at pace to move forward, but he’ll need to stay on his toes so he is
there to take advantage when the ball is flicked up to him with space out
wide. Phillips, on form, can be a
formidable opponent though, with ultra-aggressive defence and a powerful
running game that keeps defenders fixed and allows him to dispatch with the
attentions of any interested backrower.
With momentum key for Harlequins, and territory key for Racing, both 9s
must ensure that their accuracy is top drawer on Sunday. Also, keep an eye out for any 'conversations'
between Mike Brown and Philips. It could
get very tasty….
Prediction
There is no doubt in my mind that the Racing side that plays
this week will offer a vastly more severe examination than they did last week,
despite make wholesale changes to their team and bringing in many supposed
'second string' players. With the
experience and power they have in their side, it will be a physical test for
the hosts – but it is one I am expecting them to pass. With Roberts only just returning from injury,
and Sexton, Phillips and Lydiate not in top form, there is an opportunity for
the hosts to move their French counterparts round the park at a speed they
cannot cope with. Couple that with a
lethal counter attacking threat, and I think we'll see the Londoners pull off
another hugely significant win on Sunday…just don't expect as comfy a buffer
this time though. Quins by 8.
What else is happening is the 4th round of the Heineken Cup?
Ospreys v
Castres: French Champions Castres have been very flaky away from
home this year and Ospreys should pick up their first win of the competition.
Glasgow v
Cardiff: Cardiff were superb last
week but home advantage should be enough to see this talented Glasgow side pick
up a win.
Leinster v
Northampton Saints: Despite the fact
that it's impossible for Saints to be any more dominated than they were last
week, I think that they may be in for a long afternoon in Cardiff.
Toulon v Exeter
Chiefs: The reigning champions
struggled at Sandy park last week, but they should have no such problems in
their own back yard.
Saracens v
Zebre: Bread and butter for the
English side, who should pick up a bonus point against the Italian minnows.
Connacht v
Toulouse: Arguably the most
intriguing fixture of the weekend. Will
Toulouse prove their class? Connacht is
a difficult place to win so I'm backing the Irish side for a famous double.
Scarlets v Clermont
Auvergne: Clermont are real class
but have proven to be vulnerable on their travels. A close one, but the visitors should just
nick it.
Treviso v
Ulster: Treviso are a completely
different prospect at home but, even so, I would expect Ulster to claim win, if
not a bonus point win, in Italy.
Perpignan v
Munster: Perpignan were so
comprehensively outplayed last week it's impossible to see how home advantage
can turn that around for the French side.
Montpellier v
Leicester Tigers: Montpellier have
'done a Racing' and put a 2nd XV out for this, but Tigers' record in France is
so poor it should be close. I'm backing
the visitors to pick up a crucial win.
Gloucester v
Edinburgh: After the morale boosting
win in Scotland last week, I'm backing the West-Country side to take the spoils
here.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share your views