Preview: NEC Harlequins v Saracens (h)

By Worried of Whitton
December 21 2006

Round 10 of the Premiership kicks off this Friday and sees Quins at home to Saracens. Kick off at The Stoop is 19.45 and this match marks the start of another critical run of three matches for Harlequins over the Christmas and New Year holiday as they once more seek reignite their league season.

Failure to pick up crucial winning points over the next two weeks will certainly cause problems as we move into the second half of the Premiership Season.

Due to the Christmas holiday and in line with many other publications this will be a Festive Bumper three match preview covering the two home matches against Saracen, and Newcastle and the away game at Worcester. In essence the story is the same for all three matches we need to pick up maximum points in each match and target at least twelve points from our next three games, indeed we should make that sixteen points from four games, if you include the home match against Bath on January 6^th.

 A glance at the lower half of the Premiership table shows us why;

 

Just nine points separate the six clubs sitting between sixth and eleventh place, and with Harlequins playing four of these clubs over the next sixteen days, this is likely to make or break our season. To add some Christmas spice the fixture list also has thrown up some interesting fixtures amongst the other clubs in the bottom half of the table, and for completeness these have been included as part of each of the three mini match previews. Providing the winning points are added, Quins remain in a good position with there far superior goal difference over the four clubs below them. What is certain we need to rely on the team to produce the results and not the scores from other matches. Over the next two weeks our destiny in is our own hands!

As I write this preview I m listening to one of my favorite classic albums at this time of year, “ A Christmas Gift for You” from Phil Spector and following on from the Christmas music thread on CAW ;

“You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry
  You'd better not pout, I'm telling you why
  Saracens is coming to town”

I do recommend this album to get you in the Christmas mood as it has such Christmas classics as, Vossy the Snowman, Keogh Ride, I Saw Volley Passing Oval Balls, and of course, Winter Wonderland (gone but not forgotten).

As Quins hopes of reaching the finals of the ECC cup essentially went down with the setting sun in Bath last Saturday, Harlequins now need to firmly focus on their Premiership survival. Saracens, who currently top their ECC cup pool after four straight wins, currently lie in sixth place in the Premiership with 23 points. They have broken away from the chasing pack of five teams with four points separating them that include Harlequins. Quins were very disappointing in their last Premiership match against Sale, with a woeful first half performance, they pulled themselves round and managed to collect a precious loosing bonus point, in a match that on paper they certainly should have won. After a string of five wins Quins have slumped back to three straight defeats; however as a consolation a loosing bonus was picked up in each match which shows just how close the games were and suggests that all is not lost.  Last weekend at the Recreation Ground, reports suggest that it was a repeat performance of our home match the week before. We gave away some silly tries and our cover defence for the second week running against Bath's powerful forwards was not good. Quins were not as composed as Bath when came to converting a number of chances to cross the try line and, they lost some crucial line outs in scoring positions.

All is not lost, however, there were positives, the scrum was very good, the back row were excellent and  they got themselves into position to score on a number of occasions. It was reported by Kev T, one of our most respected and knowledgeable supporters who was at Bath, that “Jarvis may need a break as he has become a bit predictable, adding that he has played a lot of games. Mehrtens has the ability to vary his play and seemed more in tune with his three quarters when he came on. The loop he ran for our try at the end was superb. Mike Brown made some excellent breaks and Abbott had a better game. This was one of those games that a settled side and one playing with confidence would have won. The amount of good possession we had augurs well for the next few games. We were playing against a strong Bath pack on Saturday”. His conclusion read “Disappointed to lose, but there were some very encouraging signs.”  but we need and expect to see the fruits of these encouraging signs against Saracens.

If the recent “A” game and way Quins played and beat Saracens the last time they visited the Stoop, are any indicators then Quins have nothing to worry about!!  Saracens are not to be underestimated and despite their recent loss against Worcester they will surely be looking to avenge that match in November 2003 when they were stunned by Quins who scored four tries in thirteen minutes. The review of their game last week away to Gran Parma suggests that there was nothing special about their performance.

Whilst the team news is unknown as the preview is written it would be great if Richard Hill is included in their squad. This will also be the first occasion for many Quins supporters to see Andy Farrell actually play in a match, although he did play in the recent “A” game. There is very healthy rivalry between the two clubs which should make for a great game on Friday night.

Whilst Harlequins play Saracens the other fixtures are;

 

 

I sincerely hope that despite the seasonally cold weather we will not have a “Silent Night” as we need to be very vocal supporting the team.