Quins to take the sting out of Wasps

By KevT
May 8 2003

NEC Harlequins take on London??? Wasps on Saturday at Adams Park (Kick off 3.00pm). The match is vital for both teams. Quins need points to secure a place in the Heineken Cup Play Offs and Wasps need a win to secure home advantage in the Zurich Premiership Semi Final.

Quins make five changes to the team that lost at home to Northampton. In the forwards James Hayter makes his first start at hooker replacing Tani Fuga. Karl Rudzki replaces second row Bill Davison who is rested. In the backs Matt Powell comes in for Scott Bemand at scrum half. Chris Bell replaces Will Greenwood at centre and Ugo Monye makes his first start in place of Ben Gollings.

I spoke to Quins Head Coach, Director of Rugby and Chief Executive Mark Evans. At the beginning of the season his objective had been for the team to become more consistent. I asked whether he felt that this had been achieved. “No. Not entirely. No. Our home form has become more consistent after a ropey start. That’s been better than before.”

I mentioned that I thought the forwards had become more consistent. “The forwards have been more consistent with one or two exceptions, against Sale for example. Andre (Vos) has been our best player and has been everything we expected him to be.”
 
I asked Mark what had been the most pleasing thing to come out of this season. “The way we showed great tenacity in difficult circumstances. We’ve also tackled more than we have done before. There’s also a strong argument that the greatest progress has been in the performances of the Under 21’s and the 2nd XV. The Under 21’s have done really well. The 2nd XV have only lost one or two games this year. If you believe, as I do, that you grow clubs from the bottom, then this has been a key area of progress. We’ve grown from a youth programme that was a laughing stock. You hope to produce some young individuals that become really good players. Not all of them do progress but you hope that some will.”
 
Would we see these players playing during the World Cup period whilst internationals are away? “The World Cup will not have a huge impact on us. We don’t have a lot of players that will be going.”
 
Turning to Saturday’s game, I said to Mark that Wasps were in good form. “They are in form. They’ve had very few injuries. They went out of the domestic cup early which has helped them. They haven’t had to deal with many changes in their side and any long term injuries in their pack. Selection for us  has been very tricky this week. We want to qualify (for the Heineken Cup Play Offs)". Do you try and use your squad? "We never give up games. You always pick a team to win a game. I think I’ve spent more time on team selection this week than anything else.”
 
Wasps are unlikely to make any changes to the team that beat Sale Sharks at Heywood Road last weekend. They have a very strong front row. All Black Craig Dowd is a tough uncompromising competitor. He isn’t the most mobile prop these days but is a tough rucker. Trevor Leota is preferred at Hooker to the more mobile Phil Greening. Leota is a fierce tackler and is a difficult man to bring down. If there is a weakness to his game it is that his line out throwing can be inconsistent. Will Green isn’t the biggest tight head Prop in the league but he is good around the park. In the line out Richard Birkett has played well this season. Simon Shaw has also convinced Clive Woodward that he is one of the best four second rows in the country. Shaw is a massive man. His game all round game has improved this season. As a pair, Shaw and Birkett haven’t always gelled in the line out this season. Quins will be hoping that Saturday is one of their off days.
 
Wasps' return to form has coincided with the return to form of their Captain Lawrence Dallaglio. He is a major influence on the team and his link with Robert Howley at scrum half has been one of the features of this season. Watch the two of them. Their very presence can cause defences problems. Dallaglio will take the ball off the back of the scrum. Will he run at the defence and commit tacklers or will he offload to the super quick Howley who is at his shoulder? This will be a key area for Quins. How do they deal with this axis? Expect the Quins back row to put in a lot of tackles. I’d also watch out for Dallaglio running at Paul Burke. This is a tactic that Wasps have used in previous matches against Quins.  England international Joe Worsley and Paul Volley complete the Wasps back row.
 
Howley has proved himself to be the best scrum half in the League this season. He has a great pass and is very quick. He is almost the complete scrum half playing behind a pack that is going forward.  Alex King is an underrated stand off. He can run with the ball and has a good pass. If there is a criticism of him, it is that he does not always boss games as the really good Fly Halves can. In the centre, Stuart Abbott has made great strides this season. He is an intelligent player who is excellent at finding space and bringing players into the game. He is likely to have England A International Fraser Waters on his shoulder. Waters is quick and good at finding the gaps which Abbott produces for him.

Wasps have been playing Josh Lewsey on the wing in recent matches. This is a shame as he is a fine Full Back. He is very quick, is great at coming into the line and has a fine boot. Mark Van Gisbergen has been playing Full Back and John Rudd has played on the wing. They announce their line up on Friday afternoon.

Wasps are on a bit of a roll at the moment. They are playing with real confidence and have something to play for. One of Quins’ best performances of the season was when they beat Wasps at home, so they know how to beat them.

The key to the game will be the ability to keep a leash on Dallaglio and Howley. The referee is Steve Leyshon who likes a competitive tackle area. If Quins can compete in the tackle area and spoil or turn over Wasps ball then they can negate the Dallaglio / Howley axis. Simon Miall has been excellent in this area. He loves to turn the tackle player over or steal ball.

Another key to the match will be the performance of Quins younger players. Will Hayter, Rudzki, Bell and Monye be able to rise to the challenge? Imagine you are James Hayter in your first start and you are faced with Trevor Leota. That is some challenge for the young man.

This is a very tough match for Quins. Mark Evans has been brave in his selection. Quins will have to produce an outstanding performance to beat the Premier League’s in form team. If Quins can turn over Wasps ball, get the better of Wasps in the tackle area and keep a lid on Howley and Dallaglio then they have a real chance.
 
London Wasps RFC 1.Craig Dowd , 2.Trevor Leota, 3.Will Green , 4. Simon Shaw , 5.Richard Birkett , 6. Joe Worsley , 7. Paul Volley, 8. Lawrence Dallaglio , 9. Rob Howley , 10. Alex King , 11. John Rudd , 12. Stuart Abbott , 13. Fraser Waters , 14. Josh Lewsey , 15. Mark Van Gisbergen

Replacements Martyn Wood , Phil Greening , Kenny Logan , Ayoola Erinle , Mark Lock , Peter Scrivener , Alistair McKenzie

NEC Harlequins 15. Nathan Williams; 14. Ugo Monye; 13. Chris Bell; 12. Mel Deane; 11. Dan Luger; 10. Paul Burke . Matthew Powell 1. Ceri Jones 2. James Hayter; 3. Jon Dawson; 4. Karl Rudzki; 5. Simon Miall; 6. Roy Winters; 7. Andre Vos (Capt.); 8. Tony Diprose

Replacements: 16. Tani Fuga; 17. Laurent Gomez; 18. Jim Evans; 19. Luke Sherriff
20. Pat Sanderson; 21. Scott Bemand; 22. Ben Gollings